Want to shoot stunning photos with your Samsung Galaxy S™ II camera? Learn these simple tips, tricks and shortcuts and start enjoying dazzling, detail-rich photos in a snap.
Select a feature to find out more about it:
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Tap to Focus |
Anti-Shake |
Tap To Focus
Tap anywhere on your Galaxy S II screen to focus on your target subject. When you see the green square, you’ve locked in focus. The red square indicates your focus hasn’t yet locked.
When To Use It: When shooting into a crowd or other busy backgrounds, zero in on your “target” to capture precise focus on your subject matter. Locking in focus with the green square indicator will also help you avoid blurry images. 
Panorama/Action Mode
Once activated, simply point the camera in the direction indicated on the screen until the green square is fully contained and the picture is snapped. Repeat the process up to eight times, moving the camera a frame over in each instance. The phone will stitch the photos together to form one panoramic image.
When To Use It: Panorama/Action Mode is ideal for taking wide, scenic shots that can’t be contained in a single camera frame.
White Balance
White balance refers to the predetermined shade of white a camera uses to adjust all of the other colors. Different types of light provide different “temperatures” of white and as a result, all of the colors in an image are changed accordingly.
When To Use It: Adjust the white balance setting based on the type of light you’re shooting in—daylight, cloudy, incandescent or fluorescent—for richer colors.
Auto Contrast
Auto Contrast will normalize all of the colors in a picture for even saturation levels between the brightest and darkest spots in a picture.
When To Use It: Turn on Auto Contrast when you’re shooting in bright, sunny locations that would otherwise create harsh extremes.
ISO Settings
The ISO measures the sensitivity of the camera’s image sensor. The higher the ISO number, the lower light conditions are required to properly expose the image. The tradeoff with higher ISO numbers, however, is a noisier shot with a grainier image quality.
When To Use It: Adjust to a higher ISO settling when shooting in darker light to get faster shutter speeds—such as capturing the action during an indoor sporting event—and you don’t mind some grain in the image.
Gridlines
Gridlines are invisible guides that appear on your camera’s screen to help you center and frame objects of interest in your shots.
When To Use It: Use gridlines to better compose shots, center your subject matter in the middle of the frame or create interesting spatial relationships with a photo’s composition. 
GPS Tagging
GPS Tagging embeds the coordinates of where the shot was taken in the metadata of the picture. Third party programs can make use of this location data to place your pictures on a map for others to see.
When To Use It: Use GPS Tagging when you want to share photos with friends and family and give a more interactive experience to your shots.
Anti-Shake
When enabled, your Galaxy S II camera will pre-process images with data stored in the sensors’ buffers to correct any motion blur.
When To Use It:Turn on Anti-Shake when you’re shooting on the go, such as from a car or other moving vehicle.
Outdoor Visibility
Outdoor Visibility adjusts the brightness of the screen dramatically to make it easier to see the screen in bright conditions.
When To Use It: Turn on Outdoor Visibility when you’re shooting or reviewing photos in bright, sunny conditions, such as at the beach or park. 
Exposure
Exposure refers to the total amount of light that hits the image sensor when taking a photo. Most people leave their Galaxy S II on Auto Exposure as the camera automatically adjusts to the available light levels to create great looking snapshots.
When To Use It: Adjust the Exposure settings when you want to better control the image quality and feel like experimenting with more artistic photos.
Resolution
With your Galaxy S II camera, you can specify the resolution, or dimensions, of the picture prior to snapping.
When To Use It: Preset the resolution of your pictures if you want to downsize your shots and save space on your camera. Or conversely, you can increase the resolution if you know you want to reproduce higher-quality images.
Metering
Metering refers to the amount of light coming off your subject matter and can help you determine the best exposure value for your shot.
When To Use It: Metering is helpful if your subject is lighted differently than the rest of the shot, such as if your subject matter is in bright light while the rest of the shot is in shadows.
Quick Tips
Here are a few additional shortcuts to help you maximize the performance of your Galaxy S II Camera.
- Digital Zoom: The volume button on your Galaxy S II also serves as the zoom control. Adjust the button to zoom in and out as much as 4x digital zoom.
- Customize Shortcuts: You can easily customize your settings by creating four shortcut zones. Just tap and hold to move icons around, just like rearranging icons on the home screen of your computer.
- Self-portrait Mode: Self-portrait mode activates the front-facing camera making it easy to take candid pictures of yourself without having to hold the camera awkwardly or guess where the shutter button is.
- Blink Detection: If the camera detects closed eyes in the frame, it won’t take the picture until they’re back open.
- Timer: Set a timer delay before taking a picture when you want to get in the shot and can place your Galaxy S II on a level surface to hold the camera steady.
Galaxy Premium Support
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Screen images simulated. Appearance of device may vary. Some features may not be available in all areas. Other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
The above content is provided for information purposes only. All information included herein is subject to change without notice. Samsung is not responsible for any direct or indirect damages, arising from or related to use or reliance of the above content.
