Review: Windows Phone 7 Pictures Hub

Windows Phone 7 makes information technology easier to capture and share photographs taken with your Windows Phone. While the hardware on the various Windows Phones may vary, the software driving the camera and managing your pictures will be the same from ane Windows Phone to another.

I like the consistency Windows Phone 7 and the Pictures hub presents. You tin can go from the Samsung Focus to the HTC Environment without having to learn proprietary software. The Pictures Hub lays everything out in a straightforward manner and gives y'all the ability to share images with ease.

While nosotros've already taken a look at Windows Phone 7, now nosotros turn our sights on the Pictures Hub of the Os. Follow the break to see how in focus the hub is.

Camera

While the Pictures Hub manages your photographs and videos, the camera captures the images. While the camera hardware may vary from one Windows Phone to another, the software and operation are fairly consistent.

To launch the camera, you have ii options; press and hold the photographic camera push button or venture into the App Listing to plow on the camera (y'all tin can have a Start Screen Tile also).

The photographic camera button is your shutter button. Press it half fashion and the camera focuses, press information technology down fully and you accept the shot. Very straight forward.

On the upper right corner y'all have the toggle switch to go from all the same images to video. Just below the notwithstanding/video switch you volition find your zoom controls and to the bottom right, your settings button.

Camera Settings on Windows Phone 7

The camera settings (for video and yet images) bachelor will vary slightly with each Windows Phone due to the differences in camera hardware. Your photographic camera settings may include:

Scenes: This will predetermined settings to cover situations that include landscapes, portraits, macro, sports, candlelight, and a few others.
Effects: Your special furnishings settings that include negative, grayscale, sepia, and solarize.
Resolution: This may vary slightly depending on the specific photographic camera hardware.
Metering Mode: Adjusts how the photographic camera meters the available light.
Auto Focus Mode: Switches between macro and normal focus distances.
Audio Recording Options (when your in video fashion): This selection allows y'all use dissonance filtering or stereo audio settings. These options may be dependent on which Windows Phone you lot are using.

Don't panic if your Windows Phone doesn't have the settings listed. For example, the Samsung Focus has an Anti-Shake setting where the HTC Surround does not. In addition to the settings, you will likewise see three icons to control the wink (always on, e'er off, and automated) on the correct side of the settings card.

Additionally, nether the Windows Phone vii Settings Menu (institute in your App List) you'll find these additional settings on how your photographic camera handles images:

Allow camera button to wake up phone
Include location (GPS) info in pictures you have
Auto upload to SkyDrive. Go on location info on uploaded pictures
Quick upload account (SkyDrive or Facebook)

These settings will be consistent from one Windows Telephone 7 device to another.

Taking the Photo

Taking the photo with Windows Telephone vii isn't much different than taking a photo with Windows Mobile. Your screen is your viewfinder where you frame your shot. Press the shutter push half-manner to focus and all the way to capture the photograph (with video a total press starts the recording).

When yous take a picture, the paradigm slides across the screen to the left. If you desire to review the shot, you can pull it dorsum past swiping the screen to the right. Each swipe pulls up the next previous photos. When your ready to go back to the photographic camera, simply press the shutter button half style.

Pictures Hub

The Pictures Hub is your management source for photos on your Windows Phone. You access the hub either through a Kickoff Screen Tile or the App List. The main pages of the hub consists of a Directory Page, a display of your recent images and a "What's New" folio that is populated with recent images from your Facebook page.

Photo Galleries

From your Directory page of the Pictures Hub, you will come across three listings; all, date, and favorites. Tap any one of these iii yous will go to a secondary hub that will display your photos by source, by engagement or those you've tagged as favorite.

Pictures Hub All Page

The "All" page sorts your photos by source. They include, but aren't limited to:

Photographic camera Curl: These are videos and photos captured directly from your Windows Telephone Camera
Saved: These are photos you have saved to your Windows Telephone from other sources
Galleries on Windows Live: This will include any photograph gallery you have created through and stored on your Windows Live photo album
Galleries on your Facebook Account: This volition include Wall Photos, Contour Pictures, Mobile Uploads and other photos you accept stored on Facebook.

There is an additional category on your "All" page titled "7". These are preloaded, sample images.

The "Date" page sorts images taken or saved to your phone past date information technology was save to or captured by the Windows Telephone.

Y'all tin can tag individual photos that are stored on the phone as "favorites". This collection will be highlighted on the "Favorites" page of the Pictures secondary hub.

Photograph Options

Tap on one of the thumbnail views of your photos and information technology volition be pulled upwards to full screen view. At the bottom of the screen you will run across the "..." symbol which will pull upward your photo options.

Windows Phone 7 Picture Options

The merely option available for images stored off your Windows Phone (Windows Live, Facebook, etc.) is to relieve the prototype to your phone. Once the image is on your phone, your options abound tremendously. Yous will accept the options to:

Add to Favorites: This volition include that detail paradigm to your Favorites Page
Delete: Self-explanatory
Upload to Skydrive
Share: Here is where you tin can ship your image to friends via electronic mail or SMS every bit well equally uploading the epitome to Facebook
Employ as Wallpaper: This will place your photo as your lock screen wallpaper. If the image is also large, a framing tool will appear to assist in cropping the epitome
Extras: If y'all have any photo editing or effects apps loaded on your Windows Telephone (Flickr Manager, HTC Photo Enhancer, etc.), this will pull up a list and will transport the photograph to whichever app you choose.

Options for videos is limited to "delete".

Conclusion

Microsoft put a skillful corporeality of idea into the Pictures Hub and Photographic camera Software. The camera can exist as elementary as you desire information technology or you can tweak the settings to your liking. The Pictures Hub is solely a direction application for your photos and videos.

I would accept liked to have seen a few native enhancement or editing features to the Pictures Hub. Microsoft solves this by making it piece of cake for you lot to send your image to any 3rd party editing app you have on your Windows Phone (through the Extras option).

I'm not much of a videographer but would have liked to have seen more options for video. Maybe a basic editing application or effects? You tin e'er pull your videos off your phone and edit them on the computer (e.g. Windows Live Moving-picture show Maker from Live Essentials) just having something on the phone could come in handy.

All in all, the Pictures Hub on Windows Phone vii stays truthful to the crusade. Information technology provides a consistent, straight forward approach to taking videos and photographs likewise as managing them. Windows Phone users tin at present go from one Windows Telephone to another and won't accept to worry most learning new photo management software or camera controls.

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