Photography accessory for a portable electronic device

Abstract

There is disclosed a photography housing (10) for a portable electronic device (56) having an image sensor (58). The housing has first (12) and second (14) housing components defining at least a partial enclosure for receiving a portable electronic device, the first and second housing components being movably connected to one another, such that an internal dimension of the at least partial enclosure can be altered to releasably fit a dimension of the portable electronic device (56) inserted therein. The housing (10) comprises a user input device (22, 24, 26, 28) for controlling the operation of the image sensor (58) during use of the photography housing. The housing may provide a professional photography housing for a mobile telephone, e.g. providing ergonomic shutter control and photographic function selection via wireless communication with the mobile telephone.

Claims

1. A photography housing for receiving a mobile phone, the housing comprising: first and second housing components defining at least a partial enclosure for receiving a mobile phone, the first and second housing components being movably connected to one another, such that an internal dimension of the at least a partial enclosure is alterable to releasably fit a dimension of the mobile phone inserted therein, wherein the photography housing comprises a user input device for controlling the operation of an image sensor of a mobile phone received within the at least a partial enclosure during use of the photography housing, the first and second housing components being biased towards each other so as to resiliently hold the mobile phone there-between in use, and the at least a partial enclosure having an open side such that at least a portion of a mobile phone may protrude beyond the at least a partial enclosure in use through said open side.

2. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second housing components are slidably connected to one another and are adjustable so as to grip opposing lateral edges of the portable electronic device.

3. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the first housing component is receivable within the second housing component, or vice versa.

4. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second housing components comprise retaining formations in the form of opposingly facing channels on the first and second housing components for retaining a portable electronic device within the at least partial enclosure.

5. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and/or second housing components are shaped to define a grip portion for holding the housing, wherein the grip portion is formed on a surface of the housing that faces away from a user and/or the portable electronic device, said grip portion comprising a protuberance or portion of the housing having increased depth.

6. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises at least one manual actuator for activating photography functions of the portable electronic device, and/or for altering photography settings of the portable electronic device, in use.

7. A housing as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one manual actuator comprises a plurality of wheels and a shutter control actuator for operation of the image sensor, at least one wheel being turnable by a user to select photography settings.

8. A housing as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one manual actuator is configured to alter any or any combination of the following settings of a photography software application of a portable electronic device: white balance; zoom; light sensitivity of the image sensor; duration of image capture; photography mode selection; manual focus; bracketing; exposure compensation; time lapse/delay; high definition resolution (HDR); flash; low light; and/or facial recognition.

9. A housing as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one manual actuator is configured to alter a collection of image capture settings of the portable electronic device concurrently, so as to switch between photography modes.

10. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a mount for removably mounting ancillary camera components to the housing, such as a support arm, leg and/or at least one lens.

11. A photographic equipment system comprising a housing according to claim 1 and a mobile phone having an image sensor, a controller and a control signal receiver, wherein the housing comprises an output circuit arranged to output a control signal to said receiver for controlling operation of image capture by the image sensor; and wherein the mobile phone comprises machine readable instructions for operation of the controller to implement a plurality of image capture control parameters in response to the control signal output by the output circuit.

12. A photographic equipment system according to claim 11, wherein the manual actuator is selectively assignable to one or more of said plurality of image capture control parameters by an end user and the controller runs a software application to generate a user interface on a screen of the portable electronic device to allow mapping of one or more actuation mode of the manual actuator to one or more image capture control parameter.

13. A photographic equipment system according to claim 11, wherein the machine readable instructions provide user control for multiple photography controls, at least some of said controls being controllable via the manual actuator(s) of the housing and at least some other of said controls being controllable via a user interface of the portable electronic device.

14. An accessory for a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a microphone, an image sensor and a controller, wherein the accessory comprises a removable housing for the portable electronic device having a manual actuator and an acoustic signal emitter arranged to output an acoustic signal for interpretation by the controller via the microphone in response to user actuation of the manual actuator, the controller operating the portable electronic device in response to interpretation of the acoustic signal.

15. An accessory according to claim 14, wherein the acoustic signals are in the far audible, supersonic, ultrasonic and/or near ultrasonic/supersonic spectrum and/or the acoustic signals have a frequency of greater than 10, 15, 16 or 17 kHz.

16. An accessory according to claim 14, wherein each signal comprises a plurality of tones, the controller recognising the plurality of tones as an instruction for operation of the portable electronic device.

17. A housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the photography housing comprises a spring to provide the biasing force, and/or wherein the biasing mechanism is used with a latch holding the first and second housing components in a selected relative position.

Description

(1) Practicable embodiments of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic front perspective view of a removable housing according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic rear perspective view of the housing of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic rear perspective view of the housing of FIG. 1, with a rear housing portion of the case removed;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic front perspective view of the housing of FIG. 1 in use with a mobile phone; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic rear perspective view of the housing of FIG. 1 in use with a mobile phone.

(7) The present invention is intended to operate in conjunction with a conventional portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, pocket computer, personal digital assistant or the like, provided such device has an image capture sensor and the associated electronics allowing operation of the device as a portable camera. The details of such devices are well known to the skilled person and will not be described in detail herein for brevity. However such devices typically comprise a data store, one or more processors and a user interface. The user interface typically comprises a display screen and user input device, which may comprise a touch sensitive display screen and/or physical/mechanical keys or buttons. The device typically runs an operating system and allows user installation of software applications, or apps, for control of various aspects of the devices functionality. The device operating system/firmware typically comprises application programming interfaces (API's) allowing control of various hardware control parameters via apps. In this example, API's are provided to allow certain user-installed app control of the device's camera and flash.

(8) A photography accessory or device, generally designated 10, according to the present invention is shown schematically in FIGS. 1 to 3.

(9) The accessory 10 comprises first 12, second 14 and third 16 housing components. The first 12 and third 16 components in some embodiment may be combined or presented together as a singular construction/assembly.

(10) The first housing component 12 is generally rectangular in form when viewed from the direction of a major front or rear face thereof. A front of the accessory 10 is defined in the direction facing away from a user in use of the device as a camera, i.e. in a direction towards the scene to be photographed. The rear of the accessory thus typically faces the user when holding the accessory in the manner of a camera. Lateral, left and right, sides and upper and lower faces of the accessory 10 can be defined accordingly such that the accessory defines a three dimensional body.

(11) A front surface of the first housing component 12 is shaped to define a grip portion 18 which protrudes generally outwardly/forwardly from the first housing component 12. The grip portion 18 comprises a frontal surface, e.g. which may be generally planar, curved or contoured in form, and has curved lateral edges, such that the grip portion 18 can by grasped by a user's digits in use. The first housing component 12 thus defines a grip portion which is of greater depth than a remainder of the housing so as to sit comfortably in the hand of a user.

(12) A grip of this kind allows the accessory 10 to be held in one hand, whilst also allowing actuation of user controls using one or a plurality of digits.

(13) The first housing component 12 has a rearwardly facing ledge 20 towards the upper surface of the accessory 10.

(14) The user control input means comprise manual actuators, which in this example comprise first 22, second 24, and third 26 wheels, and a depressible button 28. The first and second wheels 22 and 24 are mounted on the top surface of the housing, towards the rear. The third wheel 26 is mounted towards the front surface in the upper vicinity of, or above, the grip 18. The third wheel is seated below the uppermost surface of the housing. In other examples, one or more of the wheels could be replaced by sliders.

(15) The first housing portion 12 further comprises a location formation 30, a strap receiving formation 32, a mount receiving formation in the form of recess 34, and an electronics housing 36. The electronic components of the device 10, e.g. comprising a controller, a transmitted/emitter, a power source and associated circuitry are mounted in the electronics housing cavity 36 within the interior of the grip portion 18.

(16) The rearwardly facing ledge 20 extends substantially orthogonally relative to the remainder of the first housing component 12, in an upper region of the first housing component 12. A portion of the rearwardly facing ledge 20 extends downwardly to form an enclosed corner 21. The first 22 and second 24 wheels are mounted in recesses formed in an upper surface of the rearwardly facing ledge 20, such that the first 22 and second 24 wheels are rotatable relative to the rearwardly facing ledge. Each of the first 22 and second 24 wheels are substantially cylindrical in form, and are mounted such that at least a portion of the curved face of the wheels 22, 24 extends rearwardly out of the recesses formed in the rearwardly facing ledge 20. The curved faces of the wheels 22, 24 are knurled/textured to form grip portions for a user.

(17) The third wheel 26 is substantially cylindrical in form, and the curved face of the third wheel 26 is knurled/textured. The third wheel 26 is partially embedded in the grip portion 18, such that a minor portion of the curved face of the third wheel 26 extends outwardly from the grip portion 26. The third wheel 26 is embedded such that the third wheel 26 is rotatable relative to the grip portion 18, and is also depressible relative to the grip portion 18. Either of the first and second wheels could also be depressible, e.g. in a downward direction, if desired to provide additional actuation modes.

(18) The depressible button 28 is located on an upper surface of the first housing component 12, and is circular in form. The depressible button 28 is partially embedded into the first housing component 12 such that the depressible button 28 is depressible relative to the first housing component 12.

(19) The first 22, second 24, and third 26 wheels, and the depressible button 28, provide inputs for control signals for communication with a portable electronic device to be held by the device in use.

(20) The location formation 30 takes the form of a projection, pin or stud, e.g. being substantially cylindrical in form, and projects outwardly from a rear surface of the first housing component 12, as shown in FIG. 3. The location formation 30 is shaped and dimensioned to be received in a corresponding location recess 41 in the second housing component.

(21) The strap receiving formation 32 is shown at the open end of the housing but could otherwise be provided at the opposing end of the device, e.g. at the closed/grip end of the housing and/or mobile phone enclosure. Locating the formation 32 at the open end advantageously means that the closed end is lowermost when the device 10 hangs from the strap under gravity. The strap receiving formation 32 may comprise a recess or projection through which a conventional lanyard cord can pass. In this example the formation 32 is within the housing body but could otherwise project outwardly from a side wall of the housing if desired. The strap receiving formation 32 has a through hole such that a strap may be looped about the strap receiving formation 32.

(22) The mount receiving recess 34 is shaped and dimensioned to receive a hot shoe mount, and may be used to couple ancillary photographic components, such as one or more lenses or a light sourcei.e. a flashto the accessory 10 in use. Although not shown in FIGS. 1-3, the mount 34 may comprise an electrical connector such that an ancillary device could be powered or controlled by the accessory.

(23) The electronics housing 36 comprises an openable enclosure which is hollow, such that appropriate electronics components, for example including a wireless signal transmitter/emitter and/or receivers, can be received within the electronics housing 36.

(24) The second housing component 14 has a planar wall 40, a rearwardly facing ledge 42, and a side wall 44. The second housing component 14 is shaped and dimensioned to be partially received within the first 12 and third 16 housing components. The planar wall 40 comprises a location recess 41, as shown in FIG. 3. The location recess 41 is elongate in form and has curved ends, being in the form of a slot or elongate window. The width of the location recess 41 corresponds substantially to the diameter of the location formation 30, whilst the length of the location recess 41 is greater than the diameter of the location formation 30. Thus location formation 30 may move along the location recess 41, such that the first 12 and second 14 housing components are slidable relative to one another.

(25) A spring, elastic cord or member, or other resilient member may be provided between the first 12 and second 14 housing members so as to bias those members towards each other. Such a biasing member is typically provided within the interior of the housing. Opposing ends of the resilient member are typically connected to the opposing housing portions 12 and 14.

(26) The rearwardly facing ledge 42 extends orthogonally from a lower region of the planar wall 40, and extends by a distance such that the rearmost edge of the rearwardly facing ledge 20 of the first housing component 12 and the rearmost edge of the rearwardly facing ledge 42 of the second housing component are substantially aligned when the device 10 is assembled. The rearwardly facing ledge 42 has an upstanding retaining formation 46. The upstanding retaining formation 46 is substantially elongate in form, such that the upstanding retaining formation 46 and the planar wall 40 define a channel for receiving a portable electronic device. The upstanding formation may be defined in terms of a lip or low wall section.

(27) The side wall 44 extends orthogonally to both the planar wall 40 and the rearwardly facing ledge 42, such that the combination of the planar wall 40, rearwardly facing ledge 42, and side wall 44 defines a corner portion of the second housing component 14.

(28) The third housing component 16 is an insert which is shaped and dimensioned to fit onto a rear surface of the first housing component 12 and partially overlying the second 14 housing component. The third housing component 16 comprises a planar wall 48, a rearwardly facing ledge 50 and a side wall 52. The planar wall 52 has a recess which is shaped and dimensioned to receive the electronics housing 36, such that the rear wall of electronics housing 36 sits substantially flush with the planar wall 48. The planar wall 48 sits on top of the location formation 30 when the accessory 10 is assembled.

(29) The rearwardly facing ledge 50 extends orthogonally to an upper region of the planar wall 48, and is shaped and dimensioned to fit underneath the rearwardly facing ledge 20 of the first housing component 12. The rearwardly facing ledge 50 has an upstanding retaining formation 54. The upstanding retaining formation 54 is substantially elongate in form, such that the upstanding retaining formation 54 and the planar wall 48 define a channel for receiving a portable electronic device.

(30) The side wall 52 extends orthogonally to the planar wall 48 and the rearwardly facing ledge 50 of the third housing component 16, and orthogonally to the rearwardly facing ledge 42 of the second housing component 14.

(31) Thus the combination of the following components defines a partial enclosure for receiving a portable electronic device in use: the planar wall 48, rearwardly facing ledge 50, upstanding retaining formation 54 and side wall 52, of the third housing component 16; and the planar wall 40, rearwardly facing ledge 42 and upstanding retaining formation 46, of the second housing component 46.

(32) The end of the partial enclosure which is opposite to the side wall 52 of the third housing component 16 is open, such that a portable electronic device can be slid into the partial enclosure in use. The channel defined by the planar wall 48 and the upstanding retaining formation 54 of the third housing component 16 opposes the channel defined by the planar wall 40 and the upstanding retaining formation 46 of the second housing component 14, such that the sides of a portable electronic device are held by the channels.

(33) The device 10 is shown in use with a portable electronic device 56 in FIGS. 4 and 5. The dimensions of the partial enclosure are such that a portion of the portable electronic device 56 extends outwardly from the partial enclosure, and hence the device 10, in use. In particular, the portion of the portable electronic device 56 which comprises a camera lens/module 58, and optionally flash/light 60, extends outwardly from the partial enclosure. The first 12 and second 14 housing components can be moved relative to one another to increase and/or decrease the size of the partial enclosure, via movement of the location formation 30 within the location recess 41.

(34) The first 12 and second 14 housing portions can thus be closed manually or under resilient bias (e.g. automatically) so as to be a close fit with a device 56 inserted therein. The rear surface of the device/housing and/or any other wall or surface of the partial enclosure for the device may comprise a textured surface or friction enhancing material.

(35) The closable nature of the housing is particularly important in allowing different phone models to be accommodated and securely held in the accessory 10. This also permits mobile phones to be accommodated in the accessory 10 without the need to remove a conventional protective case from the phone.

(36) The accessory 10 can be designed to be universal in nature by selecting its length to be sufficiently shorter than most widely available mobile phones such that the camera lens, typically provided towards an end of the mobile phone is exposed even when the phone is fully inserted into the accessory 10. In other examples, the wall 52 could be adjustable to modify the length of the enclosure to suit a particular phone form if required.

(37) In FIG. 5, optional openings 62 are provided in the side wall 44, e.g. in the side and rear thereof, in order to avoid blocking/muffling of the phone's own speaker and or microphone openings. Thus one or more opening 62 may be provided in the rear wall to allow passage of air to the relevant phone openings. A series of openings could be provided to accommodate a range of different phone models.

(38) In the examples of the accessory 10 described below, the accessory comprises an acoustic emitter arranged to emit acoustic signals at varying frequencies in the upper audible or near super/ultrasonic range. This has been found to provide a well-suited, simple and responsive control signal scheme without the need to implement functions by transmitting data via radio signals. This process may avoid the need to pair devices as required by conventional radio communication technologies, such as Bluetooth, which can be time consuming and thus problematic for a photographer.

(39) However radio signal transmission could additionally or alternatively be provided in other examples of the invention if desired. A short range, UHF radio signal standard such as Bluetooth or the like could be used to implement data communication between the accessory 10 and device 56 where required, e.g. for assigning functionality to individual actuators or communicating status or other information to the user. Accordingly data signals may be used for communicating certain information between the device 56 and accessory 10, particularly for bi-directional communication, whereas acoustic signals may be used for simple photographic control instructions.

(40) It is noted that the wheels 22, 24 and 26 offer bi-directional control, thereby offering at least two modes of control input. The button offers at least two levels of depression thereby offering at least two modes of input. Accordingly the four manual actuators in combination can offer eight or more modes of input.

(41) Each mode of input is assigned one or more acoustic signal frequency, such that when the relevant input mode is actuated by the user the emitter outputs one or more acoustic signal at the corresponding acoustic frequency. The frequencies for the different inputs are assigned with spacings there-between such that each frequency is readily discernible by a conventional microphone within the mobile phone 56. The frequency range available to each actuator or actuation mode may be banded as desired.

(42) In some examples it may be desirous to assign two or more frequencies to each actuation mode, such that a signal emission comprises two or more frequencies (tones) in succession. The camera application on the mobile phone will thus recognise the instruction only if both signal components are received in suitably close succession. This may help avoid any likelihood for an ambient sound (rather than an emitted signal) accidently triggering the device.

(43) In this example, a lowest frequency of between 16 and 19 kHz is selected and a highest frequency of between 19 and 21 kHz is selected and the individual selected mode frequencies can be substantially evenly spaced over the selected range. Unused frequency ranges of values may be reserved for additional functionality or ancillary devices. In other examples the range could be anywhere between 10 kHz and 30 kHz.

(44) The used frequencies may be spaced in steps of up to, or equal to, 50 Hz, 100 Hz, 150 Hz, 200 Hz, 250 Hz or 300 Hz. An intermediate value within such a range could be selected according to the resolution of repeatable recognition that can be achieved using the portable device microphone.

(45) A bespoke software application is installed on the device 56 in examples of the invention in order to:

(46) (i) allow interpretation and implementation of photography control instructions received via the microphone

(47) (ii) provide an on screen user interface to allow user control of additional camera functionality or settings or image processing

(48) (iii) allow assigning of bespoke functions to each individual manual actuator or actuation mode of the accessory

(49) The mapping of functions to each actuator allows customisation of the accessory to an individual user's preferences. Camera functions, settings or parameters may be assigned. In some examples, individual camera mode options may be customised and individually assigned to an actuator/wheel. The use of an user interface on the screen of the device 56 allows further options for the split of functions provided between the accessory 10 and the device screen (e.g. those used most frequently, or for which quick access is required being assigned to the accessory actuators). It is often that on-screen touch controls are problematic for photography since it requires a user to obscure a portion of the image displayed on screen whilst selecting a function. It is also an unnatural, un-ergonomic position to grip a mobile phone by its peripheral edge whilst trying to select a function or take a photograph. This can lead to a mobile phone being dropped and typically requires a two-handed operation. In contrast the present invention permits additional (e.g. professional) photography functionality in a more ergonomic and quickly-accessible manner.

(50) In an example of use, a user inserts the mobile phone 56 into the accessory 10 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This may be done by sliding the phone longitudinally into the accessory or else by positioning the phone in the housing recess and closing the housing portions to engage the phone edges.

(51) The photography software application running on the phone 56 listens for appropriate tones sensed at the microphone and by determining the tone/frequency of the acoustic signal determines which manual actuator has been activated and in what manner by the user.

(52) The software application makes a corresponding adjustment to the photographic settings for taking pictures or otherwise recording images. In the event that the user adjusts a photographic mode using one wheel, the software application may adjust a number of related parameters or settings in order to implement the selected camera mode. The software application may implement changes to ISO priority, speed priority, manual adjust ISO and speed, snow mode, night mode, sports mode, landscape mode or the like.

(53) Manual actuation of a further wheel may provide exposure compensation or dark/light image capture adjustment. For example the wheel may be turned anticlockwise to darken a picture and clockwise to lighten it or vice versa.

(54) The display screen 64 on the mobile phone 56 may display the scene currently captured by the image sensor such that any adjustments to settings can be seen on the screen, thereby allowing a user to assess the current image and adjust accordingly.

(55) A further wheel may be used for zoom or focus adjustment. Manual focus and/or exposure control are two particular functions that have been awkward to implement using existing touch-screen controls on mobile phones.

(56) Once the image on screen is acceptable to the user, the shutter button 28 may be partially depressed to lock the current focus setting and/or exposure setting. Continuing to full depression of the shutter button captures the image. Once captured, the image will be displayed to the user on the phone screen, thereby allowing further editing of the image after capture, if required. In the mode when the phone is displaying an already captured image, the manual actuators may have image editing functions, which may be pre-set, e.g. akin to the corresponding functions prior to image capture, or else may be customisable by the user. In other examples, the image may be simply stored for later review/editing in order to allow further images to be captured.

(57) The tables below show the various different functions that can be enabled in different modes of camera operation such as: ISO priority Image exposure speed/duration (i.e. so-called shutter speed) Manual ability to control both of the functions above Sports mode (maximising speed in the given conditions) Portrait mode (slightly faster speed than normal) Snow mode (under expose the subject by a stop) Landscape mode (increase shutter speed and increase iso to try to eliminate camera shake) Night mode (increase exposure so its 3 stops over exposed so the stars become visible).

(58) TABLE-US-00001 move able half focus and depress White Screen manual low light exposure exposure lock button balance pintch focus indicator bracketing compensation Shutter priority Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y ISO priority Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Manuale Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Sports Y Y AUTO Y N Y N Y Landscape Y Y AUTO Y N Y N Y Portrait Y Y AUTO Y N Y N Y Snow Y Y AUTO Y N Y N Y Video Y AUTO AUTO Y N Y N Y Selfie Y Y AUTO Y N Y N N AUTO Y Y AUTO Y N Y N N

(59) TABLE-US-00002 flash Facial timer time lapse HDR reset on/off, etc low light Location recognition Shutter priority Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N ISO priority Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Manuale Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Sports Y Y N Y AUTO Y Y N Landscape Y Y N Y AUTO Y Y N Portrait Y Y N Y AUTO Y Y Y Snow Y Y N Y AUTO Y Y N Video N N N Y CONTINUOUS Y Y N Selfie Y N N Y AUTO Y Y Y AUTO Y Y N Y AUTO Y Y Y

(60) The initial functionality of the wheels 22, 24 and 26 and button 28 described above may be set as follows: Shutter buttonFocus lock, exposure lock, picture take wheel 1exposure-dark-to-light compensation wheel 2Pre-set mode selector (auto sport, scene, manual, macro etc.) wheel 3/ringzoom wheel 3 pressselfie mode or switch to reverse camera on phone

(61) In different embodiments any of the wheel functions may be adjustable by the user. It is envisaged that wheel 1 and/or 2 (i.e. wheels 22 and 24 in FIG. 1) in particular may be adaptable to allow user-defined pre-sets or user selection of specific photographic options that the user frequently uses.

(62) In addition to the mobile devices own camera functionality, which may be accessible to the user via the photography software application described herein, any, any combination, or all of the following functions may be enabled using the invention: Half depress shutter button for focus Half depress shutter button for exposure lock Full depress picture taken. White balance auto tungsten sunny cloudy etc settings use choose and wheel Exposure compensation to outer wheel (F stops marks) Flash on (full power) off and auto seen to adjust. Focus point, spot, centre weighted, average, with moveable point adjusted by screen taping. Light too low symbol comes up at shutter speeds below 60th? Ability to set one of the exterior buttons to any adjustable feature e.g. WB etc. via BT to our hardware Exposure and focus lock buttons to screen. Filters and film types variousbased on smartphone's filters/off the shelf filters Save as jpeg hi and lo and Tiff Grid on off and various shapes rule of thirds etc Battery level Location on off on wheel ability to switch to picture library. Focus bar for manual focusing. Zoom pinch method plus exterior wheel. Shutter priority, iso priority, manual, auto function. Histogram to screen on and off. Bracketing+/1 stop or stop In app purchases for upgrades/additional functionality

(63) Any adjustment to any of the functions, modes and/or settings disclosed above may cause a corresponding display on the display screen 64, e.g. by way of text, icon or image adjustment.

(64) A software application may be downloaded to the portable device 56 to allow interface between the accessory 10 and the hardware/API's of the device. The app may provide for a bespoke photography user interface on the display screen 64, e.g. providing on-screen buttons for adjustment of certain image capture functions and/or image/video editing functions.

(65) Once images have been captured, one or more wheel may operate in an image review/editing mode, whereby different functionality is provided to the functions used during image capture. One wheel may for example be assigned to a scrolling function to allow the user to readily scan through captured images.

(66) In a further development of the invention it is proposed to access the portable device's GPS or other location sensing system. This may be used to record the location of an image or video. Additionally or alternatively, the location may be used to modify image capture or modification settings. For example settings may be altered according to a country, region or other geographic indication. This may be used to automatically take account of visual preferences in certain countries or regions. In some western countries it is generally preferred to add a warming effect to portraits, whereas in other countries there is a general preference to brightening of subjects. This and other general trends of preference can be programmed into the software application, such that it can provide a universal photography system for different regions of the world.