How to Take a Photo in ARC Raiders (2026 Camera Guide)

To take a photo in ARC Raiders, put a Basic or Advanced Camera in a Quick Use slot, select it from your gadget wheel, aim at your subject, and press the capture control. On the default PC layout, hold Q to choose the Camera, use the right mouse button to aim, and left-click to take the picture. Photos taken with the in-game gadget are saved to your Codex.

This is the camera system introduced in the Frozen Trail 2.0 update on October 8, 2026. It replaces outdated advice about opening a separate, game-pausing Photo Mode from the menu. The camera view is accessed by using an item during a live raid, so be mindful of nearby ARC machines and other Raiders. Embark confirms the new camera items and their Codex photo storage in its Frozen Trail 2.0 patch notes and official Camera feature preview.

How to take a photo in ARC Raiders: 5 steps

Step 1: Get a Basic or Advanced Camera

Start with a real Camera gadget; a keyboard screenshot is not a substitute for it when a quest asks you to photograph an object. As confirmed in Embark's October 8 patch notes, you can buy a Camera from Shani, craft one at the Workbench, or find one while looting Topside. The update offers Basic and Advanced versions. Your current vendor screen and crafting recipe are the best places to check cost and material requirements, because offers and recipes can change.

For a first picture or an ordinary quest objective, a Basic Camera is a sensible starting point. The Advanced Camera offers more control for players who want to experiment with photography. If you received a Camera as a quest supply item, check your carried inventory before buying another.

Step 2: Place the Camera in a Quick Use slot before or during the raid

Open your inventory or loadout, find the Camera, and move or assign it to an available Quick Use position. Merely carrying the item in your bag does not put it in your hands. If you are preparing for a quest, check the active objective before heading Topside and confirm that the Camera is part of your loadout.

For the Outpost project, this matters especially: Embark explicitly tells players to accept the quest and bring the Camera. Its first research step, Research Topside Living Conditions, asks for a photograph of a farmland house. Forgetting the Camera means the usual platform screenshot shortcut will not satisfy that in-game objective.

Step 3: Equip the Camera from the gadget wheel

On PC with the standard reported controls, hold Q to bring up the gadget wheel and choose the Camera. Then hold the right mouse button to look through it. The photo interface is attached to the Camera gadget, not to a pause-menu free-camera option.

On PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, use the on-screen Quick Use and aim prompts corresponding to your controller configuration. Embark changed default gamepad mappings in Frozen Trail 2.0, so it is safer to follow your current control labels than to rely on an old button chart. If the wheel does not show the Camera, return to the inventory and check which Quick Use slot contains it.

Step 4: Frame your subject and take the picture

Keep the intended subject in the viewfinder, adjust your distance and camera angle, then activate the displayed Take Photo or shutter input. On the default PC mapping, left-click while aiming. The camera supports photographic features including zoom; Embark also advertises aperture and manual or automatic focus adjustments in its official preview. Available adjustments depend on the Camera variant and the controls shown in your current version.

To photograph your own Raider, try Selfie Mode. On the commonly reported PC binding, R switches to selfie framing; follow the prompt in your game if you have remapped controls. The official feature preview also confirms selfie poses and custom emotes. You do not need to freeze the map or fly a camera away from your character to take a picture.

Step 5: Check your Codex and quest progress

After capturing the image, open the Codex and locate its photo collection to review your pictures. That is the in-game destination specifically named by Embark. For a quest photo, also open the quest log to make sure the objective updated. A good-looking photograph and a registered quest objective are not necessarily the same thing: you must photograph the intended target while the relevant objective is active.

If the objective remains incomplete, inspect its exact wording, approach the target, and make another shot with the in-game Camera. A Steam, Windows, PlayStation, or Xbox screenshot captures the screen for sharing, but it does not replace the game's Camera gadget for mission progress.

Basic Camera vs. Advanced Camera: which one should you use?

How to take a photo for ARC Raiders quests

Photo objectives have changed since the game's earlier versions. Frozen Trail 2.0 specifically updated five older quests to require pictures taken with the Camera: The League, Reduced to Rubble, Life of a Pharmacist, Battening Down, and Groundbreaking. Older walkthroughs telling you to stand near a yellow interaction prompt or take a normal screenshot may no longer describe the current requirement.

Before deploying, read your quest log and identify the requested object and map. For instance, the Outpost unlock begins with photographing a farmland house; other objectives may name a structure or ARC-related landmark. Bring the gadget, aim at the correct object, take the picture, then verify the objective is marked complete. If it is not, do not assume that the image was accepted solely because it appears in your Codex. Recheck the target and whether the correct quest was accepted.

Where screenshots are saved on PC, PS5, and Xbox

There are two different kinds of photo storage to understand. The ARC Raiders Camera gadget saves pictures to the in-game Codex. A platform screenshot is a separate image handled by Steam, Windows, PlayStation, or Xbox. Use the second kind when you want a normal image file to copy or share.

• Steam on PC: Press F12 by default while the Steam Overlay is active. Open Steam's screenshot viewer/manager afterward. You can check or change the key in Steam Settings > In Game. Valve documents the shortcut in its Steam Community Overlay support page.
• Windows Xbox Game Bar: Press Windows + Alt + Print Screen for a screenshot when Game Bar capture is enabled. Microsoft lists the destination as the Videos/Captures folder in its Game Bar capture instructions.
• PlayStation 5: Press the Create button, choose Take Screenshot, and look in Media Gallery or the recently created captures card. See PlayStation’s official capture guide.
• Xbox Series X|S: On a controller with a dedicated Share button, a standard single press takes a screenshot unless you changed its mapping. Open your console's captures library to review it. Xbox explains these controller capture options in its Xbox Wire guide to sharing captures.

Camera not working? Check these common issues

I cannot find Photo Mode in the pause menu

You do not need a pause-menu Photo Mode option. Equip the Camera as a Quick Use gadget and aim with it. Advice about pausing the entire raid, hiding all HUD elements, or flying a detached camera is not part of Embark's documented Frozen Trail camera workflow.

The Camera is in my backpack, but I cannot use it

Assign it to a Quick Use slot, select it from the gadget wheel, and make sure you are not trying to activate another gadget. Check your keybinds if your controls have changed. If your inventory or wheel is temporarily unresponsive, returning to Speranza and starting a fresh raid may be preferable to risking your carried loot.

I took a photo, but the quest did not advance

Confirm the objective is accepted, photograph the precise location or object it names, and use the actual Camera shutter rather than a platform screenshot key. The October 8 update changed the requirements for multiple older photo quests, so a guide written before that date may describe a different interaction.

Why is my photo missing from my PC screenshots folder?

Check the Codex first. ARC Raiders Camera photographs are managed in-game; they should not be confused with F12 captures handled by Steam or Game Bar screenshots handled by Windows. If you specifically need a standard shareable image, display the shot and take a platform screenshot, where permitted by the game interface.

Tips for better pictures without losing your gear

• Scout before composing. Take photos from cover or while teammates watch for threats; your character is still participating in an active multiplayer raid.
• Step back for large subjects. A structure, machine, or crashed landmark may be easier to recognize when its edges fit inside the frame.
• Choose focus deliberately. For scenic shots, experiment with zoom and any focus or aperture options available on your Camera.
• Check completion immediately. After a quest shot, verify the log before traveling to the next objective or extraction point.
• Carry only what you need. A Camera occupies gadget capacity and carried equipment can be lost if your raid ends badly.

Bottom line: In ARC Raiders 2.0, taking a photo means equipping the in-game Camera, aiming, and pressing the shutter. Check the Codex for your pictures, and use your platform's screenshot tool only when you want a separate capture to share. For subsequent gameplay changes, consult the official patch notes rather than older Photo Mode instructions.