Camera phones

[cmM]

I'm just curious what people's opinions are about these things. Everyone says "they're so cool".

I have one (SonyEricsson T610) with a camera; I never used the camera, and never will. It's pointless ! At least the crappy little .3mp sensor. I don't know what the future will bring... SonyEricsson have a 1.3MP phone :)

...Soon we'll be buying "interchangeable lens camera phones" :P

[Jon]

How about "potentially useful in a limited sort of way"? My wife wanted to drag me along to look at new furniture and drapes for the living room. Would I have rather she just called me with quick pics of the futon and fabrics? You bet your sweet bippy! Would I leave my D60 and 100-400L behind when going to an air show? Not on your life!

[JZaun]

I can see it now, a woman driving a car talking on the camera cell phone taking a picture of herself putting on make up while she reads the morning paper........ yep we need phones that take pictures..

Just my thoughts :D :D :D :D


JZ

[Lamplight]

I'm sure they can be handy, but not handy enough for me to buy one. :D

[cmM]

but not handy enough for me to buy one. :D

It's inevitable !!! they're all over. They all have cameras now :?

[Cadwell]

I voted "useless crap".... but they do have one use. I see lots of people standing up against the fence at motor races with their little mobile phones held in the air attempting to shoot a car hurtling through a 120mph corner. Of course, they will get nothing... but I get a good laugh out of it :lol:

So that's their use. Making me chuckle at race tracks! :P

[tommykjensen]

I voted "useless crap".... but they do have one use. I see lots of people standing up against the fence at motor races with their little mobile phones held in the air attempting to shoot a car hurtling through a 120mph corner. Of course, they will get nothing... but I get a good laugh out of it :lol:

So that's their use. Making me chuckle at race tracks! :P

Yeah or at concerts. Last friday I was at the Simon & Garfunkel concert in Copenhagen and saw a guy taking pictograms with a mobilephone. To think he would get anything worth looking at :lol: :lol:

[Belmondo]

I voted 'useless crap', not so much because the pictures are useless (which they are), but because there is a risk that they can be used improperly. I was recently witness to a couple teenagers trying to take 'upskirt' pictures of a woman on an escalator. When they saw me heading their direction after reaching the top, they ran off. I'm not sure what I would have done if they hadn't, but I am absolutely sure they knew they were committing a crime.

It shouldn’t be that easy.

[sGu]

doesn't do nothing to me, even though i have one of those top of range mobile phones, i bought it for features such as touch screen, calendar, planner, bluetooth etc.

tried camera once, no way near as good as 1D, so what's the point.

[cmM]

oh good...

seems like I'm not the only one arguing constantly with people that think camera phones are "hard to live without".

Another thing I laughed at... if you go to ezprints.com and look at their resolution guide, you'll see that a .3mp camera (camera phone) will give you excelent prints up to 8x10, and fair prints up to 20x30. I might take a pic with my phone and order a 20 x 30 see what happens.

[tommykjensen]

I'm just curious what people's opinions are about these things. Everyone says "they're so cool".

I have one (SonyEricsson T610) with a camera; I never used the camera, and never will. It's pointless ! At least the crappy little .3mp sensor. I don't know what the future will bring... SonyEricsson have a 1.3MP phone :)

Actually Samsung have a 3 MP camera/phone with flash and 3x optical zoom!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0407/04071202samsungsph2300.asp

[cmM]

http://fifthgearonline.com/ZylexSNL/images/smilies/banghead.gif
I didn't know about that one.... I tell you, soon there will be DSLRCMP (Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera Mobile Phones) :P

[nosquare2003]

Am I the only one who voted against useless crap.

The purpose of the camera phone is different from your camera. It is not for your large print, but to send out pictures to someone.

For example, my wife wanted to buy something in a foreign country. She took a pic by the phone and sent to her friend for immediate advice. And it is convenient.

[nosquare2003]

I voted 'useless crap', not so much because the pictures are useless (which they are), but because there is a risk that they can be used improperly. I was recently witness to a couple teenagers trying to take 'upskirt' pictures of a woman on an escalator. When they saw me heading their direction after reaching the top, they ran off. I'm not sure what I would have done if they hadn't, but I am absolutely sure they knew they were committing a crime.

It shouldn’t be that easy.

Sorry, I have to disagree. Improper use won't make it as "useless crap". Any things can be used improperly; long lens, knife, etc. Moreover, many compact digicam are pretty small and can be hide easily.

[Belmondo]

Don't get me wrong. If people want to take junk pictures with a junk camera, that's their absolute right. I just think that there should be some way of identifying that these are in fact cameras so that people will at least have the option of deciding whether or not they want their picture taken. In almost every respect, cameras are readily identifiable as such, both in their appearance and in the manner in which they're used. That isn't the case with the majority of cell phone/cameras. Is the person dialing a number or taking an unwelcome photograph? It's often hard to tell, and it shouldn't be.

[nosquare2003]

There is a trend that most telephones will have the cameras for still photo and video. A telephone shall not be just for talking, but for better communication.

It is just a tool. The improper use is a kind of social problem, not the phone problem.

The phone camera does not need high quality. Its small file size helps for speedy and cheap transfer for the moment.

[Cadwell]

OK... joking aside, here's an opinion on mobile phone cameras. My company has @2,000 staff with company provided mobiles. Currently that phone stock is based mainly on Nokia 6310is. We have had lots of staff requesting upgrades to phones with cameras (specific requests - "I need a phone with a camera"). When challenged, not one of them has managed to produce a valid business justification for the upgrade.

Now it just so happens that any new phones we issue to staff will probably have cameras... it seems you can't buy a high end phone without one nowadays, but as as business we would rather not have them.

[maderito]

Cool. I don't own one but I know how to get one: http://www.pbase.com/image/30373418
:P :P

[LowTechMan]

I voted cool gadget because in fact it is a gadget ant it's cool. :) Being able to send a picture when out and about is neat. The other plus is that it will always be with you so you have a camera ready whenever the urge to take a picture strikes.

That said I'd never own one. I don't see myself having a need or purpose to send someone a photo ASAP and my S50 is small enough that I usually always have it with me anyway.

Did I contradict myself? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[neil_r]

I was at a business meeting in Manchester last year; I was late getting into the restaurant because I was watching Manchester United playing R Madrid on the telly. I was one of 3 people eating when a party of 4 came in and sat on the table next to mine. I looked over and it was David & Mrs Beckham and two people who I did not recognise, I smiled, said hello and got on with my dinner. The following morning all the papers were making a big thing over David Beckham signing for Real Madrid at a secret meeting in a hotel in Manchester the previous night, The Sun even had a photograph of the outside of the hotel.

My point is, had I then had my Nokia 6600 The Sun would have had a better picture to use and I would have had a few bob.

N

[Ikinaa]

I'd prefer a cam with a phone integrated... phones with cam integrated are crap...
I've always a cam with me and sometimes a cell-phone.
Can't be to difficult to add a slot in the cam to take the phone-card, the antenna surely finds a place somewhere, battery's in the cam also, the rest is a piece of software... so...

[theflyingkiwi]

at the end of the day they are just cool gadget, a passing fad if you will.

belmondo said he will use it at a air show, well when I went to a car show this year I saw someone taking a image of a Lotus and thinking yea you need something better than that mate :)

some people just think a camera is just a camera, even if it is in a phone.

[Aylwin]

I voted for "Cool gadgets". I don't really think that but they're definitely not useless. Yes, the camera itself is crappy but it's not necessarily useless. How about a middle option: "Crap but can be useful"? :)

We've already heard a few good examples of how they can be useful and there are many many more. We just have to understand its purpose: to take snapshots of objects. If the quality of the image is good enough so you can recognize what the object is then it's served its purpose.