Digital Cameras and Mobile Phones
I was surprised to see figures recently that show that sales of camera phones are booming around the world. If the current trend continues manufacturers will be shipping around 847 million camera phones a year by 2009.
Here in Hervey Bay a camera phone that has a 1.3 megapixel capacity is considered big news and finding someone at one of the phone stores who has much of a clue about camera phones can be difficult. But out there in the wider world it is possible to pick up a camera phone with an 8 megapixel capacity and that figure could well increase in the near future.
Camera phones that pack that much punch have a better resolution than many consumer-level digital cameras and many American households are opting for a camera phone instead of a straight digital camera.
But don’t be fooled, a camera that takes pictures is not the same as a phone that takes pictures. You may think that a camera phone offers a level of convenience that is missing from a digital camera but that may not be the case.
Perhaps all that makes me sound like a Luddite but I’m not. I have a camera phone and I have a digital camera and the phone is great for phone calls while the camera is great for photographs.
One of the more important things to think about when making the purchase is what you have to do to transfer the images from the phone to your computer. Is it as simple as plugging it into your computer or do you actually have to email the photos to yourself?
Battery life is another important factor. It’s great to be able to take heaps of photos with a digital camera but the battery size and life of a camera phone may severely limit the numbers of photos you can take before you need a recharge.
You don’t want to be in the position of having to decide whether to grab that last great snap or retaining enough battery life in your phone so that you can be available for that important phone call that could arrive at any time.
Also compare the cost – is your camera phone going to be used predominantly for phone calls? If it is going to be used for that purpose is the added convenience of being able to take photos worth the extra price
Finally, analysts believe that despite such big megapixel numbers industry analysts think that ultimately the biggest demand will come down to cameras in the 3 megapixel range. Is the quality going to be the same from a low megapixel phone camera as it would be from a consumer-level digital camera?
