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!
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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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Ama de casa says:
I remember the days of film reels! The last roll after a holiday could take several months before being developed. There were not so many "everyday photos"... Not so many holiday photos either if you compare with today.
We mostly took slides at that time. Before we moved here to Spain, Anders scanned 10,000 pictures and then we threw the originals away... In 2000 we bought our first digital camera and then photography increased and then kind of exploded when I started blogging 😀.
I insist on taking pictures with a "real" camera. Since I (for some strange reason? 😉 ) change cameras quite frequently, we have really noticed that the range of new models of cameras has decreased.
Anders mostly takes photos with his mobile phone. He is probably less backward than me. Haha!
I myself am so clumsy that I can access just about every button and app on the mobile phone when I want to take pictures with it, in addition, it lacks a "safety line" which feels unsafe. I really need one of those! Even though I have one on the camera, it still goes as it goes with my cameras... 😉
26 March 2019 - 9:16
Helena says:
Yes, I remember the waiting for photos. Unbearable! If you only took 16 photos, you had to wait until you took all 24 haha ... Sooo exciting to go and get them 🙂 I can also agree with you about the safety line, I like to have one!
26 March 2019 - 20:55
Geddfish says:
Yes, it started with my dad's box camera. Black and white. Then came Instamatic and you could get colour (which later faded).
I have had many cameras of different kinds. But since I started using the Samsung Galaxy S mobiles, I only use my mobile phone. Smart, simple, here and now.
The future? Will probably be in glasses or similar. Exciting, scary, fun 😀.
26 March 2019 - 11:09
Happy Campers says:
The mobile phone's camera is constantly evolving and is so good that you can manage quite well with it. Then there is the mobile phone/camera that you always have with you.
26 March 2019 - 12:27
Helena says:
Well, that's what's so practical about the mobile phone!
26 March 2019 - 20:56
Ditte says:
I have both, but the system camera is heavy to carry so I usually have a couple of other Canon cameras in smaller models. Have tested Huawei's new phone which is really good, got to borrow it from the retailer At the same time, it is sometimes about resolution and being able to change lenses if necessary. If you zoom a lot, the image becomes easier "grainy" with a mobile camera, especially if the image is to be published in magazines / catalogues and brochures where high resolution is required. Have then been backed up on mobile phone images. But on a computer it usually does not matter. It's a funny thought about what will happen.
26 March 2019 - 13:58
Helena says:
Glad you tested Huawei's new phone! On my mobile phone (which iofs is not completely new) it becomes super bad if you zoom (grainy), but this is probably a function that is being developed as well.
26 March 2019 - 20:58
Ruth i Virginia says:
Interesting!
Far, far back in time (when I was a child) there were few people,
who owned cameras. I have a single photo of me as a baby, and it is
was at my baptism - taken by a photographer, of course. All the family photos I
are taken by pro photographers. The box cameras came; Kodak served
big money. Then came the imports from Germany and Japan. And then moving pictures. There were 3 minutes on each roll. Everyone wanted to take pictures
"baby's first step". 🙂
I have completely stopped taking photos. Photos of the grandchildren are sent on a computer; nothing to put in an album, although I know it CAN be done. Think of the trillions of photos floating around out there in space. Will they be remembered? Will grandparents sit in front of the computer or TV and tell their grandchildren about the photos?
I have a mobile phone, but it's in a kitchen drawer. I'll learn eventually. But I must say that I am afraid of all the girls who can take photos nowadays. You never know where and in what situation you can get stuck.
26 March 2019 - 14:18
Helena says:
Oh, how interesting to hear about your experiences Ruth! A bit sad to not be able to take so many photos in the past. At the same time, I understand that you might have valued and taken better care of the photos you had! Today it is hopeless to keep track of all the pictures ...
26 March 2019 - 21:00
Elisabeth says:
For me it's more and more a mobile phone camera. The system camera is too heavy and it also feels like I always have the wrong lens on the camera. I also have a smaller camera, but it just sits there. The mobile phone camera is definitely as good as that one. Bye!
26 March 2019 - 16:02
Helena says:
My mobile phone camera is much worse than my camera, but on the other hand, my mobile phone is not one of the latest models... They really are getting better and better, and I understand the choice of mobile phone!
26 March 2019 - 21:01
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
Of course we remember the rolls of film with 24 or 36 pictures and the excitement of getting your photos. We also remember the joy of the first Instamatic camera with cube flash in the 60s.
We are loaded with both system and compact cameras but use the latter less and less. There the mobile phone is an alternative even if you can't fix the iso, depth of field etc. Perhaps we should add that we don't have any of the new phone models with the latest features.
26 March 2019 - 16:13
Helena says:
The excitement of getting the photos ... I remember that too! 🙂 We also don't have a really new model of mobile phone, and the camera features are evolving.
26 March 2019 - 21:03
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
35 mm I bought film by the metre and loaded cassettes myself. My mother admonished me not to take too many pictures, so I got a camera as a confirmation present.
Bought my first camera myself, a Zenit 3M, could change lenses and screw on lenses. The dream was to become a photographer but it ran out in the sand.
Now you mostly use your mobile phone, which also has a Samsung camera.
26 March 2019 - 17:02
Helena says:
Wow, those were different times! Things are moving fast...!
26 March 2019 - 21:04
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Peter, didn't you buy a camera with a built-in stabiliser? it was nothing to have.
26 March 2019 - 17:05
Helena says:
Yes, that's right, and he loves it! He was going to write a report, but it didn't happen ... sorry! He thinks it's light and flexible, and it's stable when filming!
26 March 2019 - 21:06
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Thank you nice to hear from users of the camera
27 March 2019 - 9:19
Steve says:
It is not surprising that I sometimes feel that the development has run away from me. But it's exciting to follow, even if I'm not involved in much of it.
26 March 2019 - 17:09
Helena says:
You don't have to be involved in everything new, but it's interesting to follow anyway! 🙂
26 March 2019 - 21:07
Ruth i Virginia says:
Absolutely! That's why I read blogs,
even if I don't blog myself. Keep up with
is more important the older you get.
26 March 2019 - 21:38
Matts Torebring says:
If used correctly, a mobile phone can work for taking photos. I myself have "cheated by using my mobile phone", during construction time at work. I love my system camera. I don't want to be without it. If I use a mobile phone or system camera, I still want to adjust the images before publication. Today I use Lightroom for this.
26 March 2019 - 18:49
Helena says:
Ah, so you have lightroom? I also adjust a little bit, but I don't have such an advanced programme, just a simple free one 😉.
26 March 2019 - 21:08
Maria / Magnolia Magis says:
My father had a Roliflex and an Olympus in the 60s and 70s. I had to take over the Olympus later. In the basement we had development. So yes, we have had a camera and used it a lot.Today we have a Canon and mobile phones. The mobile phone is always with and easier to post directly on e.g. Instagram. Canon is clearly better photo with if you have to enlarge. For the children, we occasionally make photo books (at Fotoklok) so that there are books to sit and look in. Wish there was a smart way to transfer your blog directly to a book... Do you know anything?
26 March 2019 - 19:21
Helena says:
The mobile phone definitely has an advantage if you want to post directly on Insta... or on Facebook! Transferring your blog to a book ... interesting thought! But no, I don't know unfortunately.
26 March 2019 - 21:09
BP says:
Here I can only copy Ana's comment. I have exactly the same "photo background" as her, but not with slides. I only developed paper cards.
The range of pocket cameras has definitely decreased, but I have to say that Huawei's latest mobile phone takes fantastic pictures and has features that probably no compact camera has.
We'll see where it all ends...
26 March 2019 - 20:49
Helena says:
Yes, we have been really impressed with Huawei's photos! My own mobile phone photos are not so good, but I have an older version (and another brand) ....
26 March 2019 - 21:10
Susjos says:
An exciting future! I only take pictures with my mobile phone camera nowadays, and they are often quite good. Looking forward to when it's time to get a newer mobile phone with an even better camera!
26 March 2019 - 23:19
Lena - gott för själen says:
I think about this new technology with a certain amount of horror. It's fascinating that it's possible, but a little scary at the same time. I use a system camera, a compact camera and a mobile phone camera. Depending on the mood and situation.
Hug Lena
28 March 2019 - 6:06
Emma, Sol som sol? says:
The mobile phone camera even though we have a nice "real" m'camera. I even loaded it because I thought I should use it but it doesn't happen anyway. It is so convenient that the pictures are loaded automatically and I can "pick" the ones I want to use.
But I miss that feeling of opening the envelope with the newly developed photos, it was so exciting! Many times, however, I was very disappointed because the photo I was so hoping for was blurred, but that was part of the charm ... A little bit of that feeling is there when you open up the harvest in the computer and see how they really turned out. You fail with digital cameras as well.
28 March 2019 - 17:06
Gerra K-Son says:
The meaning of the mobile camera must be a compliment to the real camera, you always have a camera with you.
29 March 2019 - 0:04