alanS
Dr Dust
Reged: 30/09/2005
Posts: 3402
Loc: Up North, England.
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I have a tiny little metal bodied camera that I've been taking everywhere with me but I always secretly wanted a decent camera phone. Being too tight to buy a Sony Ericsson K750i when they first came out I've been waiting until the price drops even further but luckily one of my sisters gave me a K800i and I've had it a couple of weeks now. My little compact has therefore been left at home. But, for some reason I don't feel right not having a "proper" camera with me, even if it's only a cheapo one. So, my compact may have to come out of retirement.
Is this need to carry a camera that isn't a phone irrational or do you lot feel the same?
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Alan's defence lawyer claimed that "Booze played no part in his typo's."
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Hotblack
Dead Horse Flogger
Reged: 07/03/2006
Posts: 7014
Loc: Upstairs in the spare room.
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Quote:
Is this need to carry a camera that isn't a phone irrational or do you lot feel the same?
Irrational?? Possibly, but I'm not that comfortable carrying a compact and generally take my DSLR almost everywhere with me. 
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Cheers
David
David J White Photography
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alanS
Dr Dust
Reged: 30/09/2005
Posts: 3402
Loc: Up North, England.
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I don't feel so bad now.
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Alan's defence lawyer claimed that "Booze played no part in his typo's."
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 6978
Loc: Doon the glen
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I'd rather have a compact than a camera phone....
....but I'd rather have a camera phone than an E series  
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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ermintrude
Hinkypuff
Reged: 30/06/2003
Posts: 12166
Loc: London, UK
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Naw, I couldnt handle a camera phone, My current phone has a cr@ppy camera on it, but even if it was a great camera phone I couldnt not take my S3 out everywhere I go  Id get lonely
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Further, longer, higher, older...
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Scphoto
Little Fruitbat
Reged: 13/11/2005
Posts: 2400
Loc: Birmingham, UK
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My last few phones have had crappy cameras built in, often I've thought about a decent compact. But I just tend to carry my DSLR with me most of the time.
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Happiness is a Kebab call donor - Pictures/Blog
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surf_digby
journeyman
Reged: 04/04/2008
Posts: 50
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I've got a K800i. I bought it as I wanted as pocket sized camera to "capture moments".
However, I find it painfully slow to switch to camera mode, and then to autofocus. By the time I take a picture, the moment has usually passed.
The image quality is good (if a bit prone to purple fringing), but when I have some spare cash (spare? Ha ha!) I plan on getting a nice slim, basic compact that I can keep in my coat pocket to capture those moments, for when carrying my DSLR isn't possible/practical.
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4245
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
However, I find it painfully slow to switch to camera mode, and then to autofocus. By the time I take a picture, the moment has usually passed.
Stupid questions (never having owned a camera phone), but:
(1) Why can't you "park" the thing in camera mode?
(2) Why does a lens with a physical focal length of about 5mm (can't be much longer than that given the grain-of-sand dimensions of the sensor) need to focus at all? I would have thought that, if it was cemented set to 2 metres, it would be sharp from 1 metre to infinity even at maximum aperture.
After all, lots of cameras used to be made without focusing mechanisms, even ones (like Kodak Box Brownies) using roll film which had much more need for it because of the smaller depth of field of their lens.
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surf_digby
journeyman
Reged: 04/04/2008
Posts: 50
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Camera mode turns on when you open the lens cap. If you don't touch anything for about 20 seconds or so, it goes back into standby.
At the end of the day, it's a phone first and a camera second. When it's not doing anything camera-like, it defaults back to phone mode.
I'm guessing the reason Sony decided to have a lens that physically moves whilst it autofocuses, rather than the fixed focus lenses of other camera phones, was because they were pushing it as a "real Cyber-shot camera" (complete with xenon flash, instead of an LED).
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alanS
Dr Dust
Reged: 30/09/2005
Posts: 3402
Loc: Up North, England.
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Have you tried setting it to fixed focus? I keep mine set to fixed so that I can capture a shot quckly and if there's more time I go back to focus.
It might be worth trying.
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Alan's defence lawyer claimed that "Booze played no part in his typo's."
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4063
Loc: Devon, UK.
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Quote:
I've got a K800i. I bought it as I wanted as pocket sized camera to "capture moments".
However, I find it painfully slow to switch to camera mode, and then to autofocus. By the time I take a picture, the moment has usually passed.
The image quality is good (if a bit prone to purple fringing), but when I have some spare cash (spare? Ha ha!) I plan on getting a nice slim, basic compact that I can keep in my coat pocket to capture those moments, for when carrying my DSLR isn't possible/practical.
Just done a very quick and probably not very accurate experiment, comparing my 'phone (Sony Ericsson K800i) with my compact (Olympus Mju 770 SW) with regards to start up times - from pocket to shot. Very little between the 2 - about 8 seconds in each case. If anything, in real life, the 'phone is a bit faster - it doesn't live in a case, while the Oly does (mainly because I keep the tether attached for use while snorkelling). For the purposes of the test, I didn't put it in the case though. There's no doubt which produces the better image though, despite cramming 7.1 million pixies onto a tiny sensor (probably a similar density to the 3.2 in the 'phone) the Oly wins hands down.
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 6978
Loc: Doon the glen
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On my phone the shutter lag makes it pretty much useless for action pics. You're lucky if it's quick enough to capture a posed portrait!
For me the main funtion of a camera phone is for taking pics to send as a multi media message without having to faff about with memory cards or computers.
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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mweb
newbie
Reged: 22/06/2008
Posts: 2
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The phone i use is a Samsung G800 (G810) very capable camera actually, 5MP, instant AF, and 3X optical zoom and xenon flash, does a fair job most of the time.
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bradalax
old hand
Reged: 06/08/2006
Posts: 1161
Loc: Durham, UK
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I've got a Nokia N73 which has an excellent quality camera on it. Been really impressed with the shots it takes, and it has Carl Zeiss optics!
However would agree with a previous comment about shutter lag and speed of the camera to switch on. At the end of the day it's a phone I suppose.
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Mark
http://www.markjfenton.com/
A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.
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