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Going Wide With Google Camera
Q. Can you shoot a panoramic photo with the Android camera app? The buttons at the bottom of the screen just seem to be for taking regular pictures.
A. The Google Camera app is more versatile than it appears at first glance, thanks to a menu tucked away from the main screen. To get to the Panorama mode in version 3.0 and later of Google Camera, tap the three-lined Menu button in the top-left corner of the screen and select Panorama; in the app’s older 2.5 and 2.7 versions, swipe the screen from left to right for a list of camera modes, including Panorama.
When you have switched to Panorama in the newer versions of Google Camera, tap the icon on the right side of the screen to select the type of panorama you want to capture: Horizontal, Vertical, Wide-Angle or Fisheye. In the older versions of the app, tap the three-dot Options menu in the bottom-right corner to see the icons.
Once you have chosen the style of your panorama, tap the screen’s shutter button. The app displays a series of dots overlaid on the image window. Move the device smoothly toward each dot, wait until the dot turns blue and then move on to the next one. This movement gives the Google Camera app the visual information it needs to stitch together the overall picture. When you are finished, tap the checkmark icon on the screen to save the image. It may take a minute or so for the app to process the final photo.
Your Android phone or tablet hardware needs a built-in gyroscope and at least one gigabyte of memory to capture panoramic photos. Some of the app’s more advanced features, like slow-motion video, are only available on newer Android gadgets like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. The Google Play store has plenty of other camera apps if you want a program with different photographic capabilities.
Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to techtip@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.
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