How to Take a Photo in ARC Raiders: Camera and Screenshot Guide

To take a photo in ARC Raiders, bring a Basic or Advanced Camera into your raid, assign it to a Quick Use slot, select it, aim at your subject, and use the capture control. For a quest, check that the objective advances after the shot. A Steam or console screenshot saves an image of your screen; it does not replace using the Camera for a photo objective.

This guide covers the Camera introduced with Frozen Trail 2.0 on October 8, 2026, including relevant changes in Live Update 2.3.0 on October 27, 2026. Information was checked on November 1, 2026. Older advice about completing photo objectives with only a location interaction can be outdated.

Which photo method should you choose?

The Advanced Camera is a creative upgrade, not something to buy automatically because a quest mentions a photo. Embark's 2.3.0 notes specifically add Color Push and Black & White filters to the Advanced Camera. Choose it when those options matter to your pictures.

How to get a Camera before deploying

Embark confirms three acquisition routes: buy a Camera from Shani, craft one at the Workbench, or find one Topside. Buying avoids a scavenging detour; crafting uses materials you already own; finding one avoids the purchase but makes your photography plan depend on loot. Check any supplies offered by your accepted quest before spending resources.

For planning, the community-maintained ARC Raiders Wiki lists the Basic Camera recipe as eight Plastic Parts and one Wires item at Workbench 1. Its Advanced Camera entry lists a learned blueprint plus a Camera Lens, a Calculator, and Electrical Components. These item references are useful for comparing resource commitments; confirm the available recipe in your live crafting menu before gathering ingredients.

Sources: Embark’s Frozen Trail update, Basic Camera item data, and Advanced Camera item data. The wiki is community maintained and supported by Embark; its entries are not developer patch notes.

How to take a photo in four steps

1. Carry the Camera and make it available in Quick Use

Check your raid loadout, not just your stash. Put the Camera into an available Quick Use slot, then select it from the item wheel when you are ready to shoot. Owning a Camera in storage does not put one in your hands during a raid.

If you are completing an objective, accept the relevant quest or project before leaving. Embark explicitly reminds players to accept the Outpost quest and bring a Camera.

2. Select the Camera and frame the requested subject

On the standard PC action layout, Q opens the item selection, the right mouse button aims, and the left mouse button activates the equipped item. Select the Camera, raise it to aim, and use the photo control shown on its interface. Follow your displayed binding if you have remapped controls. The community settings reference records the general PC action bindings; the prompt in your running game takes priority.

On PS5 or Xbox, use the item-selection, aim, and capture prompts displayed with the Camera equipped. Frozen Trail changed default gamepad mapping, so a remembered controller shortcut from an older guide may not match your layout.

For an objective, read the exact subject in the tracker. As a practical starting point, keep that subject unobstructed and large enough to identify. Photographing the surrounding scenery is a different task from photographing the named object.

3. Take the picture and check the result

Press the Camera's capture input while aiming at the subject. Then check the quest tracker before moving on. Treat a saved picture and a completed objective as separate checks: the tracker is where you confirm progress.

Choose your position before spending time composing. A quick, clear objective shot is usually the sensible choice when you want to finish a task. For scenic photography, allow more time to find an angle, but keep a route back to cover. These are practical recommendations, not guarantees that a particular angle will satisfy every quest.

4. Review your photos and save a shareable copy when needed

Embark says Camera pictures save to your Codex. Review them there when you are back in a suitable place to browse. The 2.3.0 update also clarified the Basic and Advanced Camera tooltips to explain where saved photos can be viewed. If you cannot find them, read your Camera's current tooltip rather than searching for an assumed desktop folder.

For a separate screenshot, Steam documents F12 as its default screenshot key. On PS5, press the DualSense Create button and choose Take Screenshot. These are platform capture actions, so use them when you want a copy of what is on screen, including a displayed photo. This guide does not assume that the game exports an original Camera image directly to your device.

Platform instructions: Steam screenshot support and PS5 capture support.

Why is your ARC Raiders photo not counting?

Frozen Trail explicitly changed photo objectives in The League, Reduced to Rubble, Life of a Pharmacist, Battening Down, and Groundbreaking to use the Camera. The Outpost opener, Research Topside Living Conditions, also requires a farmland-house photograph. Check your active objective for its full requirements.

When is the Advanced Camera worth using?

Embark's camera preview describes zoom, aperture, manual and automatic focus, and selfie features. Aperture and focus affect which parts of a picture appear sharp; those controls are useful for deliberate composition, while an objective run benefits from keeping the subject easy to recognize. Check the options on the Camera you actually equipped rather than assuming both tiers have identical settings.

For a first photography quest, start with the simpler Camera you can obtain readily. For portraits, selfies, or stylized scenery, consider the Advanced Camera and its additional filters. Version 2.3.0 also reduced depth-of-field blur on the Basic Camera to improve selfie clarity, so an upgrade is not the only factor affecting that result.

Developer references: Frozen Trail camera preview and Live Update 2.3.0 camera changes and known issues.