megapixels wars hit Cell phones: 12MP Samsung phone

[tkbslc]

This is getting ridiculous.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31043590/

"Samsung said the new Pixon12 model would go on sale in Europe later this month, a blow to struggling rival Sony Ericsson, who has been touting a 12-megapixel model since February but will sell it only in the fourth quarter."

[brecklundin]

on what a 3mm sensor? ;)

[Seil]

Wow, this is just getting ridiculous.

[Stealthy Ninja]

My mobile phone has 8MP. It's the model before this one (birthday gift from my wife)

8MB is not necessary by a long shot. But people are attracted to marketing stuff like this.

[dlintz]

I don't know what size sensor my Samsung Omnia has but it's pretty nice for a 5 MP phone camera. It has options for ISO, metering, white balance, and focusing. 12 MP phone cameras don't surprise me a bit.

d.

[clickclickclick]

lol my phone has 1.3

[rabbs]

yeah, and mine is still vga

[tfaudree]

My cell phone makes phone calls. Thats it.

My camera takes pictures. Thats it.

[asysin2leads]

GWCP

'nuff said.

[cdifoto]

My cell phone makes phone calls. Thats it.

My camera takes pictures. Thats it.
I used to think that way until I got a BlackBerry. That little sucker has replaced two separate devices and a paper booklet (phone, mp3 player and dayplanner). It's also replacing my DSL. It would have replaced three devices but the camera part of it is webcam quality so it only substitutes for my P&S in an extreme pinch.

[asysin2leads]

I used to think that way until I got a BlackBerry. That little sucker has replaced two separate devices and a paper booklet (phone, mp3 player and dayplanner). It's also replacing my DSL. It would have replaced three devices but the camera part of it is webcam quality so it only substitutes for my P&S in an extreme pinch.

Yeah, but what kind of shutter lag does the Blackberry have?;)

My wife has a Blackberry and it does take rather nice pictures. I have a Palm Treo and the camera sucks on it. It is nice to have email, calendar, internet right in the palm of your hand. Like you said, in a pinch.

[M_ark]

untill they start giving these phones quality HD (high pixel density/ square millimeter) i won't be interested AT ALL.

now if they release a phone with a 3 inch screen that could do 1024x768px i'd be interested.

[asysin2leads]

I've seen some great photos from the new iPhone, but I'm too lazy to search for the camera's specifics.

[darosk]

My phone has no camera :(

[Frank_The_Tank]

Wow my Sony Ericsson K800i was my primary camera for over a year to bridge the gap between a Sony P&S and my Canon DSLR. When you view pictures at print size the quality is ridiculously good for a cellphone camera. Newer models like the C905i are capable of taking some incredible photos, but at a price premium over a comparable point and shoot due to it being a multifunction device.

[cdifoto]

Yeah, but what kind of shutter lag does the Blackberry have?;)

My wife has a Blackberry and it does take rather nice pictures. I have a Palm Treo and the camera sucks on it. It is nice to have email, calendar, internet right in the palm of your hand. Like you said, in a pinch.
I said it's replacing my DSL, not my DSLR. :lol:

The camera feature is laughable so it'll never replace a real one but since I can tether it to my laptop for internet anywhere that I have a phone signal, I'm finding it more useful than my home based DSL line, despite DSL being faster. It'll take an okay pic if I need evidence in a car accident or some other such thing though.

[C2S]

This is nothing, my 500D can make phone calls. Well, at least it has a mic and a speaker...

But yeah, this is ludicrous. Although they might think twice if the large crowd was more knowledgeable about digital sensors...

[gary88]

To Joe Consumer 12mp = award winning perfectly exposed photos.

[Karl Johnston]

lol.

[sebr]

My wife has cameras with loads of MPs on both her phones. My phone only has a 2MP camera (used it once), but I have a 50D and some lenses. :D

[WRCfan]

Mine runs 3.2 and Japan is in the MP in cellphones craze. We have had a 12MP for a few months. Would be interested to see how they really do turn out. Might go into the shop and shoot my MicroSD card into it, take some pics then take it home put the photos up on comp if anyone is interested...

[FlyingPhotog]

To Joe Consumer 12mp = award winning perfectly exposed photos.

To News Directors = More free content from viewers/readers...

[webdesigner]

Whats the difference really between 5 MP and 8 MP in a camera phone?

The picture looks great on the phone, but when transfer it to the computer it shrinks... :(
Any way to fix that?

[Karl Johnston]

Whats the difference really between 5 MP and 8 MP in a camera phone?

About 3 million pixels

[blackmatch456]

my phone has a 2mp cam w/ auto focus

the cam captures pretty damn good sunets

[Jannie]

I got the iPhone 3Gs yesterday and put up an album of photos from it today on my Facebook page. It's a bit nicer camera than my classic was in that it focuses closer which I like a lot and you can pick the spot on the screen where you want the center of focus to be. It's good enough to convince me to not bother getting another point and shoot after my G9 gave up, unless Canon comes out with something really incredible with a larger sensor betweenie camera to fit between the G10 and my MKIII. In the mean time I'm loving the iPhone but I think the new one has a 3MP camera which is plenty good enough for my Facebook friends and family page.

[Scampo]

That is a ridiculous amount of pixels. What's the point of sticking that many into a pinhole?

[mjmackinnon]

So can we start the rumour mills with Canon thinking of putting a GSM attachment onto their soon to be released 1Ds4 camera. So that you can call the office to tell them that you are on site for the photoshoot directly from your Camera.

The first dSLRcell camera/phone


Who knows, it may happen.. but it probably will be with a Rebel camera.

Matt.

[SkedAddled]

This isn't such a coup in the industry, folks, nor is it blathering lunacy from marketing-hype types.

I currently refurbish cell phones at my job, and most models I work on do have a built-in camera. Yep, some of them suck. Most do, in fact.

In the course of refurbishing, inadvertently a component gets broken or damaged, such as a camera. When a camera is broken, we often have the opportunity to see the actual recording sensor within.

Sure, most of these cameras record through a fixed plastic lens no more than around 1-mm in diameter, projecting to a sensor no larger than around 1/16 of an inch, while recording to a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.

But some are better than others. Just recently I've been working on a batch of Motorola Razr V3M phones. Yep, the original Razr. And guess what? Its camera uses a coated glass lens, and a sensor size of around 1/4-inch. Sure, it's an old model by now, but this is only to illustrate the point that a few of the cameras in mobile devices actually are of some substance.

In comparison, some of these newer mobile device cameras offer larger sensors with a higher pixel count than the PowerShot S3IS I used to own, as well as a slew of other P&S models which are fully capable of recording excellent-quality images.

The sensors are likely manufactured by a short list of makers, and they're all capable of recording a great image. And, those shopping for a great camera included with their mobile phone are likely attracted by the MP-count hype. Not being photographers, however, what they obviously don't understand is that the often high-quality sensors don't have the optics, variable apertures and variable exposure times required to make those sensors into honestly versatile imaging devices.

So basically, the claims of MP count in phones and other mobile devices is most often true. What they lack is all of the other supporting functions of a purpose-made camera, and that's why their image quality is so often poor.

[Jannie]

Okay will this be one of those obvious examples where more MP isn't as good, a cell phone has a tiny sensor. I just posted some of these in another thread but I think they might apply better here; cell phones are offering better cameras. This are from an iPhone which is 3MP, now if 12MP becomes the norm and it does improve the cell phone cameras, then I'm going to get one as soon as they do that with the iPhones.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb200/palousegirl/iPhoneflower.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb200/palousegirl/MaxCherries.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb200/palousegirl/Max10.jpg

[HYBEagle]

pretty useless I think.