Gizmodo: phone cameras

Scalado Promises to Finally Kill Irritating Phone Camera Lag

John Herrman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:36:32 EST

It's the worst thing about phone cameras (except for the image noise, poor low-light performance, desaturated colors and incessant motion blur): the picture delay. Scalado says they've managed to eliminate it by constantly recording and displaying actual JPG images of the frame in real time. In other words, when you take a picture, rather than calling the camera to snap a completely new hi-res image, the Scalado Camera Engine simply saves what you can already see. Popular sensor makers Aptina, OmniVision Samsung and MtekVision are already licensing with the tech, so your camera phone experience might become slightly more bearable before too long. [Slashphone]

Sony Sets 2012 Goal For 12MP Cell Cameras, Meets it in a Week

John Herrman — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST

Last week Sony Ericsson predicted quite a few things for the cell phones of 2012: faster processors, high-resolution screens, superfast connectivity and most specifically, 12-20MP cameras. Well what do you know! Sony — that Sony — has just announced a 12.25MP CMOS sensor for phone cameras. Looks like either a horrible breakdown of internal communication or a hilariously obvious example of gaming expectations. In either case, expect these to start showing up in CyberShots (and others) well before 2012. [Akihabara]

Scientists Cook Up "Hall of Mirrors" Lens to Give Cellphone Cams Some Zoom

Matt Buchanan — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:26:22 EDT

The major reason cellphone cameras blow chunks is because no one wants chunky cellphones, so we're stuck with slim, wide-angle lenses. Some researchers at UCSD have come up with a way using mirrors to increase a lens' focal length, resulting in some telephoto magic in a lens that's "seven times as thin as a traditional, 35-millimeter refractive lens, with nearly equivalent image quality." But don't start dreaming of snapping the perfect zoomed-in stealth upskirt yet, pervs, since it'll be at least a couple of years before they slide into a cellphone near you. [Pop Sci]