anupam Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Are there any cell phone cameras that allow some sort of minimal exposure control? I am in the market for a new phone and found out to my disappointment thatCingular only has some very mundane phones on offer if i just upgrade my currentaccount (I am out of contract). However, I can get some pretty cool phones forcheaper if I just get a new service so I have unwillingly decided to change mynumber and get a new contract/phone. However, since this phone cam will be my first digital camera of any sort, Ihave a few basic questions. What sort of features might I reasonably expect froma midrange phone? Some phones have a flash, it seems. I assume they would begarbage for night photography but might be handy for daylight head and shoulderportraits as fill - but do these phones at all let the user decide when to useflash or is it auto-everything? Finally, can these phones directly downloadimages to the PC or will the service charge me for emailing them to myself - howmany pics might a 1.3 mp phone store? Thanks for any suggestions. Anupam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingdove Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 About downloading directly to computer, it can be done. Not that they will tell you so. They want you to email them from the phone in order to charge you. I did it once with a motorola phone and usb cord. Forgot how I did that! By calling the phone company not the utility company, I was able to get step by step directions. Good luck! d.d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mars c Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Try inquiring in the GADGETS furom, they may have an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anupam Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 There's a 'gadgets' forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey moore Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 There's no "gadgets" forum. He's just being a wise-ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.sriram Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 So far I haven't come across any cellphone which gives you any sort of exposure control. However, all the camera phones I've seen have some sort of USB connectivity to a PC/Mac. If your service provider disables that (like Verizon cripples MP3 transfer on the new Motorola Razr : <A HREF=http://blog.wired.com/music/#1520340>http://blog.wired.com/music/#1520340</A> ) and forces you to use their data services, then you're out of luck, or better off with a different provider. I use a sony ericsson K750I and all you need is a phone - USB cable (provided with my phone) and your PC can talk to the phone, download photos, contact details, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saikat.pathak Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I shall try to answer some parts of your questions.... Firstly, on the exposure control side, no they do not offer any exposure control. Even, focussing options are pre-programmed and no user intervention is allowed. As regards the flash, one has the option to turn it on. Quality-wise, let's not discuss it. Afterall, we are used to high quality results. IOW, it would never satisfy you. As regards downloading images to PC, it can easily be done with USB cable that is supplied with the camera. Nokia also offers PC Suite. I have had no problems in transferring data to and fro with my Motorola (A768i) and Nokia (E61) handsets. Emailing the images to your mail id might be charged by your service provider (GPRS connection needed). Surfing the web (WAP/HTML) charges also depend on service providers. Transferring data using USB cable does not result in any charges at all. You can get yourself a 3 mpix camera phone also. Look for these basic features - Bluetooth, USB port, decent internal memory, Audio and Video player (RM/MP3), WAP browser, etc. Desirable features :- W-Lan, Document readers, HTML browser, External memory options (you can add separate memory cards upto 2GB), etc. Surf this site :- www.gsmarena.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanette Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 In my opinion, cameras phones are bunk. Get yourself a regular phone (no camera) and invest in a halfway decent point and shoot with some manual functions or something better if you can afford it. I don't think a camera phone is going to help you learn the art of photography. Why don't you just get a film camera then? They're fairly inexpensive too and you can do a lot more than with a point and shoot (usually). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanette Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Actually you already have some nice photos on your portfolio. I would just keep doing what you're doing but if it's a digital you really want, go with the suggestion from the previous posts, like a 3MP camera, mind you digis are also going down in price too these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anupam Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 Nanette, Might I ask you not to assume my motives and to just address the question? When I want to do 'the art of photography' I'll use one of my many film cameras. I also carry an Olympus XA most of the time for street shooting. And I have no desire to buy a point and shoot digital to replace it. The only digital I would currently consider would be a D200 when I can afford it. However, given the choice between a dozen free camera phones, I would like to choose the least bad one - hence my question. Thank you, -A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmeade Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Hello, Many phones that have bluetooth will also have a USB adaptor you can plug into your computer, so you can transfer your files that way. I plan to buy one when I can get to a phone shop. As for exposure control, my Motrola V3 has a lighten and darken facility. It's a pretty basic model, so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a more up-market phone may have a better camera and control system. Picture quality. Hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanette Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Anupam, You weren't clear in your post what you wanted to use a camera phone for, so I could only presume you wanted to do photography with it. If you read my second post, I did say that you had some nice work in your portofolio and that you should continue using whatever camera you already had. You obviously know the art of photography already. Maybe make your motives clear and you wouldn't get these kind of responses. I was only trying to be helpful and giving my opinion. Afterall, isn't that what people do here and why people are posting? At least I didn't leave you a "wiseass" remark and tell you to post this in the "gadgets" section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anupam Posted July 14, 2006 Author Share Posted July 14, 2006 No problem Nanette. I appreciate your response and maybe my reply was a trifle testy as well - if so, I apologize. What I hope a cell cam can do for me with careful use is eliminate the need to spend time scanning slides just to be able to send pictures of friends and family over the net. I figure it might have just enough for that purpose. If not, then there's always my F3:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Buy a Minox and keep your old phone number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emwalker Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Camera phones are toys, intended to increase sales among fourteen-year-old consumers (mom, it's a camera and a phone...) They might be good for some severely limited experimental work if you have a great imagination, but if you're looking for a phone with a decent camera on it, forget about it. I would invest more in the features of the phone than the camera gimmick. In fact, I would recommend skipping the camera option altogether. -e- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I just bought my first cell phone - not because I wanted it, but because I had to. I chose the Motorola V195 because it has no camera, but still has bluetooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtomtom Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 The reason for cell phone cameras is quick pix when you don't happen to have a camera with you. My Treo 600 one sucks, but getting one with 1.3mp or up will at least get you some res. There are ones with up to 5mp res.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandit Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 I have an Imate (HTC Prophet - also sold as XDA something or the other, and a bunch of other models) Pocket PC phone. It's a fairly decent 2MP camera for snapshots, actually (although stick to frontlight.. and amply lit) - and b/c the phone has EDGE, email, bluetooth, WLAN, infrared and an SD card, you can (1) upload photos to your PC for editing in PS (2) send photos via MMS and (3) send photos via email from your phone itself. And it is a cracker of a PDA as well (not to mention web browser, MP3 player, photo archive, et). Otherwise, any of the higher end phones (Nokia, Sony, etc) ought to let you move photos back and forth between your PC and handset without too many problems. Vandit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 My Game Boy Micro is cooler, though. Plus, it was only $80 and there are no monthly fees! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_hutcherson Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 My Motorola V220, which is probably the cheapest camera phone you can buy, has exposure compensation in 1/3 stop increments hidden in the menu. It also has some very, very limited white balance control. I wouldn't consider using it seriosly, but there have been times when I I've been glad to have any kind of camera at all, and those are the times when I've used it. I don't generally carry an SLR everywhere I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanette Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 No worries Anupam. Now that I understand your motive for the camera phone, I can see why you would want to get one. Although depending on the cost of the phone, I would compare that to the price of a digital point and shoot. You can get some point and shoot cameras that will provide you with the same or better quality for less and fairly lightweight. Since I don't always carry my SLR everywhere I go, I bought a point and shoot exactly for the purposes. And it's small enough that it's not a bother to carry. Of course, you can't send the picture anywhere from your camera but with a phone you can. I guess it's best to weigh out your options and choose what's best for you. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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