Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
For those who don't know, the camera shutter button on an iOS device is on-screen. That means a tap to take a picture, which also means camera shake if you are not very careful - or if you use a gentle touch, a lot of uncertainty in when the shutter will actually be triggered. The physical volume buttons can also be used to trigger the shutter, but they are not conveniently placed and also result in shake in the form of twist.
(BTW: why do people insist on using their iPhones/iPads in the vertical/portrait orientation, even when taking video? Don't they realise how stupid it looks when the resulting video is viewed on something other than a vertically-orientated phone/tablet? Also, some display methods won't rotate the output to match the orientation flag in the resulting file, so the only correct orientation for taking photos/videos on an iPhone/iPad is in landscape mode with the Home button on the right. I've even seen somebody looking at a correctly orientated - ie landscape - video on an iPhone... holding it in portrait!!!)
I decided to try adding a shutter release button to my iPad cover, positioned to make it a convenient and positive action. After all, the volume buttons on a set of earbuds work as a shutter release, right? I acquired the four-pole 3.5mm jack that connects to the earphone port, and had a play with shorting out contacts through various resistances - but nothing worked.
So I did some reading up on the matter, and discovered that Apple, in their infinite wisdom, have disabled all but straightforward audio out on the jack unless the connected device responds to a coded handshake. The Apple earbuds have a chip in them that detects a chirp tone burst from the iPhone/iPad and responds appropriately, enabling the volume control protocol and the use of the earbud volume buttons for the camera shutter control.
The alternative is a Bluetooth-connected shutter release. I gave up.
(Incidentally, for taking video, one touch on the trigger button starts recording, and the next touch stops it. How many of you have had the function out of sync, so that you are recording video when you don't want and not recording when you do? I've done it more than once, videoing my shoes instead of whatever was going on.)
Every now and again I see "selfie sticks" on sale, "no battery required". These have a wire that plugs into the headphone socket, with four poles. Read the fine print and it usually says "Android only". I went into Dunelm this morning, and there was yet another one, for £7. This one says "iPhone and Android compatible*" "* Compatible with Android 4.0 or above / Apple IOS 5.0 or above". Given what I know, I'm sceptical, but I've bought one. If it works, great - if it doesn't I can take it back.
(BTW: why do people insist on using their iPhones/iPads in the vertical/portrait orientation, even when taking video? Don't they realise how stupid it looks when the resulting video is viewed on something other than a vertically-orientated phone/tablet? Also, some display methods won't rotate the output to match the orientation flag in the resulting file, so the only correct orientation for taking photos/videos on an iPhone/iPad is in landscape mode with the Home button on the right. I've even seen somebody looking at a correctly orientated - ie landscape - video on an iPhone... holding it in portrait!!!)
I decided to try adding a shutter release button to my iPad cover, positioned to make it a convenient and positive action. After all, the volume buttons on a set of earbuds work as a shutter release, right? I acquired the four-pole 3.5mm jack that connects to the earphone port, and had a play with shorting out contacts through various resistances - but nothing worked.
So I did some reading up on the matter, and discovered that Apple, in their infinite wisdom, have disabled all but straightforward audio out on the jack unless the connected device responds to a coded handshake. The Apple earbuds have a chip in them that detects a chirp tone burst from the iPhone/iPad and responds appropriately, enabling the volume control protocol and the use of the earbud volume buttons for the camera shutter control.
The alternative is a Bluetooth-connected shutter release. I gave up.
(Incidentally, for taking video, one touch on the trigger button starts recording, and the next touch stops it. How many of you have had the function out of sync, so that you are recording video when you don't want and not recording when you do? I've done it more than once, videoing my shoes instead of whatever was going on.)
Every now and again I see "selfie sticks" on sale, "no battery required". These have a wire that plugs into the headphone socket, with four poles. Read the fine print and it usually says "Android only". I went into Dunelm this morning, and there was yet another one, for £7. This one says "iPhone and Android compatible*" "* Compatible with Android 4.0 or above / Apple IOS 5.0 or above". Given what I know, I'm sceptical, but I've bought one. If it works, great - if it doesn't I can take it back.
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