samsung edge tips and tricks

posted by abhishek 

                     The Galaxy Note Edge is a very unique device, featuring a beautiful curved Edge Screen that brings a unique way to use the camera. With this phone, all the main camera controls are contained on that edge screen, which means if you hold it like a normal camera, the controls are in a comfortable and easy-to-reach position. The Edge features a great set of cameras, and like its close sibling, the Note 4, has a range of extra features and functions to help you take some great pictures. There are a variety of modes, in addition to camera extras like HDR, 4K recording and more. So let's jump right in and explore the Note Edge camera app.

CAMERA INTERFACE

First up is to learn the basics of how to use the camera app. Here's what all those on-screen buttons do:

1. Settings - view and adjust a range of settings for the camera
2. Switch camera - switch between the rear and front cameras
3. Quick settings - quickly turn your most used settings on and off
4. Mode - change between any of the camera modes
5. Video - start recording a video
6. Shutter - take a photo
7. Status - tells you the status of features such as the flash, or battery level
8. Gallery - use this to view the pictures and videos you've taken.

Customise the quick settings

You can place up to two shortcuts on your Edge Screen so that you've got quick access to your most used functions. By default, the Edge will come with HDR as one of these quick settings, but you can swap this if you'd like to add an additional one too. To swap or add a shortcut:

1. Tap the Settings button
2. Next tap the three dots to open the overflow menu
3. Tap on Edit quick settings
4. You'll then be given a grid of the different shortcuts you can have, and two spaces on the right.
5. Simply drag the functions you want to the two circles on the right, and then these will become the quick settings you have on the Edge screen.

The Note Edge keeps all the camera controls on the Edge screen, making them simple and easy to use.

TAKE WIDE SELFIES (OR WELFIES)

The Note Edge's front-facing camera features a system that allows it to take front-facing panorama-style shots. You simply aim the front-facing camera at yourself and tap the shutter button to start the welfie. The Note Edge will take a picture of you in the middle and prompt you to aim the camera to your left and to your right so that it captures a wide range of images.

Then, like a panorama, it will stitch all those photos together in to one picture. The powerful Note Edge barely takes a few seconds to process all the images, and when it stitches the pictures together it normally does a very good job of avoiding any odd effects or blurriness. These kind of photos are perfect if you're with a group of people and want to include everyone in the picture. They can also be great if you have a great scene behind you and you want to grab a snap of yourself while showing off the background.

USE PINCH TO ZOOM

Personally, I try and avoid zooming on a mobile whenever possible as the fixed lens means actual optical zoom is not possible. Instead, when you 'zoom' the picture actually gets cropped and expanded, meaning you end up with a smaller blurry picture. This is known as digital zoom. This is a problem with all fixed-lens devices (pretty much all mobile phones), sounfortunately there's not a way around this. However, the software on our phones has gotten better at dealing with digital zoom, so you can use it in small doses without affecting the picture too much.

To zoom in on the Note Edge, you simply need to use a pinching and stretching motion with your finger and thumb. Once you've zoomed to a level you want, simply tap the shutter button to capture the picture.

MAKE PHOTOS LOOK BETTER WITH HDR

HDR photography is a technique that your Note Edge can use to try and make your pictures look great by finding the perfect balance of exposure, contrast and detail. It does this by taking multiple pictures very quickly, but each one is at a different exposure. These different exposures give you images ranging from low-detailed, bright images to highly detailed but less bright images. These pictures, a combination of good light and good detail, are then over-laidinto one image that should be perfectly balanced between light and detail.

One of the main differences that you'll notice with HDR is that pictures are generally more detailed and parts that could be washed out with light, such as the sky, will tend to look quite a bit better. It's only really needed in situations where you have a mixture of very light and very dark areas of a picture and you want to show the entire scene to be evenly lit.

HDR is one of the options you should have on the quick shortcuts bar by default, and to enable it you simply need to tap the switch so that it's on. Once it's on, simply take photos like normal, but be aware that HDR requires a still subject - moving objects will simply not work with HDR as it needs to take lots of pictures of the same thing. The best uses are landscape scenes or architecture, where you have a still subject and may want to get similar light levels across the picture.

USE THE GRID

You can enable the grid on the Note Edge camera to try and help you improve the compositionof your pictures. The grid is best used to help line up objects on screen as well as to line up objects and landscapes in the background. You can also use it to try and line up people's eyes for close-ups, which is designed to take a better-looking picture overall. The grid is only used as a guide, but it should hopefully help you to get some great snaps!

The grid can be used to line up objects in your photos to compose great, professional-looking shots.

LAUNCH THE CAMERA DIRECTLY FROM THE LOCKSCREEN

If the situation calls for it and you need to capture a photo quickly, then sometimes you won't want to go through the hassle of unlocking your phone, finding the camera app and waiting for it to open. The Note Edge has a shortcut directly on the lockscreen that you can use to go straight to the camera and bypass all the waiting. You'll see this shortcut in the lower right of your lockscreen, and you simply need to swipe it upwards to launch straight into the camera.

RECORD FOOTAGE IN 4K

The Note Edge camera is capable of recording video in 4K, also known as UltraHD. The 4k resolution is four times larger than our current 1080p HD standard, so the detail you can capture with this size of video is incredible. 4K TVs are starting to become available at a more reasonable price now so it won't be long until 4K is the new standard across all devices.

There are a few drawbacks when recording in 4K, the biggest being that the processing power needed to be able to produce the recordings is so large that it can make the device get very hot. As a result, the Note Edge has a time limit on how long it can record for, and will cut off the recording if it gets too hot. The file sizes are also pretty large, so watch out as you may find yourself filling up the storage rather quickly.

TAKE SOME SLOW-MO RECORDINGS

Some things always look better in slow-mo - sports events, magic tricks, the odd explosion or two... Whilst you probably won't come across that last one too often, the Note Edge makes is nice and easy to capture anything in slow-mo, so even the most mundane of recordings becomes instantly cooler.

To record something in slow-mo, simply tap the menu button, and then tap the three dots to go into the overflow menu. In here you'll see an option for recording mode and one of these modes is slow motion. Tap this and then when you start recording your video it'll be captured in slow-mo.

Your Galaxy Note Edge comes with a quite a lot of different modes built in, and you can also download some extra ones from the Samsung App Store:STANDARD MODES

Auto

Auto is the camera's default mode, and when in this mode the Note Edge will try and detect the settings that are best for the object you're pointing the camera at. This will include things like light levels, exposure and more.

Selective Focus

You can use Selective Focus to create an effect that tries to simulate what you would get from a full proper DLSR camera. Depth of field is a very cool effect that allows you to blur the background of a picture to put focus on your subject. With a proper camera, this is easily done, but on a mobile phone, it's impossible to do with the hardware - instead we can use the camera software to produce a similar effect. There are three different types of focus you can choose from - Near and Far which focus on either close up or far away objects, and Pan, which will focus on both near and far objects.

Selective focus helps you blur backgrounds to give your subject more focus, helping you to capture a quality photo.

Rear-cam selfie

Taking a selfie with the rear camera can be handy as it allows you to use all 16MP of the rear camera sensor. However, the obvious downside is that you can't see what you're taking a picture of - a problem the Note Edge tries to solve. With Rear-cam selfie mode, you select a focus area first by arranging a square on screen, then turning the phone round so the rear camera is facing you. Your Note Edge will then make some audible beep to indicate when your face is inside the focus area you selected. At that point you know you've got the camera facing you at a good angle, so you can take the picture.

Panorama

This mode allows you to take a long sweeping shot of a large landscape in front of you.To do this you'll need to take multiple shots across the scene in front of you, and then your Note Edge will stitch them all together into one long picture.

SECONDARY MODES

The Note Edge offers various handy camera modes.

The following modes can be enabled in the Manage Modes section of the camera. When you tap the modes button and scroll down beneath Panorama, you will then see a button that says Manage Modes. Tap this and you can then enable these additional modes or turn off ones you don't need.

Beauty Face

This is a mode which can be used to create what Samsung affectionately call 'gentler images'. It allows you to add some automatic airbrushing to pictures in order to remove blemishes, wrinkles and more from people's faces. The effect can sometimes look a bit unnatural, so I'd recommend having a good play around to find a range that you like.

Shot & More

This mode takes a very quick burst of pictures and then allows you to choose the best one from the series it has created. Once you get into the mode, there are some automated options as well where the Note can choose things like best face or best photo, but manually choosing is just as easy.

Virtual Tour

This is an ideal mode if you work in a job such as real estate as you can take the phone with you around a property snapping pictures of what's in front, left and right. Virtual Tour mode then takes these pictures and allows the person viewing them to tour the place as if they were there!

Dual Camera

This mode allows you to insert yourself into photos you take. It does this by using both the front and rear cameras at once, and then inserts your lovely smiling face into the picture you've taken. It's ideal for times when you want everyone to be in shot, but also cool for simply inserting yourself into a nice scene in front of you.

DOWNLOADABLE MODES

The Samsung App Store also offers some additional modes that you can download too. These are:

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  You can download additional modes from the Samsung App Store.
  Surround Shot - Lets you take a 360-degree picture by taking snaps of every area around you and then stitching them together.
• Animated Photo - Lets you create a mash-up of still images and video to create a picture that is animated - like those pictures from the Harry Potter films, but a bit less magical.
• Sound & Shot - This mode takes a few seconds of audio recording along with the picture so that you can bring your photos to life a bit more. You can add the sound of crashing waves to a seaside picture or the sound of your child's laughter to a picture of them playing.
• Sports Shot - Ideal for sports pictures where the objects are fast moving, but equally as good for any situation where you're taking photos quickly.
• Sequence Shot - This mode takes a series of photos very quickly and then allows you to play them back slowly in a stop-motion-like mode.
• Food Shot - Best used when you want to really show off that towering, gourmet burger you've just ordered, Food Shot makes colours pop and is designed for close ups.