Cameras and Images

rear of nokia n70Camera phone technology is still developing and many camera phones now have a 1.5 megapixel or 2 megapixel camera built-in. The Nokia N70 has a 3 megapixel camera for even better clarity however usually camera phones don't capture enough detail to make high-quality prints, but they're great for spontaneous pictures and sharing.  

tryTry these tips and experiment with your camera phone or PDA.

 

  • Take a close up
  • Shoot at eye-level
  • Use a plain background
  • Try different angles
  • Use high resolution only

Have a go and discover your camera phone's capabilities – has it got?

  • Picture effects – snap pictures in black & white or sepia or add different frames to your pictures.
  • Photo caller ID – associate a picture with a person in your address book that appears every time they call you.
  • Wallpaper – save your favourite picture as the background for your phone.
  • Self-timer – capture your picture at the right moment.

cameraphoneMany camera phones, like the Sony Ericsson T637 or Z530i have a range of gimmicky features including the ability to add clip art and a frame to the pictures. There's also the choice of shoot modes. Panaromic takes three photos, providing you with a strip of the previous photo to the side so you can match up shot at each picture. There is also the 'burst' option, which takes a series of four photos in quick succession so you can pick the best."

In Practice

Wolverhampton University is exploring the use of IPods and video clips in Dance classes. Their existing videos have to be re-purposed to ensure the 30 frames per second rate suitable for the IPod. They have found that Smartphones have a 12.5 fps rate which makes any video quite jerky.

How can I use images on a handheld device for teaching and learning?

 

vikao logo

If you have a Palm use the imaging software Vikao that allows you to take images e.g. screen shots, maps and drawings from your computer and transfer them to your Palm device as an image. A great way to capture a Google map, or a map of the London Underground, to take with you on your device.

10 really useful reasons to use a camera phone. For example:

1. If you’re involved in a traffic accident, you can use the phone’s camera to photograph the cars before any of them are moved.

2. Snap a picture of where you park your car at at the shopping precinct or at an airport.

camera phone book

A short course in camera phones with an accompanying e-book.

camera phone obsession book

Camera Phone Obsession

by Peter G Aitken

ISBN: 1932111964

phone tripod

Cellicasting is simple! Once installed, in just a few seconds you can begin "live" Cellicasting from your camera phone or PDA. Cellicast, hands-free, with the compact VersiPod or ClamperPod, allowing you to mount your mobile device virtually anywhere!

Quicklinks

Technical Tips

Other sections

In Practice

Examples and ideas showing practical ways to use the different devices in the classroom and out and about

Choose the Right Device

What to look for when buying the devices, reviews and suggestions

FAQs for Organisations

Issues and questions that organisations experience

Making it Accessible

Ways to use the technology accessibly

The Future

The changing world of handheld devices

Glossary

An a-z glossary of mobile technology terms