Cell phones take great pictures, but some take better pictures than others. Cell phone cameras are digital cameras, so if you are purchasing a cell phone because you are interested in the camera, there are some things you should know. You should know about CCD and CMOS, PPI, and MP. In other words, you should know how cellphone cameras work, and how to share your pictures (just for good measure).
CCD and CMOS
Cell phones use digital cameras. Digital cameras record images in digital format using bits and bytes. Digital cameras are very similar to traditional film cameras. Although they capture images the same as traditional cameras–light passes through a series of lenses and the image is captured–digital cameras record the image electronically on a sensor, while traditional cameras capture the image on film. The type of sensor a digital camera uses determines the quality of the picture:
CMOS (charged metal oxide semiconductor): Used by low-quality cell phones with small batteries.
CCD (charged coupled device): Used by top-tier smartphones, the CCD sensor uses 100 times more power and creates higher quality pictures.
MP
MP is the acronym for megapixels. Image resolution is measured in MPs. The higher the resolution the better the quality of the image when the image is enlarged and you want to be able to maintain 300 PPI (pixels per inch) when enlarging for print. Any camera that is 8 MP or higher is considered high-resolution. Higher-end smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 are 16 MP.
Editing and Sharing Your Photos
Today, most smartphones come with basic editing software built right into the camera. You can crop pictures and choose filters to change or enhance the image color. For more detailed editing there are programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Paint, Gimp, and more. Because sharing photos on social networks is so popular, you are likely to want to do that, which is super easy if you have the Facebook App on your cell phone. Click on the little camera when posting, open your photo gallery, and click on the picture you want. It’s that easy.
ABOUT YOUR DALLAS, TX, PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER:
Doug Davis has been producing professional, engaging videos and product, food, and lifestyle photography from his Dallas, TX, studio for more than 20 years. D-Squared Studios is located at 4312 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, 75226. Contact our office at (214) 746-6336 or email Doug at doug.davis@d2studios.net.