You just tried the new Snapchat Dual Camera feature – here’s how it works

The Snapchat Dual Camera feature has arrived to remind BeReal, the camera-based social media app that has it all. The dual camera allows Snapchat users to take photos and videos using their smartphone’s selfie camera and rear camera at the same time, showing two perspectives in one shot.

The dual camera was first announced in April, but as an exclusive tool for Snapchat’s Director Mode designed for content creators. Since then, Snapchat has changed course to offer this camera experience to all users, with availability starting August 29 for iOS devices. For Android users, availability will follow in the coming months.

I have to try the dual camera before the official launch. As someone who hasn’t ridden the BeReal train yet, the dual camera on Snapchat satisfies my curiosity about showing spontaneous or private moments through two camera perspectives at once.

(Image credit: Snapchat)

There are four ways to use the dual camera: portrait, landscape, picture in picture, and clip. Portrait and landscape create equally sized views through both cameras, either stacked or side by side, respectively. Picture-in-picture is similar to the BeReal experiment with one of the perspectives displayed in a small, circular window. Finally, Cutout provides the green screen effect that you’ll find in some Snapchat lenses to outline your selfie on what the back camera is capturing.

I played with the dual camera the night I went out to a basketball game. Before the game, in a sports bar near the stadium, I opened Snapchat and found the dual camera icon in the top-right menu (it looks like one of the cameras is stacked on another.) I used the Horizontal Dual Camera feature to take a “cheer” photo – for a win for our favorite WNBA team. Then, during the game, I used Picture in Picture to show the enjoyment of the action from my view of the court.

snapchat dual camera

(Image credit: Future)

The dual camera works with video, too. When I tried to record my direct reaction to the big moments in the game, showing my face and pitch, I ended up with a hazy mess of jumping out of my seat. I think a better app can tell a story (mostly sitting) to a friend while filming his reaction.

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