Cell Phone Camera

After the first round of camera head-to-head, I couldn't decide if I preferred my iPhone or his Droid, although the Droid's camera is technically superior. We decided to put our respective cameras to the test for a second round of battle royale during a dinner out. Side note: I know I said previously that phones at the table is a no-no, but this was in the name of research!

One feature of the Droid we didn't test out in our first camera head-to-head is its flash, which is noticeably absent from the iPhone. I figured this would come in handy during dinner; the restaurant is fairly well-lit but since I'm a huge fan of taking photos of my food, I can appreciate some extra lighting, though I was skeptical of how well the Droid's flash would light our dinner. Here are three photos of our dinner (pork, with barley and greens in case you wanted to know): a Droid photo, an iPhone photo, and a Droid-with-flash photo.

To see which is which (and the best part — our dessert pics), read more

For my first Droid vs. iPhone post, I tested out the GPS functions on both handsets, and eventually conceded that I preferred the Droid's built-in GPS capabilities. Next up, the phones' built-in cameras.

Technically, the Droid's camera is more powerful. With 5MP, 4x zoom, and a flash, it beats the iPhone's 3MPs and flashless snaps any day. The Droid also comes with built-in editing software, while the iPhone does not (though if you're an iPhone user looking for a free photo editing application, I suggest the Photoshop App). On a recent road trip, we each took a photo of California's Bixby Bridge with our respective phones:

While they've both been scaled down considerably, you can notice the differences in the photos almost immediately. Keep in mind that the photos were taken in daylight without the use of the Droid's flash. One initial observation: there's a pretty significant delay when using the on-screen camera button on the Droid (point iPhone!) but once he figured out how to use the Droid's side button to snap the image, we were back on a level playing field. To find out which phone snapped which photo and see larger images of each, read more

These days everyone is a street photographer. I usually carry my camera in my gigantic bag 'o gadgets, but on the rare occasion I don't have it with me I am quick to whip out my cell phone and capture the sunset or my best friend's baby. That's just what Twitpic was made for, right?

Most of you admit you put great care into selecting a phone with a quality camera because you expected to use that bad boy. Do you find yourself snapping scenes with your cell camera more often than you whip out your digital camera or SLR?

A friend of mine recently upgraded from a BlackBerry Pearl to a BlackBerry Curve and sent me an "OMG! I can't believe it!" email after playing with the Curve 8900's camera. There's no denying the appeal of the tiny Pearl — not only is it now discounted with many carriers, but it's also functional, reliable, and has some great features. But its 1.3MP (or 2MP) camera doesn't hold a candle to the Curve's 3.2 MP shooter. The megapixel difference makes this like comparing apples to oranges, but boy, what a difference those pixels make.
With the popularity of mobile uploads on sites like Facebook, applications like twitpic, fancy iPhone camera apps and the ability to mobile blog, I worry the stakes and expectations for photos taken on cell phones are teetering on too high. Do you care? Or are cell phone pics just about instant gratification and capturing ridiculous moments?

Check out some additional comparison photos, when you read more