This Galaxy S20 camera guide explains when to use Galaxy S20 burst mode, how to enable Galaxy S20 burst mode, how to take burst photos on Galaxy S20, and how to manage photos taken in the b burst mode.
Galaxy S10 with Android 10 update also use the same gesture to take photos in the burst mode. So, this guide applies to both Galaxy S20 (all three models) and Galaxy S10 with Android 10 update.
Galaxy S20 burst mode can take up to 100 photos successively to help you capture the important moments.
Normally, you can later select a few of the burst shot photos that capture the moment you want to.
You may use the burst mode during an event when the object is moving, or the background is changing, or the scene is brief.
Some Galaxy S20 owners may use the burst shot photos to make animations or even videos, which usually look better than the recorded video for the same event.
Please note, all photos taken in the Galaxy S20 burst mode are always saved in the phone storage even you set the photo storage location to the SD card in Galaxy S20 camera settings.
Galaxy S20 burst mode ios NOT listed with other Galaxy S20 camera modes because it requires a special gesture.
In old Galaxy phones, you can hold the shutter button to take burst shot photos.
But this is not the case for Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra.
If you hold the shutter button on Galaxy S20 camera app, it will start to record a short video. The complete list of gestures on Galaxy S20 camera app is explained here.
On Galaxy S20, you have to swipe down from the shutter button to enter Galaxy S20 burst mode. Galaxy S20 will stop taking burst shot photos once you release your finger from the screen.
The gesture feels like swipe down the shutter button, then hold, as shown below.
Please note, if you are using navigation buttons, and swipe down too much to the Home button, you may end up returning to the Galaxy S20 home screen or launching Google Assistant.
So, you just need to swipe down a bit, then hold.
Galaxy S20 burst mode can take up to 100 photos in one shot. Of course, you can release your finger from the screen anytime to stop burst mode and take fewer than 100 photos.
When the burst shot photos are being taken, a counter indicating the total number of photos in this shot will be displayed above the shutter button, as shown below.
At the same time, the shutter button hollows out.
Please note, the burst shot mode is linked to the shutter button only. You cannot swipe the floating shutter button to take burst shot photos.
By default, the swiping down from the shutter button in Galaxy S20 camera app is assigned to Galaxy S20 burst mode.
But it can also be re-assigned to create a GIF animation. This essentially disables the burst shot photo because some Galaxy S20 owners may trigger this mode inadvertently.
Normally, it is NOT recommended to assign the gesture to GIF animation because you can use the burst shot photos to create better GIFs.
In Galaxy S20 camera settings page, as shown below, you can tap Swipe shutter button to edge to assign functions for this gesture.
As shown above, you can assign this gesture to:
Of course, these two options are mutually exclusive. You can assign the gesture to one of them.
In the Gallery app (and Google Photos), burst shot photos are grouped together as one set.
There is a special icon, as shown in the screenshot below, on each set of the burst shot photos to indicate that this is a set of photos, not one photo. The best shot will be used for the thumbnail.
So, you can easily identify the burst shot photos in the Gallery app. Google Photos can also identify them as a burst shot.
When editing burst shot photos, you can edit each photo individually, and export some selected photos from the group/set.
The interface for managing burst shot photos is different from that for normal photos. By default, it opens the “best” photo, which has a crown icon.
As shown in the two screenshots below, you can find some functions and features for burst shot photos:
Please note, only one of the photos in the burst shot can be designated as the best photo, which will be displayed as the thumbnail for the set of burst shot photos. When you assign it to a new photo in the set, the old one will not have the icon.
In the menu for burst shot photos, you can find the following options, as shown below:
Please note when you create a GIF animation from the burst mode photos, the resolution is limited to VGA (640*480). There are no options to use the full resolution of the photos.
If you choose to create the animation without using Galaxy S20 burst mode (i.e., set the swiping down from the shutter button gesture to GIF animation), the same resolution limitation applies.
So, if you need to create animations with the same resolution of the photo size settings, you should use the Galaxy S20 burst mode and an external GIF animation maker app.
You can also share the burst shot photos as a live message. Essentially, it is a GIF animation with added effects. Again, the resolution is limited to 640×480.
As mentioned earlier, you can delete individual photos in the burst shot, or delete all photos in the burst shot.
When you tap the delete button (5), by default, it will ask you to delete this photo only or delete all, as shown above.
If you tap to check (by default, it is unchecked) “Also move the rest of the burst shot“, all photos in this burst shot will be deleted.
Galaxy S20 burst mode is only available when you are in the Photo mode (auto mode). You cannot taker burst shot photos if you are using other Galaxy S20 camera modes (e.g., Pro mode).
Also, if you set the photo size as the full size of the main camera (108MP for Galaxy S20 Ultra, 64MP for Galaxy S20 and S20+), then you can't use the Galaxy S20 burst mode either.
The official way to take burst shot photos discussed above (use the shutter button) is not easy to use especially when you are in a hurry.
The good news is that you can still use the volume keys to take burst shot photos on Galaxy S20 and other Galaxy phones with Android 10 or Android 11 (e.g., Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note10, Galaxy Note 20, and Galaxy S21). This is not a new feature. It has worked in most previous Galaxy phones.
To enable this feature, you need to make sure the Volume key is assigned to take photos or record videos in Galaxy S20 camera settings. In most regions, this is actually the default setting. You may check the 5 shooting methods in this guide.
Once you assign the volume key to take photos or record videos for the Galaxy S20 Camera app, you can then hold the volume key to take burst shots. It does not matter you use the volume up or volume down key. Both work identically.
This method works best with Galaxy S20 camera quick launch. You just need to press the Side key twice (you can customize the Side key functions, as explained here) to launch the camera app, then hold the volume key to take burst shots.
If you have any questions on Galaxy S20 burst mode on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, please let us know in the comment box below.
The community will help you get the answer.
If you have any questions on Galaxy S20, you may check other Galaxy S20 guides:
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Hello there, yes indeed, i have a question regarding the burst mode with the Galaxy S20 series.
It seems like a unusually unsophisticated feature for such an otherwise so sophisticated phone.
The swipe down thing is not very practical, either it takes said short video when the swipe does not start in a very very short time right after pressing the on-screen shutter button, or yes, you hit the home button and can start up the camera again, meanwhile the snail you tried to capture in a rare high speed chase down the sidewalk is already over the horizon:-(
You did not mention that, if the volume rocker is set to take photos, those will do the same as older Samsung smartchies, keep the volume up (or down) button pressed and it will race off to "machine gun" style burst shots too.
The machine gun style is where i have an issue with!
At my Nikon DSLR i can chose between different intervals of the bursts, slower or faster.
I recall a fantastic pro wildlife photographer complaining that his Sony A9 can do 20 (or so) bursts - but he has to spend endless time on the pc looking through each of the bursts -- which may contain little to no difference. The Sammies are much worst with this, the amount of bursts these beasts produce in a matter of a second or 2 is NUTS.
It should be possible to chose the intervals, say 5, 10, or 15 etc. photos per second - or is there in fact already such an option and i just can't find it??
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Yes, we omitted the volume rocker method because we were told it would be removed soon. But it seems it is still there. We will update this post later to add this method.
For controlling burst shots, unfortunately, there are no customizations on Galaxy phones for users. Most smartphones just take burst photos at the maximum speed, which is not fixed and changes with the phone status.
Please Help! How do I turn OFF burst shots. Somehow it accidentally got turned on on my Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G and I can't find any way to turn it off. Very annoying!
The burst mode is always on.
Ugh! How do I get rid of the white dot that is in the middle of the view? It seemed to appear recently and I thought it was associated with burst mode.
The white dot (hollow) in the centre is very likely the updated "shot suggestions" (explained https://gadgetguideonline.com/s22/galaxy-s22-camera-settings/#2-shot-suggestions). You can turn it off in the camera settings.
Anyway, this is not linked to burst mode. The burst mode can be triggered only when you drag the shutter button toward the bottom.