Abstract
More and more photographs are taken each year, yet the vast majority of those are snapped using a smartphone and not a traditional dedicated camera. It is amazing how the camera has become such an essential feature of the mobile phone. Even more remarkable considering that when it was first proposed, mobile operators were extremely sceptical if not totally antagonistic about putting a camera in a mobile phone – why would anyone want that! However, those early doubts soon evaporated when the first camera phone proved to be an instant hit. Thereafter, all the major handset manufacturers followed suit, resulting in a consequential phenomenal improvement in both the quality of the camera and the capabilities of the software used to manipulate the images taken. Perhaps not surprisingly, the camera has become one of the most important features that customers look for when buying a new smartphone. This talk will explore how the camera phone works, the many technical challenges that must be overcome, and the importance of megapixels when defining the resolution of the images produced. Finally, the talk will consider the many societal impacts, for the camera phone has found uses that go way beyond basic photography and the selfie.
