Wireless Muse: Reiter's Wireless Internet Weblog

Time for a "wireless camera" association?

Perhaps I'm letting my enthusaism for camera phones get the better of me, but I wonder if there's a need for a wireless camera association. I'm specifically discussing "wireless" rather than "camera phones," because you don't need a camera phone to send a photo wirelessly.

Indeed, at least two digital cameras offer the ability to transmit photos via WiFi, such as the new Nikon D2H with a compact flash slot. Also, there are surveillance cameras that incorporate cellular capabilities -- not for voice -- but for transmitting images. The Nokia GSM GPRS-based "Observation Camera" is an example.

A big ecosystem to represent

When you examine the entire "ecosystem" of wireless cameras, you realize this is already not only a huge business, but also a business with numerous components, constituencies and issues.

I know a bit about trade associations because I helped create and develop the first association for "radiotelephones" (before there was cellular) and pagers. That association, Telocator Network of America, is now the Personal Communications Infrastructure Association (which is a shadow of its former glory, alas, and focuses on towers rather than the entire wireless industry).

Wireless camera association activities

Here are some suggestions for what a camera phone association could accomplish:

* Monitor legislation around the world that would effect the wireless camera business

* Promote interoperability among all camera phones using all technologies

* Serve as a resource for wireless camera statistics, case studies and other information for both the industry and consumers

* Develop conferences, seminars and tutorials about wireless cameras

* Develop printed and Web based resources about the wireless camera industry, including directories and guides

* Foster discussions among all areas of the industry: Handset vendors, digital camera manufacturers, components manufacturers, cellular operators, WiFi providers, software developers, chipset developers, printer manufacturers, etc.

A place for a new association

Certainly there are other wireless associations, such as the powerful Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Assocation (for which my partners and I have conducted wireless data tutorials for eight years). But the CTIA focuses on lots of issues, and wireless cameras are a small blip on the association's radar screen.

I think a wireless camera association could accomplish a lot of useful things. But, times are tough, and not many companies are willing to pay dues (typically rather high) to fund a new organization.

Tips for using camera phones

Although camera phones are old news to many Asians and Europeans, here in the U.S. we're just at the beginning of the growth curve. Since many people are unfamiliar with camera phones, I thought I'd include some suggestions for taking good photos and getting the most out of camera phones.

As I've written ad nauseum, I'm a big fan of camera phones for consumer and business applications. But I'm also aware of the problems, including the poor quality of most camera phone photos, even at the "high resolution" (ha ha) of 640 x 480. You may see for yourself the quality in my Textamerica moblog (which is one of several mobile Weblogs I'm testing).

To be fair, camera phones are great fun and useful, even at today's low resolutions. There's a lot you can do with a camera phone beyond the typical "here we are in Disney World" type of photo, as one forward-thinking article discusses.

Tips for camera phone users

Although I've played around with several camera phones, my most recent experience has been with Verizon Wireless' new LG VX6000, as I wrote. I'm still using it and I still find it lots of fun. The following tips are based on the VX6000 but are applicable for most other camera phones, too.

If you have a camera phone and would like to offer your own tips, please send them to me (reiter@wirelessinternet.com) and I'll post them or point to them in the discussion section.

Here are my suggestions.....

* Get close. Camera phones don't have telephoto lenses so if you take a photo of a person or building that's far away, the main subject will be tiny. For most photos you'll get a much better shot by filling your phone's screen with a close up of the subject.

* Send from a good cellular coverage area. If you're transmitting a photo in an area where the cellular signal is weak, it could take longer to send the photo than when you're in a strong signal area. If you're paying for airtime to send a photo, it could make a difference in the price. Although photos generally are transmitted in under a minute, if it goes over 60 seconds, you will pay for another minute.

* Beware of distortion. I just mentioned that you should move as close as possible to the main subject of your photo. You should be aware that moving very close could produce some distortion, something like a "fisheye" effect. The effect could be fun, or your subject might not like the fact that his/her nose appears much bigger than in reality!

* Enter a title for each photo. If you're not used to entering text on a keypad, it can be a frustrating and slow process. But don't skip this step or you'll have to click on each photo to determine if you wanted to see 006 or 022. Title the photos before you send/save them or wait until you go home and enter names for a bunch of them.

Update - 7/22/03: I sent an e-mail to Russell Beattie (blogger, programmer, wireless expert, camera phone user) asking for any other tips. He replied that as a photo buff -- traditional digital and camera phone -- he relies on the day/date method for organizing photographs. Russell says it's too difficult coming up with unique names for all the photos, especially when he has thousands of photos.

I agree it's sometimes tough, but I'm afraid I think just using a day and date is too limiting. How can you remember what you were photographing on a specific day? Perhaps it's best to use both approaches -- a day/date and a title.

The title doesn't have to specific -- it can even be the same title for lots of photos -- but if you don't have a title, I think you will eventually not know what they photo is about or it will be much tougher to find.

* Make sure you know all the file quality settings. For example, cameras phones often have three quality setting: Low, Medium and High. Snap the same photo at all the different resolutions and look at the size and quality on your phone and your computer screen to determine which resolution you prefer to use. It's easy to change the resolution, but you'll probably set it at one resolution and not change it often.

* Shoot at the highest resolution. Camera phones generally top out at 640 x 480 (except for some phones with one megapixel in Japan), and that quality is good enough for viewing on the Web. The lower the resolution, the worse it looks. Assuming the cost of transmitting a photo is the same regardless of the resolution, go for the highest resolution. It will look better.

Photos with higher resolutions produce larger files and take longer to transmit. If you're paying by the minute and/or by the number of packets, you need to compare the value of higher quality with higher costs to you.

* Clean the lens. Camera phone lenses aren't immune to dust, dirt and fingerprint. Periodically clean the lens with a lens cloth, which is easily obtainable at photo shops.

* Create "quick phrases." Most cellular phones with messaging capabilities enable you to create and store phrases that may be used for the subject or text of your messages. If you know you're going to be taking photos at, for example, Yellowstone Park, create a phrase that reads, "Yellowstone -- 8-8-03" and store it in your phone. That way you won't have to enter the same phrase for each photo.

(If you're going to Yellowstone, please take a good digital or film camera in addition to a camera phone!)

* Avoid using the digital zoom. Some camera phones include a digital zoom feature. Digital zooms employ software to increase a photo's size but they also decease the quality by merely "blowing up" a segment of the picture. Even people with multi-megapixel digital cameras typically use the optical zoom, not the digital feature. Feel free to check out digtal zoom, but you'll probably dislike the result.

* Explore the white balance. If you've never used a digital camera, you should be aware of the "white balance" feature, which changes the photo color based upon the lighting conditions: Sunny, cloudy, dark, etc. There's also an "auto" feature that works fine most of the time. But if you have time and you don't like the way the photo looks on your LCD, change the white balance to see if it makes a difference.

* Turn on the lights indoors. If you're shooting indoors, it's easy to get more light by raising the shades and/or shining a light on the subject of the photo. The type of light, by the way, could change the white balance from, for example, indoors to tungsten. Most camera phones today do not include a built in flash and, even if they do, the flash isn't very powerful.

* Assign photos to names in your address book. Your phone includes "text" caller ID (where the name of the person calling is displayed), but it also probably has "photo" ID where a photo or graphic pops up when a person calls. It's more than just fun; it's useful if you can't match a name with a face.

* Send photos and graphics to your phone. Your phone should be able to accept photos and graphics sent via e-mail. If you want to link a photo of a friend to his/her phone number but haven't snapped a photo from your phone, you could send a photo that's stored on your desktop or laptop computer.

But make sure the photo's file size is small. If it's from a typical digital camera -- with a megapixel or higher resolution -- reduce the photo's pixel count by using a photo editing program before you send it to your phone. If the photo is too large, your cellular operator's system might reject it.

You also should be able to use photos and graphics sent to you phone as wallpaper and screensavers. Remember that if you receive the photos from your computer to your phone via cellular, there will be a charge.

* Back up your photos online or via e-mail. You certainly may save photos in your phones memory. But what if the phone crashes (yes, it can happen) or you run out of memory and have to delete some photos? There are several ways to back up photos.

One way is to send a copy of the photo to your own e-mail account. Another way is to sign up for your cellular operator's online photo album service (which is probably free) and/or for a mobile Weblog (moblog) from such companies as Textamerica, Phlog.net, Buzznet or Eachday. Some phones also have removable storage options, such as a Sony Memory Stick, for saving photos.

If you're going to send a photo to a friend and, with the same message, you also send a copy to your own e-mail address, you might not have to pay twice. Many cellular operators will charge you only for one transmission rather than for multiple recipients of the photos if you send it as an e-mail. Check with your cellular operator about its pricing regarding MMS and e-mail photo transmissions.

* Special photo effects from your phone versus computer. Many camera phones offer special effects, such as changing a color photo to black and white or sepia, as well as adding colorful borders and frames around the photo.

This can be fun (especially if you're a kid!) but you also can send a photo to yourself and use your photo editing program to create borders, frames and special effects. Of course, this defeats the spontaneity of sending a photo from your phone, but a photo editing program offers much more powerful features.

* Keep track of your battery. Camera phones use lots of power. With their internal and external color screens, animations, polyphonic ringtones and other fun and useful features, these phones drain your battery much more quickly than less feature-rich phones. If you take lots of photos during the day, make sure to keep track of your battery level and recharge it frequently. It also wouldn't hurt to purchase another battery.

Update - 7-22-03: Want to read my camera tips in French? A French marketing expert has translated the entire article.