CNET's mobile "diva" says don't wait for one megapixel camera phones

In response to a question from a reader, CNET's mobile "diva" Joni Blecher recommends against waiting for one megapixel camera phones because the CMOS sensors in the upcoming handsets produce only negligibly better photos than those with CCD sensors.

My advice: If you care about better quality camera phone photos, wait until the end of the year when there should be a variety of one megapixel camera phones available in the United States, even though the handsets might contain CMOS sensors.

Blecher's response seems a bit confusing. On the one hand she says don't bother upgrading to a one megapixel camera phone. On the other hand she likes the Nokia 7610 -- that does include a one megapixel camera.

Waiting for CCD camera phones

Perhaps she means don't wait a few more months to upgrade because the 7610 is a nice phone, and the other one megapixel camera phones with CMOS chipsets aren't going to produce better photos.

Blecher says camera phones with CCDs -- the LX 8000 and Sony Ericsson S700 -- probably won't be available until early in 2005.

My bottom line recommendation is: If you want to upgrade right now, and you care about camera phone quality, wait until the fourth quarter when many one megapixel camera phones will be introduced -- and then read the reviews and test them yourself.

CMOS versus CCD

If you don't want to upgrade soon, you might want to wait until next year when it's quite possible the CCD-based handsets will produce superior photos.

But photo quality is dependent upon a variety of factors, not just the sensor. It's possible that a CMOS handset with good components and software will produce better photos than a CCD handset with inferior hardware and software.

Of course, if a handset vendor is making the investment in a CCD, it makes sense to assume that the vendor will incorporate components and software that will produce good photos. But "sense" isn't always followed.

Comments

[James Prudente]

Here's a pretty detailed explaination of the differences between CMOS and CCD's.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D30/D30A4.HTM

Basically, CMOS uses the same fab process as RAM and CPU's so it's generally less expensive to produce than CCD's which require a unique process.

Also, CMOS can have circuitry embedded in the sensor to perform filtering, balancing operations on a per pixel level, also reducing the the amount of supporting off-chip circuitry, therefore, again, less expensive to produce. Unfortunately, putting those goodies right in the CMOS sensor has disadvantages also. The actual area of the chip that can collect light is smaller due to that extra circuitry. And, each pixel has its own amplifier which causes noise due to slight variations in the abilities of the amplifiers.

Currently, CCD's capture more light, and have less noise. But, due to their design are not as fast or flexible when it comes to getting the data off the sensor.

CMOS: smaller, cheaper, less support required, lower power, faster, more noise, less light gathering.

CCD: larger, more expensive process, more power, more support required, slower, less noise, more light collection, better images.

There are lots of techniques in development to resolve the issues the CMOS chips face, and when those improvements start showing up in phones it will be a good day!

[tychocat]

All right, and I'll bite the obvious question that no one's answered so far - what the heck difference does it make whether the sensor is CMOS or CCD? CCD is cheaper? What, do photons somehow sense the cheapness and veer away? And among the easily-overlooked variables in the quality of a photograph, I'll repeat that skill of the photographer can overcome a lot of technical defects. Heck, half the photos I see taken by camera-phones could be improved by two basic pieces of advice - hold still when pressing the button, and don't stand so close to your subject. Nothing to do with pixels or expense of the camera.

I sure as heck want a megapixel camera-phone, but not for "better" photos - I want to make larger prints is all. Better photos come when I learn how to use the camera better.

[S Woodside]

I'm not sure why she thinks the 7610 doesn't have a better camera. It clearly does, just looking at the photos they've been taking with it. Also, this is just 2nd-hand anecdotal evidence, but I'm told the accuracy of my semacode application ( www.semacode.org ) is much higher on the 7610 due to the higher rez.

simon

[Joseph]

thanks for your two cents... coincidentally, i was the one who emailed Ms. Blecher the question about the N7610. originally, i wanted a phone with advanced imaging capabilities to avoid having to lug around a digital camera (i like taking pictures, but hate the camera... it makes me feel like a tourist!). at the end, i bought a Panasonic D-Snap instead... stealthy and takes 2mp photos with flash. not sure what i'll do about the phone now, but regardless, it was interesting reading another expert's advice.

[Tom Karches]

If the sensor is inferior, the resolution is irrelevant. Photo quality is more than the sensor, but it is a pretty critical component. More pixels won't fix a bad image. It would be interesting to know which phones use CCDs and which use CMOS.

[tychocat]

I am surprised Blecher is even aware of the 7610. Perhaps they have some restrictive editorial policies in place, but CNET thinks the SE P900 is a "new" phone! I can't find any listing of the 7610 on their website except for this one column.

I no longer read CNET for information on new gear - reviews of last year's stuff, yes, but for information on the latest stuff I go elsewhere.