Gadget smart
With Ozioma Ubabukoh
WEDNESDAY , SEPTEMBER 28 , 2016
07053937947 oubabukoh @ punchng . com
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# Quick fact The first camera phone
Samsung Sharp built the first camera phone .
The first cell phone with a built-in camera was manufactured by Samsung and released in South Korea in June , 2000 . The SCH-V200 flipped open to reveal a 1.5-inch TFT-LCD , and the built-in digital camera was capable of taking 20 photos at 350,000-pixel resolution , which is 0.35-megapixels , but you had to hook it up to a computer to get your photos . The camera and the phone components were essentially separate devices housed in the same body .
There ’ s a strong argument that the first real camera phone was produced by Sharp and released in Japan by J-Phone ( now SoftBank Mobile ) in November , 2000 . The J-SH04 could take photos , like the one on the right ( from Japanese site Showcase ) at 110,000-pixel resolution or 0.11-megapixels . The real difference between it and the Samsung SCH-V200 was the fact that the J-SH04 allowed you to send your photos electronically .
• Source : Google
How to get quality videos from your smartphone
Your video does not have to be perfect but following these seven tips , shooting great video with your smartphone will be easy and the footage will look fantastic !
1 . Good lighting is critical
Proper lighting has a huge impact on smartphone cameras because they have smaller image sensors and lenses . Try as much as possible to shoot your video in brightly lit areas . This will help avoid unnecessary shadows and grainy areas in your video . Conversely , you also must be careful not to point the camera directly at bright light sources , which will cause unusable overexposed footage and lens flaring . Lighting should be stable and steady ; the image sensors in most smartphones do not react to dramatic changes in lighting very quickly . If the light is still making it tough to shoot your video , try working with back-lighting and white balance settings if your phone or app provides them . Most phones also offer “ touch focusing ” in the event your camera is focusing on the wrong area of your composition . After setting the focus on the most important aspect of the video , the automatic exposure control will have an easier time making small adjustments if lighting condition begins to change .
2 . Stay steady
If you don ’ t want your video footage to come out distorted , blurred , or affected by “ rolling shutter ,” the best thing to do is to keep your phone steady while recording . Use both hands to hold your smartphone as close as possible to your body as you record the video . This can be a bit fatiguing in long takes or sequences and there are other ways to support the phone :
• Stabilisers , tripods and camera cages allow you to keep your smartphone or mobile device still when taking a video with it , and they have perfect handles to accomplish this .
• If a smartphone tripod or stabiliser is a little too costly or not practical for you in your circumstances , you can rest your phone on other physical supports like tables , chairs , desks , shelves , etc .
3 . The audio matters as much as the video
A good video with poor audio quality is junk unless you plan to add a completely new audio track “ in post ” ( while editing your video ). While you want your video to look good , the quality of your audio is more important than the video – so it should matter as much , if not more . Unfortunately , the built-in microphone in most smartphones ( if not all of them ) is both low quality and improperly placed . It is very common to catch wind and unnecessary environmental noise that will compete with or drown out any important audio while shooting video outside . This is almost impossible to edit out later . It is advisable to shoot your video in a quiet place , preferably indoors when possible with less ambient noise . Professionals are shooting all sorts of commercial grade videos and feature films using their mobile phones but audio is almost ALWAYS captured with a separate recording device suitable for the job . So , for great quality videos with superb audio , you should get an external recording device or at least a directional microphone that will work with your smartphone . If using an external microphone isn ’ t possible or practical then stay as close to the audio source as possible and try this little trick : use your hand to cover around the phone ’ s microphone ( but don ’ t completely cover it ). This way , unwanted noise can be reduced , which might give your final product a chance .
4 . Get close to your subject
Staying physically closer to your subject ensures better image quality , less digital noise and better focus in your videos since most smartphones use a digital zoom rather than optical zoom .
5 . Avoid vertical video syndrome
Stop shooting vertical video ! Some videographers , ( yes … video entrepreneurs , too ) who use their smartphones for digital film-making often make the mistake of holding their phones vertically , that is to say up and down rather than sideways , while recording .
Hold your phone horizontally so that videos played back on other screens ( virtually everywhere ) will look fine .
6 . Improve your videos with mobile apps
The camera app on your smartphone may do a good job but there ’ s more to video recording than what most of them have to offer ! Some third party apps are very intuitive with great features for those new to developing video content , while some others unlock professional-like features that might bring out your inner George Lucas . While you will find some pretty good free apps , investing in a couple of apps that cost a little bit of money can pay huge dividends .
7 . Be prepared for the shoot
Before you begin recording your videos , make sure that you have all of the gear , props , scripts , actors and shooting locations ready to go . Additionally , make sure your phone is charged and that you have enough storage space ( available memory ) to store the footage – high definition ( HD ) video files can get large and will drain a battery quickly .
• Source : Google
First US camera phone – Sanyo SCP-5300
It was November 2002 before the United States adopted the crazy Japanese trend with the Sanyo SCP-5300 on Sprint . It cost $ 400 and it featured a chunky clamshell design . With a 0.3-megapixel capability , it could capture shots at 640 x 480 pixels . The one pictured on the left comes from this IGN review . The Sanyo SCP-5300 also had a basic flash , white balance control , self-timer , digital zoom , and various filter effects like sepia , black and white , and negative colours .
By the end of 2003 , camera phones were really taking off in the US and over 80 million had already been sold worldwide . We even covered the trend by reporting that camera phones rival DVD players sales back in November 2003 . The good news for consumers was that quality was rising and prices were dropping .
• Source : Digital Trends