Monday, November 21, 2011 at 5:57 PM | User Tip by Michael Ball iPhone Photography and Cable Releases
iOS 5 introduced many cool new features for photographers. Among those, is the ability to use the volume up button to take photos. Naturally, the volume up button on your headphones works to take photos! I seems obviously that it should after the fact, but it’s not something most of us are likely to try.
This means, every iPhone includes a free cable realease. This is HUGE for an iPhone because the current shutter buttons aren’t very good for keeping your phone steady. Interestingly, I’ve found that it’s often much easier to get burst shots when using my headphones compared to just the volume up key.
Bluetooth
Perhaps the coolest part is that this can be paired with bluetooth devices! I’m not sure if every headset with volume controls will work (as the buttons need to map correctly to the iPhone), but if a bluetooth headset can increase the iPhone’s volume it should work. What I have been able to confirm is that a bluetooth keyboard is perfectly capable of acting as a remote.
Using a wireless remote opens up even more possibilites, especially when considering that the remote will start and stop video capture.
Hope someone else will make use of this for their iPhone photos!
posted by Michael Ball @cycomachead
Joseph Linaschke
I just tested this with a third-party headset, and it works perfectly. Not only is it great for those steady shots, but it’s also perfect for photographing yourself — without having to have your extended arm in the photo. Fantastic!
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
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Reader Comments (3)
This is wicked cool, Michael — thanks for posting!!
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
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No problem! I was so excited when I figured it out by accident. I think I snapped 20 photos of the ground because it was so cool. :)
Apparently, a couple sites posted about this in June (but didn't test BT) but the articles never really made the rounds… which is surprising because I'm totally in love with the idea.
Has anyone found a bluetooth headset that will work as a cable release ?