Using the BlackBerry PlayBook's cameras

The BlackBerry PlayBook has two cameras on it, one on the front which is 3MP and one on the back that is 5MP. Each camera can be used to

take photos and videos

or can be used for video conferencing. To start up either of the cameras first swipe up from the lower part of the bezel to bring up the multi-tasking menu, then select Camera.

The application will open displaying what the rear-mounted camera sees. You'll notice a camera button that is used to take pictures. Tap the screen to get more options including zoom, a geotagging toggle button and a button for switching between cameras. This button will allow you to quickly switch between the two cameras. Keep in mind that while zooming in, the quality of the picture will degrade somewhat.

Above the zoom slider, you'll see an icon indicating what mode your camera is in. You can get more options by swiping down from the top bezel. Here, you'll see options for

changing the camera mode

, changing the aspect ratio or turning on image stabilization. There's also a button that you can tap to get into your picture library.

From the main screen, you can switch to video recording mode by tapping the button that looks like a video camera. You'll notice that the camera icon turns into a red record button that allows you to

start and stop recording video

. You can also switch between the two cameras, but not while you're actually shooting video. You can also get to the options by swiping down from the top bezel. These allow you to change the quality of the video and the camera mode. You'll also see a button that takes you to your video library.

If you ever want to access your photos or videos outside of the camera application, then you'll want to swipe up from the bottom part of the bezel and tap on either Photos or Videos.