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You see them just about everywhere. You can find them at sporting events, graduations, parties, church socials, school events and just about anything deserving of a picture. It’s the person with their camera phone in action. Years ago it was the video camera popping up everywhere but they seem to be well out numbered by camera phones these days.
But are these tiny digital cameras worthy of such excitement? Are they more of a novelty than a legitimate camera? Many are VGA quality (about .3 megapixels) and have plastic lenses that are scratched or smudged with a greasy thumb print that enter the photography arena handicapped by design. Advancements in technology have pushed these tiny cameras along the evolutionary path but can they go beyond their novelty and become a convenient alternative to a stand-alone camera?
Read on for a history of your Camera Phone, how it works, and pointers for taking better shots!
Where did it all start?
Legend has it that in 1997 Philippe Khan discovered how to integrate his digital camera with his cellular phone and in June of 1997, many feel his photo of his new-born daughter gave birth to instant visual communications.
Camera Phones have come a long way since Mr. Khan’s first image of his new born daughter. Today camera phones have documented events ranging from the hanging of Saddam Hussein to your child’s graduation. This past January, New York City announced a plan to allow citizens to transmit photos of suspicious/criminal activity to 911. This is a huge advantage to first responders in that not only do they have a description of the activity but they have pictures to help identify suspects.
Going beyond the novelty.
While camera phones may have been mass produced as a novelty, progressing beyond VGA resolution they have developed into an item of convenience. If you forget to grab the camera or simply don’t want to be bothered by carrying one more thing on your trip, the camera phone is there at your side.
They are a great tool in emergency situations such as documenting damage to vehicles involved in a traffic accident, sending a landmark to accompany map directions, or documenting damage to property during natural disasters. They are a great tool of convenience to send pictures of a prospective house/car that you are considering buying to family members; to add pictures to phone directories to give you a visual reference to your contacts; to identify a meeting spot for friends to gather; or to copy information on a bulletin board for future reference. As an added bonus, being an integrated part of a wireless phone, the camera phone allows you to quickly share these pictures.
Legitimate Camera?
We'll leave aside some of the more advanced Camera Phones (like the Nokia N96 and some of the SE offerings) as they're not Windows Mobile. We're talking about what's available for our platform as of today.
I won’t argue that the camera phone has its usefulness but they still lag well behind the stand alone camera with respects to image quality. They may be great for low-resolution images for blogs, contacts and emergency situations but if you need to take a quality picture, something that will become a lasting memory, can the camera phone be a legitimate camera? Can it replace the stand-alone camera?
Camera phones are essentially a “pin-hole” camera in that there are very few moving parts. When you press the shutter button, the sensor is electronically exposed, capturing the image using a fixed focused lens that is shooting through a flat, plastic or glass pane. Pin-hole film cameras weren’t much different in that you opened a hole on the camera to exposing the film to capture the image.
A stand-alone digital camera will have a mechanical shutter, whose speed and aperture (amount of light allowed to hit the sensor) can be controlled to obtain better exposure; a larger sensor to better capture and enlarge the image without running the risk of distortion, and a multiple element, variable focused lens to capture sharper, better color saturated, quality images.
Samsung BlackJack II (Left) vs. a DSLR (Right)
Much like a pair of dime-store reading glasses will help you see better, a pair of prescription glasses will help you see much better. Camera phones have limitations but can produce decent images but I don’t believe they were ever intended to replace stand alone cameras. They grew in popularity because of the novelty. Combine this popularity with the convenience they present, manufacturers are trying to establish some level of legitimacy with these small cameras.
Where are they going?
To its credit, technology is advancing the camera phone’s quality potential by leaps and bounds. While VGA camera phones are still common, so are 2 megapixel camera phones. Samsung is working on an 8.5mm thin, 8 megapixel sensor that has image stabilization and close-up photography capabilities. Other manufacturers are also developing 8 and 10 megapixel sensors.
While the sensors are advancing, I still think the optics will remain the Achilles’ heel of camera phones. Once they develop better optics, you may be able to convince me that camera phones are legitimate substitutes to a dedicate camera. It is my understanding that manufacturers are developing limited, variable focus lenses that could be applied to camera phones to replace the fixed focus lenses.
If you’ve gotta use it….
When it comes down to taking pictures, I will grab my Canon digital single lens reflex camera over my Samsung BlackJack II without hesitation. But sometimes that’s not always possible. I’ve used my camera phone to photograph subjects ranging from car accidents to great golf shots. If you have to use your camera phone, here are some pointers to increase the quality of your images.
Keep it steady:
One of the biggest problems with any digital photography is camera shake. You move the camera just as you hit the shutter and the image blurs. Use both hands to hold the phone and avoid jumping up and down. Gently press the shutter button to avoid any jerking action that will move the camera. When shooting in low light situations, this is even more important in that the camera automatically chooses a slower shutter speed which is more sensitive to blur caused by camera shake.
Lighting:
Don’t take a picture in a low-lighted room or outside at night and expect crystal clear pictures. Make sure your subject is well lit before you hit the shutter. Most camera phones have an auto-exposure meter that bases exposure on your preview image. If your preview image looks dark, then your captured image will look just as dark (if not darker).
Sports/Action:
Proper exposure is achieved through a camera’s shutter speed and aperture settings. With the camera phone relying on auto-exposure, the camera selects the best settings based on the light, not the subject. For sports, you need a faster shutter speed and larger aperture to stop the action. Most camera phones have limited apertures so slower shutter speeds are used to obtain proper exposure. Taking pictures of sports with slower shutter speeds will result in blurry pictures.
Avoid Digital Zoom:
Several camera phones have a zoom feature; avoid it. Digital zoom is accomplished by cropping the imaged down to a centered area and enlarging it to the same pixel dimensions of the original. This often results in poor image quality because it is stretching the pixels.
Distance to the Subject:
If you are taking pictures along the line of portraits, get close to your subject. Fill the screen with their image and then hit the shutter. If the subject is too tiny, because of the low resolution, when you enlarge it the image quality will diminish.
Keep it Clean:
Make sure the lens covering the camera is clean and scratch free. Sometimes you can get away with minor scratches but grease, thumb prints, dust and other junk will prevent the camera from getting a clear image.
Process your photos:
If you don’t want to invest in a photo edition program, there are several free programs out there. GIMP (http://www.gimp.org) is probably the more popular editing program but there are others. With this software you can improve upon the image quality and walk away with a better image. Many of these programs will let you convert your images into more artistic renditions through colorization, sepia tones, and other filters.
Unedits BJII Pic (Left) and Edited for clarity and color (Right)
Final thoughts
Admittedly, I’m an avid photographer with a photojournalism and freelance background. If I need to take a picture, I grab my camera bag not my phone. Before sitting down and researching this article, my opinion of camera phones was that they were a waste of time. It has never been a selling point for a phone and I would have preferred manufacturers offer it as an option, passing on savings to those of us who don’t care for the cameras.
However, after working on this piece, I’ve come to believe that camera phones have their use. They offer a level of convenience and can come in handy when you just have to take a picture. In a way, it’s better to have a camera phone than no camera at all. My focus has been exclusive to still images but many of these phones now have video capability that extends these devices potential.
If the camera phone is an important feature for your phone, look for a 2 megapixel or greater camera. This will give you enough resolution to have a fighting chance at a decent picture.
I still don’t believe these tiny little cameras can take the place of a stand alone camera but with advances in technology, they may come awfully close.
I have a Sprint Touch, and the camera on this thing is terrible.
I think it is due to the lens and not the camera itself. There is no way to focus when taking closeup pictures. At least the 6700 had that focus slider thing on the back.
Is there anyway to improve pictures through software?