Dedicated Shutter

The Evo 3D comes equipped with a dedicated physical camera shutter button located near the bottom of the right edge when phone is held in portrait mode. This corresponds to the top-right when the phone is held in the landscape orientation, the traditional positioning of the shutter button on dedicated cameras. The operation of the shutter is also similar to those on traditional cameras: half press to obtain a focus lock; complete press to take the picture. This allows the Evo 3D to minimize shutter lag by having focus lock already achieved. The user also has more compositional freedom by allowing him/her to reframe the subject while maintaining the focus lock by keeping the shutter button half-depressed.

The shutter button can also be used to activate the camera, eliminating the need to find and select the camera app via the touchscreen interface. Existing video footage showing the shutter button activating the camera depicts the user holding down the button for a few seconds before the camera app shows on the display. It is still unclear if it's possible to activate the camera with the shutter button when the phone is in standby mode.