An Idea Whose Time Has Come: The Phone-Camera

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.bbspot.com/News/2006/01/canon-phone-camera.html' target='_blank'>http://www.bbspot.com/News/2006/01/...one-camera.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"In a stunning technological breakthrough, Canon has managed to combine their digital SLR cameras with advanced cell phone technology. From now on, you will always have a phone handy, no matter where you are. "I got the idea out on a photo safari in my local park when I needed a friend's advice," Alana Harford, Chief of Engineering at Canon, explained. "But when I wanted to call him, I realized that I had - once again - forgotten my cell phone at home. At first I thought about duct taping the phone to my camera - which I've always got on me. Then it occurred to me: 'Hey, why not combine the two?'" . . . Some nature photographers complained the phone has rung and scared off wildlife, and setting the phone to vibrate can blur pictures. . . . "I think we're on to something here," Alana Harford added. "In a few years, I bet you can't find a camera out there without a built-in phone.""</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/canon_digital_rebel_xcp.jpg" /> <br /><br />The subject of <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34898&amp;">embedded</a> cameras has <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31631&amp;">cropped up</a> from <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28996&amp;">time</a> to <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29071">time</a> here at Pocket PC Thoughts. I think I've been clear where I stand on the matter. ;-) However I think we can all agree on the practicality of this new fusion of form and function for photography. Good old BBspot. :lol: I wonder how fast this phone-camera would charge in an <a href="http://www.bbspot.com/News/2002/08/house.html">overclocked house</a>.....

[rbrome]

What is your issue with camera phones?

I suspect you have simply never had a good camera phone. I have what I think is a great one - the Sony Ericsson W800. It is very compact, takes great photos, and also happens to store and play 1 GB of music.

Before you bash camera phones any more, please take a moment to view some photos I have taken with my phone:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=78256632&amp;size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=57826079&amp;size=o

Now do I use my phone when I need to take photos professionally (which sometimes I do)? Of course not.

But I can now honestly say that my camera phone has replaced my personal digital camera.

Now, I am a person who values portability, so i would only carry an ultra-portable digital camera for personal/vacation shots to begin with. But I also want great vacation photos that I can print out 8x10 and hang in a frame on the wall. They don't have to be museum-quality, but they have to look good.

My phone can now produce such photos. The photos are great quality. They do look a lot better at 4x6 than 8x10, but they still look decent at 8x10.

Of course I'd rather have the perfect 8x10 prints, except for the whole portability thing.

If I'm on vacation, the main point of the trip is to enjoy myself and the place I'm vacationing. If I'm lugging around a camera, then I'm not enjoying myself because I feel like a photographer on assignment, instead of myself on vacation. So I'd rather not be carrying around an extra camera.

An ultra-portable camera is OK, but it's still the size of a deck of cards. So is my phone, which I'm never gong to be without for a moment, even on vacation (that's non-negotiable). A deck of cards is a pretty big object for an average pocket, so would I rather carry one deck of cards or two (plus all the other things I usually have in my pockets)? The answer - without a doubt - is one.

[MitchellO]

I too find my camera phone to be quite useful. Yes it is not as good as my 5 megapixel Casio Digicam, but I'd say a 1.3Mp with slightly blurry pictures is better than no pictures at all.

Most camera phones are not designed to be used as regular cameras, but as a camera that you have all the time. Like the previous poster, my phone follows me everywhere, and that means that I always have a camera with me.

For example, today I saw a white Mini Cooper and I wanted to show my dad (I hate the white version). If I didn't have my camera phone, I would not have been able to take a picture to show him. Its didn't come out great, but it came out, much better than if the phone didn't have a camera. At 800x600 it looks good!

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/508/image016medium1be.jpg

***embedded image switched to URL by mod JD***

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7722/image0163ts.th.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image0163ts.jpg)
Mini photo unresized

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/6228/image0203jw.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image0203jw.jpg)http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/4306/image0195ju.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image0195ju.jpg)
In my room at night. Not good light.

[DaleReeck]

I don't even need a "good" camera phone. A meer adequate one is fine. I've used them to take pictures of error screens at work or just weird funky things I might encounter during the course of a day. Since my digital SLR won't fit in my pocket, a camera phone is a nice compromise.

[DaleReeck]

By the way, that camera is a Canon 20D I believe (I own one). Sans "phone" of course :) It's a big camera, but has a nice mag alloy body. I also have an Olympic D500.

[topps]

By the way, that camera is a Canon 20D I believe (I own one). Sans "phone" of course :) It's a big camera, but has a nice mag alloy body. I also have an Olympic D500.

Yup, should fit nicely into a shirt pocket. These will be snapped up by the millions...thousands...er tens.

Good chuckle. thnx

[ecard]

By the way, that camera is a Canon 20D I believe (I own one). Sans "phone" of course :) It's a big camera, but has a nice mag alloy body. I also have an Olympic D500.

It's not a 20D, I own one too. The 20D has the info screen on the top and has more button on the back, including a dial. It look like a moded 350D.

[gibson042]

Humor aside, there actually are some "phone-cameras" out there, and they actually don't seem that bad (although they are quite unconventional). I can't keep track of them all, but LG has some (http://www.slashphone.com/89/1761.html), and Samsung has at least two (http://www.engadget.com/2004/10/20/samsungs-sch-s250-up-close-and-personal/) on the Korean market (at 3.2 and 5 megapixels) and announced a 7 megapixel model (http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/2005/03/09/samsung-v770-megapixel) at CES last year.

[duncanhbrown]

This story should have been held 'till April 1st.
:)

Duncan H. Brown

[Craig Horlacher]

I use the camera on my phone when I'm on with tech support at my desk and I need to run back to the server room for a serial number to get support. I snag a picture, run back to my desk, and read it off my mobile phone screen. Quick, simple, no righting utensils or flat surface needed.

[IpaqMan2]

One word...

GAY..


Can u imagine carrying this with you where ever you go all the time...
Not exactly something you'd stick in your pocket when you sit down to have a meeting.

[DaleReeck]

By the way, that camera is a Canon 20D I believe (I own one). Sans "phone" of course :) It's a big camera, but has a nice mag alloy body. I also have an Olympic D500.

It's not a 20D, I own one too. The 20D has the info screen on the top and has more button on the back, including a dial. It look like a moded 350D.

Duh. You're right, I totally flaked on the LCD screen. I thought the dial was just photoshopped out to make room for the "phone". But the LCD I completely missed and is definitely not right for the 20D. The cheaper stuff like the Digital Rebel you mentioned has the LCD on the back :)

[Sven Johannsen]

What is your issue with camera phones?

I suspect you have simply never had a good camera phone.

I suspect you don't work in an industry that bans cameras. This thing actually makes a heck of a lot of sense. I go many places where photographic equipment, however bad it is or what it is glued to, is not allowed. I've rarely seen any where you can take a camera and can't also take a phone ;)

Jonathan's, and many of our, complaints don't center around quality, but choice. While it has become marginally better, there was a long time you couldn't get a decent phone without a camera. Darn things had cameras before they had BT or data capabilities. A year ago, you show me a phone with BT and I'll show you a phone with a camera. While some of the OEMs actually have some versions of feature phones without cameras, you couldn't get them. At least not in the US.

[kiwi]

this is *not* a joke?????

[gibson042]

this is *not* a joke?????
No, it's a joke... but a joke with a tiny little seed of truth.

[rocky_raher]

I suspect you don't work in an industry that bans cameras. This thing actually makes a heck of a lot of sense. I go many places where photographic equipment, however bad it is or what it is glued to, is not allowed. I've rarely seen any where you can take a camera and can't also take a phone ;)


Sven: Congratulations on your promotoin to "Pocket PC Swami"!!

[Constant Caffeine]

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/canon_digital_rebel_xcp.jpg

The paparazzi would love this camera/phone. Speed dial The Times, “Yes, are you interested in any photos of….”

[Jonathon Watkins]

What is your issue with camera phones?

I suspect you have simply never had a good camera phone.

I suspect you don't work in an industry that bans cameras. . . .
Jonathan's, and many of our, complaints don't center around quality, but choice.

Sven the Swami is absolutely correct. :wink: There is a reason that I currently carry a Nokia 6310, as it was the last decent business phone I could get with Bluetooth and that did not have a camera. I now have a little more choice and will be upgrading soon, but there oten still isn't the option to get a decent device without a camera.

[Jonathon Watkins]

The paparazzi would love this camera/phone. Speed dial The Times, “Yes, are you interested in any photos of….”

Well, the new high end Nikon has an option to add wifi to the camera. I know of a sports agency that has the photos available for newspapers a few second after they are taken......

[SteveHoward999]

Jonathan's, and many of our, complaints don't center around quality, but choice.

For me it's both. I choose not to have a phone camera because I have a decent digital camera. The fact that the pictures from phones have been uniformly out of focus junk so far helps motivate me to stick with my choice :-)

--

[k1darkknight]

Toshiba E830, CF GPS, 2Gb CF, 1Gb SD, Nokia 6100, 2 pints (proper British 20 ouncers!!) of lager (decent European stuff, Becks maybe? Not that Budweiser or Miller rubbish - actually Michelob is pretty good!) and a packet of crisps (that's potato chips you know).
OK, be honest, did I go too far?
Actually, you left out dessert!
(okay, okay...WAYYYYYY off-topic...lol)

[SteveHoward999]

Toshiba E830, CF GPS, 2Gb CF, 1Gb SD, Nokia 6100, 2 pints (proper British 20 ouncers!!) of lager (decent European stuff, Becks maybe? Not that Budweiser or Miller rubbish - actually Michelob is pretty good!) and a packet of crisps (that's potato chips you know).
OK, be honest, did I go too far?
Actually, you left out dessert!
(okay, okay...WAYYYYYY off-topic...lol)

That's easy - ice cream from Marble Slab :-)