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The future of mobiles and cameras - where are we going?

We've been listening to a breakfast seminar on mobile phones and camera functions, and we have to say that developments are moving at a rapid pace. Do you even need a real camera now that mobile phone cameras have become so good? What can you really do with modern mobile phone cameras? Is this new technology as amazing as it sounds... or can it also be dangerous?

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Breakfast seminar with Huawei

Last week we listened to a breakfast seminar organised by the company Huawei. Huawei manufactures mobile phones, among other things, and is huge in Asia. They are also getting bigger and bigger in Europe, and one of the reasons is perhaps that they are investing a lot in the camera functions in their phones. We have seen many photos taken with Huawei's mobile phones and we have to say we are impressed.

However, the breakfast seminar was not specifically about Huawei's products, but rather a look forward and backward in time with several invited speakers, who worked with photography or technology. Really interesting!

The seminar moderator and Changzhu Li, VP Smartphone Prod. Line Consumer BG, Huawei

Remember the glory days of the Camera?

We learnt during the seminar that in 2007 just over 830,000 cameras were sold in Sweden. In 2018, the figure had dropped to 107,000 cameras. Perhaps it is not so strange that more people had cameras in the past. If you wanted to take photos at a wedding or a 50th birthday party, you were, after all forced having a camera.

Do you remember the days of buying rolls of 24 or 36 pictures, and how frugal you had to be with your photography to make those pictures last? The main job of photo shops was to develop images, and they did that on a regular basis. With the advent of digital cameras, most photo shops simply went out of business.

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Is the era of cameras over?

With each passing year, mobile phones are equipped with better and better cameras, and development continues apace. Is the era of cameras over? If the speakers at the seminar are to be believed, there may be no future for compact cameras, while system cameras can be used for "artistic purposes". The photographers also talked about the feeling and the "grip" - much like you sometimes hear people talk about the feeling of holding a "real book".

The mobile phone camera has multiple purposes

During the seminar, there was some discussion about the difference between how camera manufacturers and mobile phone manufacturers view the purpose of a camera. While camera manufacturers have traditionally seen the camera as a tool to produce an image, mobile phone manufacturers have thought that the camera function can be used for completely different purposes, such as orientation or getting information about a known building nearby.

mobilkamera

Mobile phone cameras can be used to scan a menu in Arabic and have it translated into Swedish. If you want, you can also find out the weight and nutritional content of the strawberry in the picture. The camera can also be used to photograph a disease symptom and digitally compare it with other photos to make a diagnosis. Very practical!

Useful ... or dangerous?

The applications of the new technology seem almost endless, and it seems that cameras can be used for many good purposes. At the same time, there are examples that don't feel quite as nice. For example, who wants to be scanned with "facial recognition" when entering a shop or restaurant, just so they can offer a product that suits your gender and your mood?

Can you also scan me and see what I weigh?

the moderator

"Can you also scan me and see what I weigh," the moderator asked one of the speakers. No, apparently you can't, and some of us breathed a sigh of relief. Because where is the limit for what information we want to have?

On the other hand, as one of the speakers said, people had the same kind of fears when the TV came along. It may not be the technology that determines whether we are good or bad as human beings, it is just a question of how we choose to use the technology.

Perhaps the TV was also considered dangerous once upon a time? Image: Pixabay

The future of mobiles and cameras - where are we going?

Mobile phones already have great cameras, and the trend is towards even better image quality, better zoom and better storage and sharing capabilities. Everything will probably become even more interconnected, and even if you use multiple devices (drone, GoPro, mobile phone, etc.), all images and films will automatically be collected in one place.

In an even slightly longer perspective, maybe even the mobile phone is gone? Maybe there will be a time when we wear glasses or bracelets and control technology with our voice. It's important to catch the new before it has already rushed by ...

What does the picture say? Photo: Pixabay

Do you use a mobile phone camera or a "real" camera? What do you think about the different uses of a mobile phone camera? What do you think about the future of mobile phones and cameras?

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