Digital viewfinder user interface for multiple cameras
Inventors
Bernstein, Jeffrey Traer • GIRLING, Lukas Robert Tom • Dong, Linda L. • Penha, Henrique • Lopez, Paulo Michaelo • Manzari, Johnnie B.
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12739511-B2
Publication Date
2026-09-15
Expiration Date
Abstract
An electronic device has multiple cameras and displays a digital viewfinder user interface for previewing visual information provided by the cameras. The multiple cameras may have different properties such as focal lengths. When a single digital viewfinder is provided, the user interface allows zooming over a zoom range that includes the respective zoom ranges of both cameras. The zoom setting to determine which camera provides visual information to the viewfinder and which camera is used to capture visual information. The user interface also allows the simultaneous display of content provided by different cameras at the same time. When two digital viewfinders are provided, the user interface allows zooming, freezing, and panning of one digital viewfinder independently of the other. The device allows storing of a composite images and/or videos using both digital viewfinders and corresponding cameras.
Core Innovation
The described invention relates to an electronic device that includes one or more processors, one or more cameras, one or more input devices, and memory storing one or more programs executed by the processors. While configured to capture content from the one or more cameras at a first magnification level, the device detects a user input that corresponds to a request to change a magnification level.
In response to detecting a first portion of the user input, the device is configured to capture content at a second magnification level different from the first. While configured to capture content at the second magnification level, the device detects a second portion of the user input that includes movement with a respective magnitude, and determines whether the respective magnitude of the movement exceeds a threshold magnitude.
In accordance with a determination that the movement magnitude exceeds the threshold magnitude, the device is configured to capture content at a third magnification level different from the second; in accordance with a determination that the movement magnitude does not exceed the threshold magnitude, the device continues to be configured to capture content at the second magnification level. The described functionality further includes a digital viewfinder user interface on a display, including zoom slider/indicators and source-camera indicators, and it supports detent behavior around a threshold zoom value.
Visual artifact/parallax mitigation during camera switching is provided using transition effects and parallax adjustment around a point of interest. The device also supports dual simultaneous digital viewfinders with independent zoom/pan/freeze and concurrent storage of composite media from two cameras, as well as concurrent recording/storing options for video with different frame rate, resolution, and digital filters from each camera.
Claims Coverage
The provided claim set includes one independent claim and dependent claim refinements. The inventive features cover threshold-based conditional switching of magnification levels in response to user input movement magnitude, live preview and zoom-level indicator behaviors, and switching between different cameras.
Conditional magnification-level switching based on movement magnitude exceeding a threshold magnitude
An electronic device configured to capture content at a first magnification level, detect user input requesting a change, capture at a second magnification level, detect a second portion of the user input including movement with a respective magnitude, and in response determine whether the movement magnitude exceeds a threshold magnitude to conditionally switch to a third magnification level or continue capturing at the second magnification level.
Live preview in a camera viewfinder user interface
An electronic device with a display executing one or more programs that display a live preview of camera-viewfinder content on the display.
Zoom-level indicator relative to a threshold and repositioning upon input
An electronic device executing one or more programs that, while capturing content, displays a zoom-level indicator relative to a threshold zoom setting indicator, and upon detecting a first portion of the user input re-displays the indicator at a different position relative to the threshold indicator.
Zoom-level indicator position changes depending on whether movement magnitude exceeds a threshold
An electronic device executing one or more programs that, upon detecting a second portion of the user input, determine whether movement magnitude exceeds a threshold and display a graphical indicator of the current zoom level at different positions relative to a threshold zoom setting indicator depending on whether the threshold is exceeded.
Switching between different cameras at different magnification levels
An electronic device capturing content from a first camera at a first magnification level and switching to a different second camera when capturing content at a third magnification level.
The main inventive aspects are conditional switching of magnification levels based on whether detected user input movement magnitude exceeds a threshold, display behaviors for live preview and zoom/threshold indicators including detent-like behavior, and switching between different cameras at different magnification levels.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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