CyanogenMod brings HDR Video to HTC One and Xperia Z; Shutter speed coming soon!

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 25 Jun 2013

The CyanogenMod team have been on a roll lately. Apart from rolling out the stable version of CM10.1, the team has introduced some new features like a per-app Incognito mode, and a tile that allows you to quickly snap photos from the notification bar.

Recently, they also added Scene modes, HDR, ISO modes, and image/video stabilization for a few Sony devices on CM10.1. Today, they are bringing another useful feature to CyanogenMod – HDR Video. What’s HDR video, you ask? HDR photos combine the coolest pieces of an over-exposed and under-exposed image to give a stunning result. They are particularly useful when shooting scenes of very high contrast. Now, imagine the same effect on videos.

HDR-Pic

Example of an HDR Pic

Since HDR video requires some serious horsepower, it won’t be available to all the handset CyanogenMod supports. Initially, it will only be available to the Xperia Z and the HTC One with support for some other high-end devices coming sometime in the future.

Another useful feature that the CyanogenMod team will soon bring is the control over Shutter speed. Currently, no Android handset offers an option to control the shutter speed of the camera. Controlling the shutter speed of your Android device can allow you take much better photos, provided you know a bit about photography. They can be especially useful in low-light situations, where you can drop down the shutter speed to the lowest possible so that the sensor is able to take in more light.