Filming on a cell phone?

Recently, while speaking at the SHOK Summit event in Helsinki, Nokia’s Executive Vice President explained that cameraphones will soon make DSLR cameras and professional cameras obsolete. Anssi Vanjoki, who also acts as the General Manager of Markets at Nokia, claimed that in the next year there would be HD quality video available on camerasphones and within a few years after that, cameraphones would kill off DSLR’s completely.

Vanjoki explained that by packing 50 megapixel sensors and high-quality lenses into a package the size of a fingernail, Nokia could accomplish the high image quality needed to challenge to DSLR market. “There will be no need to carry around those heavy lenses,” Vanjoki joked as he gestured towards a professional photographer in the room.

On a related note, InVisage Technologies, a company out of California has recently developed a new image sensor that could possibly increase sensor performance by up to four times. According to InVisage, this technology is expected to help improve the quality of cellphone cameras.

While there still may be some technological hurdles before all this is possible, some important questions are still raised. Will the quality of images and videos taken from cameraphones rival those taken from a DSLR camera? And if they do, will cameraphones replace DSLR’s as the prefered mehod of shooting HD quality images?

Initially, it seems unlikely that the recent boom of DSLR ethusiasts will disappear as quickly as Vanjoki believes. It also seems that he has not taken into account the people who use DSLR cameras for video and filmmaking. The features offered on a DSLR camera far outway the convenience of being able to shoot from a phone. And the chances of someone using a cameraphone to shoot a professional video or film are slim.

Another issue that Vanjoki may have been overlooked is that of form factor. When using a DSLR camera for video, the user must hold a steady camera. It is a problem that can easily be solved by using a shoulder support. If a cameraphone is being used to film, there is not such an easy solution. This is a problem that may cause many DSLR users to shy away from using a cameraphone.

At the least, cameraphones may take a small bite out of the DSLR market. But until Nokia gives an example of HD quality images taken from their phones, we will remain skeptical.

-Brian H, Switronix, Inc.