Taking Photographs With Cellular Phones

It is quite common for people to own cellular phones and pocket cameras. Making phone calls and snapping pictures are very common things to do for modern people because these are a part of the socialization, supported by various social media on the internet. Now, every time there’s a human-photo activity, this sentence will most surely be heard, ”For Facebook, for Facebook...,” mentioning the name of a highly popular social media.

However, some people may find it difficult to bring their cellular phone and camera at the same time. Slowly but surely, people start to rely on their cellular phones as cameras. Nowadays, there are a lot of cellular phones which have the same quality as the best pocket camera five years ago. Pocket cameras (with 8 megapixels) such as Nokia N86 can create a sharp image, even if it’s printed on the size of 40cm x 60 cm. With that kind of ability, it is clear that cameras on cellular phones are the substitute for pocket cameras. Will this situation kill the pocket camera?

Different Functions

As the cellular phones continue to improve and fill the gap which was left by pocket cameras, the producers of pocket cameras also improve the ability of their products. Now, exclusive pocket cameras have more abilities compared to an SLR five years ago. Canon G-10, for instance, can record up to 14 megapixels. Compare this to an average SLR camera in 2004 which still had about 6 megapixels.

In addition, the pocket cameras available today are equipped with high-quality lenses. They also have amazing and functional digital filters. The practical use of cameras in cellular phones can be seen in several photos in this page. For instance, a traffic accident snapped by someone who was driving, or a very unique accident which took place around Palmerah Market. With our cellular phone, which we always carry everywhere, we can snap all kinds of incidents.

Understand the ability

Using cellular phones as cameras cannot be compared to using something which was originally designed as a camera. Cellular phones still make the camera as “bonus”, which means that the photo-taking functions are not the main features. The photo-taking buttons in cellular phones are usually not too ergonomic. Even if the position is quite comfortable for our fingers, the sizes are usually too small because the buttons must be compromised with the appearance of the phone as a whole. To utilize the camera function in a cellular phone, the first thing we need to realize is, we need special tricks to do this :

1.The position of the cellular phone has to be really still when you press the photo-taking button. A slight shake will create a blurry photo. The inability to absorb vibrations is the main flaw of cameras in cellular phones.

2. Don’t push the photo-taking button too quickly. Give time for the lens to stay focused, and then press the buttons long and hard. Regular cameras have autofocus machines. In cellular phones, this machine exists, but the size and ability are not too good.

3. Put the camera button on the top list of your menu. Create a shortcut for your camera button. This way, you can easily access your camera function.

4. Start practicing to take pictures while looking as if you’re talking on the phone.

This last tip is highly useful, especially if you want to take pictures without others knowing about it. Of course, we don’t mean bad, but sometimes we need to do this, for instance, to take pictures of suspicious people.

Cellular phones are not the main option in photography. However, in the future, it is possible that the photography skill of these cellular phones will be enough for all our normal needs.

(Source : Arbain Rambey )