Camera Interface in a Portable Handheld Electronic Device

TLDR: In this paper, a method is performed at a handheld electronic device having a built-in digital camera and a touch sensitive screen, where the user's fingers undergoing a pinching movement or a spreading movement remains in contact with the touch-sensitive screen.

Abstract: In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at a handheld electronic device having a built-in digital camera and a touch sensitive screen. The method includes detecting a multi-finger gesture on the touch sensitive screen, wherein the touch sensitive screen is serving as part of an electronic viewfinder of the camera; storing coordinates of a location corresponding to the detected multi-finger gesture; translating the stored coordinates to a selected area of an image that is captured by the camera and that is being displayed on the touch sensitive screen; contracting or expanding the selected area in response to the user's fingers undergoing a pinching movement or a spreading movement, respectively, while the detected multi-finger gesture remains in contact with the touch sensitive screen; and applying an automatic image capture parameter adjustment process that gives priority to the selected area.