Cell phones with cameras are everywhere nowadays. It really makes us thinking whether we now have a mobile phone with camera or a camera with telephone capability.
What’s up with mobiles?
The Sharp 903 cell phone now comes with a 3.2MP camera, the Sony Ericsson W800i and the N90 from Nokia Nseries both pitch in with 2.0MP (N90 has also got a Carl Zeiss lens and the autofocus). These phones have good enough quality for everyday pictures. And given the pace of development it is likely that the standard will only raise. Who would have thought that we would be talking of the music capabilities of the iPod phone, or anticipating the launch of the N91 from the Nokia Nseries with a 4 GB hard disc?
Why camera cell phone?
There are digital cameras capable of 10MP or more resolution, but who really needs pictures with such resolution? 2MP is enough for day to day usage and general printing purpose, and it ensures that images are not too large to be transferred to other devices. The picture quality of N90 from Nokia Nseries can match that of some lower end digital cameras. Cell phones can have files transferred the same way as digital cameras (cable, memory card and Bluetooth). The inclusion of MMS function in camera phones means that the images can also be directly sent to other phones and emails, which is not achievable with digital cameras. The major advantage of the camera cell phone over the digital camera is its immediate availability, the ability to capture that fleeting image without having to unzip a camera bag and fumble with settings. So you will not miss that precious moment again.
Professionals are up for the challenge
Five of the world’s leading photographers (Juergen Teller, Jiancheng Dong, Nick Waplington, Philip Lorca-DiCorcia and Raghu Rai) have taken up the challenge of camera cell phones. They have produced a stunning selection of professional images using the N90 from Nokia Nseries, see it yourself at seenew.com
Are you up for the challenge?
If you think you’re pretty good with a camera, take a look at the competition that can also be found on the site. Submit your shots taken with camera phone, and you could be assisting one of the photographers on a commercial photo shoot. Other prizes include the N90 from Nokia Nseries, two return tickets to be flown anywhere in the world and your winning images to be pre-loaded to future Nokia Nseries handsets.
Robert Thomson is a librarian interested in developments in phone technology and small device information retrieval. Born and brought up in South Oxfordshire. Worked in libraries in England, Scotland and the United States and is at present a freelancer researcher.
