The ultimate guide to cameraphones

Cameras are one of the most popular features on mobile phones, but with so many models available it can be tricky to pick the right model for your needs.

If you’re considering buying your first cameraphone, swapping your digital camera for a cameraphone or just upgrading to a newer cameraphone, this guide will help you decide which features your ideal model should include.

Can cameraphones replace digital cameras?

Cameraphones can take lovely photographs, but whether they’re actually good enough to replace a digital camera is another matter.

Digital cameras from the likes of Sony and Fujitsu generally have more megapixels and offer more features than cameraphones. But their inability to do all the other things that cameraphones can - such as surf the web and make telephone calls - means people are gradually ditching digital cameras in favour of cameraphones.

Cameraphones aren’t yet good enough to replace digital SLR cameras - the type with interchangeable lenses - though, as these offer many more features and far better picture quality.

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Which cameraphone should I buy?

It’s been reported in science journals and medical documents that the human eye can’t see more than 5Mp, which is why photography geeks often claim that no camera really needs more than 5Mp.

However, it’s often the case that a cameraphone with 12Mp will seem to take a better quality photo than one with 5Mp.

So how many megapixels should your cameraphone have?

One answer that will save you the hassle of reading science journals is to focus your decision on cost instead of megapixels, since a 5Mp cameraphone will generally be sold on a cheaper monthly contract or pay-as-you-go deal than a 12Mp model.

Some of the best cameraphones at the major megapixel intersections include:

• 5Mp - The iPhone 4 and HTC Wildfire
• 8Mp - The LG Optimus 2X and Samsung Galaxy S
• 12Mp -The Nokia N8 and Samsung Pixon.

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Optical zoom versus digital zoom

A cameraphone with a zoom capability is important, but with two types of zoom available - digital and optical - which should you pick?

Digital zoom is the cheaper version of the two because, in layman’s terms, it uses software trickery to create a zoomed-in version of your picture. This means you don’t see a true representation of what you just photographed.

Optical zoom is the exact opposite and results in a much better quality zoomed-in photograph. But optical zoom technology costs more, thus increasing the price of the phone.

Many cameraphones are fitted with a digital zoom. Only a handful of optical zoom smartphones have been released, but one of the most widely respected ones is the 12Mp Samsung Pixon.

Camera flash

A flash is another essential part of a cameraphone, since it means you’ll always be able to take bright photos - whatever the lighting conditions.

So be sure to check a cameraphone’s specifications before buying it because more models than you might expect don’t include a flash.

As a general rule, the fewer number of megapixels a cameraphone has the less likely it is to include a flash.

Cameraphones with a built-in photography flash include:

• The iPhone 4
• The HTC Desire Z
• The Nokia C7.

Cameraphone tools and apps

Many cameraphones come pre-installed with photography tools designed help you capture amazing images without first requiring you to take a photography course.

For example, smile detection - a feature passed down from digital cameras - ensures you only capture photos of happy smiley people by only taking a picture when the whites of your subject’s teeth are showing.

Panorama mode - available on the Sony Ericsson Satio and LG Optimus 7 - is a handy landscape photography tool that stitches several images into one to form a single larger image.

Other similar cameraphone imaging tools include:

• Face detection - makes someone’s face stand-out in a photo
• Shooting modes - pre-set image settings for taking pictures under various conditions, including rain, sport, at the beach and even underwater
• Image stabilisation - reduces the effect of your shaky hands on pictures.

If you’re really serious about snapping good quality cameraphone photos then it’s also worth looking out for models that let you adjust key photographic elements, such as sharpness, saturation, ISO, contrast and exposure.

Conversely, if your cameraphone doesn’t come with many, or even any, such features then you’ll probably be able to get them by downloading an app from the likes of the iPhone App Store or Android Market.

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Galaxy S3(blue) £0.00	300 min Unlimited texts	£32.00
Galaxy S2(black) £0.00	100 min Unlimited texts	£18.50
iPhone 4S (16GB)(black) £0.00	Unlimited min Unlimited texts	£36.00

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