Reiter's Camera Phone Report: Nokia executive: Camera phones will kill digital cameras in five years

I totally agree with Reiter on the fact that it's likely camera phones will never replace digital cameras completely. I don't even think they'll replace your typical point-and-shoot like, say, a Canon A80 type or even a Casio EX4U slim camera. I certainly hope their quality will increase, but I'm skeptical.

We've got a Canon Digital Rebel (DSLR) here. We don't necessarily treat our stuff with the utmost care, so we don't have any really expensive lenses. But we do have a $400 zoom lens. A camera phone could never match that, especially when the lens typically ends up on ones pocket exposed.

Granted, one of the megapixel cameras I was playing with had a nice sliding cover to help protect the lens. But it's just a piece of cheap glass or plastic protecting the sensor, which is still what looks like a basic pin-hole.

Our Casio EX-4U may actually have the form of lens that will end up in a cameraphone eventually. It fits in a very slim package and provides decent optics (although nothing like an SLR lens), focus, and zoom.

Now, I don't think this will end up on a small flip phone (like the size of a A-530, for example). But it could certainly end up something like the Nokia 7700 behemoth.

I think what ultimately needs to be identified is what camera phones are used for, what they can be used for, what people want to use them for, and what people actually do use them for. (Ok, that might just be obvious, and Reiter can word it better,but anyway...). If people are sending pics around the office with a camera phone of candids (see this phlog.net posting) then you really don't need much resolution over the phone screen resolution.

After our experience with our Canon DSLR, I can't image a time when we wouldn't have a dedicated high end digital camera of some sort (ok, the Digital Rebel isn't exactly high end like the 1Ds -- but it can take professional lenses, etc.). But will camera phones be able to replace the Casio EX-4U? Not sure -- maybe. Will they be able to replace our Sony DSC-U20? Well, it's a fixed lens with autofocus at 2 megapixel. I certainly think so, but by today's standards it's low end.

Another point I wanted to make before I scamper off to bed. Carriers will be hindering quick snappers by not allowing images to be saved to external cards (so what are they for?!) by requiring all images that move off a phone to go through MMS. I know this from stuff I can't post specifics about. I also hope market forces make it change before it's a reality. Unfortunately, I know that my current project has to implement it (the restriction). :( This, alone, certainly limits the range of uses on some camera phones. Another megapixel camera phone doesn't even have a memory slot. Of course, at high jpeg compression it could store 200 1.3 megapixel images!.

I ramble on... I'm tired and the firmware build just failed -- again.

Posted by Shane on February 23, 2004 11:44 PM | Permalink