Read the official Samsung press release
Does Samsung's 5MP camera phone mark the beginning of the end for the conventional mass-market still camera?
Korean electronics giant, Samsung, has announced the world's first five megapixel camera phone and reports indicate that a ten megapixel model is to be expected next year. The phone is 3G-class (cdma2000 1x) for mobile broadband Internet connectivity and is equipped with a number additional multimedia features. The announcement of the SCH-S250 is designed to boost the profile of the Korean mobile phone industry, explained Kitae Lee, president & CEO of Samsung Electronics.
Sketchy
The specification of the new SCH-S250 is rather sketchy – we don't yet know for certain if the camera section has a native 5MP sensor – it's simply referred to as a five megapixel CCD camera. In other words, the picture resolution could be scaled up from a lower resolution CCD chip.
Pentax lens
Pentax's sliding lens system permits a 3x optical zoom lens to be retracted into a camera body slim enough to be a mobile phone
However, we do know that Japanese camera and lens maker, Pentax, was hired to provide a super-compact lens for the SCH-S250. Pentax has developed a reputation for zoom lenses that can be stored in camera bodies as slim as 2cm by using a mechanism that unpacks some of the lens elements as the lens is retracted.
One such 'Sliding Lens System' is used in both Pentax and Casio ultra-compact digital cameras, like Pentax Optio S and the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z series (below) models.
The 3zx optical zoom Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40 uses a Pentax Sliding Lens system and the camera body is as slim as many a mobile phone
There is no actual mention of an optical zoom lens, though we do know that it has a minimum focus distance of 10cm (about four inches). Other facts revealed include dimensions of 115 x 49.5 x 18mm, a weight of 116g, the provision of a two inch QVGA (320x240 pixel) 24-bit colour LCD screen and the external memory card type supported is the mini-MMC. It also has a maximum shutter speed of 1/1000th second.
10 megapixels to follow?
According to AFP reports, "South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom, said it would introduce 10-megapixel camera phones produced by Samsung by the end of this year." While a 5-megapixel camera phone is just about believable, the notion of a 10-megapixel camera phone is an extraordinary claim considering conventional compact digital cameras have only reached the seven megapixel threshold so far.
The beginning of the end for cameras as we know them?
From a gadget-freak's perspective, the SCH-S250 sounds like a dream come true about a year earlier than expected. But there is a more important angle on this news. If the SCH-S250 is anywhere near competent as a 5MP digital camera, it could mark the beginning of the end of the mass-market dedicated still camera era. Mobile phones have proved to be the most popular electronic devices in history, massively out-pacing the adoption of the original telephone, TV and the personal computer.
The poor quality VGA resolution and even 1.3 megapixel camera phones that have reached the market so far have been more of a gimmick to show off to your friends than serious attempts at replacing conventional cameras. Mobile imaging services, like MMS, have not yet found a profitable market. But when your phone can do practically all that your family camera does, then why buy a camera on its own any more? The camera industry must surely be concerned about this undeniable trend.
