looking for a camera phone (1 Viewer)

[Keith_R]

hey all, I'd like to try and purchase a camera phone in a couple weeks probably through T-Mobile or Verizon. Any HTF members own a camera phone? what are some good yet relatively inexpensive models? thanks.

 

[Gui A]

I would recommend a phone where the camera is built in.
Last year I had a Sony Ericsson T68i, with the attachable camera. It was slow, and taking the time to attach the camera, wait for it to connect to the OS, and then take the pic took the fun out of it. I didn't take too many photos. (Most of them are here, btw: http://community.webshots.com/user/bub2ooo). A friend of a friend ended up losing the camera during New Years.

So last week I got a Nokia 3600. The camera is built in, and it only takes two clicks to take a photo. Pic quality is a bit better. It's got an expandable memory (16Mb MMC comes with the phone. The Sony Ericsson had approx. 1 Mb in the camera)
And it's going to be a lot harder to lose it. I also find that voice quality is also a lot better on the Nokia phone.

For more info on phones, try http://www.howardforums.com

 

[Adam Barratt]

I'm a fan of the clamshells myself:

Sony Ericsson Z600 (110 grams):





Panasonic X60 (85 grams)





Motorola V525 (114 grams):



Samsung V200:



Sharp GX20:



Adam

 

[Kyle McKnight]

I want the Sony Ericsson s700 that's coming out later this year...

http://www.mobileburn.com/gallery.js...source=HOMETOP


right now I'll keep my current phone and my sony cybershot u20 http://dark7.org/pics/cam

 

[Eric Samonte]

AT&T has the Sony Ericsson T616 for free right now. My wife and I own one each. Camera takes OK pics, not really good ones, like everyone else, but we actually got these due to its triband capabilities....meaning its kinda "multiregion" ala DVD players, we can use it anywhere, US, Europe and Asia.

 

[Philip_G]

I have a Tmobile sony ericson T610 I just got for -25 bucks after rebate, no complaints from me.

 

[Keith_R]

that is one I've been looking at, however I've heard negative things about the reception on it. Have u had any reception problems with your's?

 

[Eric_E]

I'm with Verizon and I have the LG VX6000, and I think it's a great phone. I got mine a few months ago for $79.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate. I'm not sure if they're still running that special, but I think it's a great deal for what you get. The pictures are decent but like any camera phone with no flash it's tough to get good shots in a dark environment. Also, it's a digital-only phone, so if you're in a really rural area that might be a problem.

 

[Eric Samonte]

We tried the T610 at home with TMoblie and reception was poor so we returned it. The T616 with ATT was actually very good around here. I don't really know what's the difference bet. the 2 but I don't think the phone is at fault, I believe its the carrier.

 

[VinhT]

If picture quality is important, you may want to stay away from the Motorola V400. I took the picture below to show the camera's flaw. The bottom left corner of the image is tinted blue and the upper right corner has a yellow tint.



The T616 takes merely okay pictures. No serious problems, except that the image will be extremely small when transferred to the computer.

 

[Philip_G]

Nope.
I unlocked the phone and upgraded the firmware myself and that helped a little bit I think.
Only complaint is that it doesn't work in my office, but NO ONE'S phone works there.

 

[Keith_R]

I'm really interested in the Samsung E715. I feel as though the E715 meets all of my requirements except one; the inclusion of a USB port. Instead of USB it uses a serial port which requires purchase of an $80 kit to make it work. I'd prefer USB but the other phones that do have USB don't have as good a camera feature and aren't given as much acclaim as the E715. Anyone have experience with the E715? would you forgo USB for a good camera phone with other great features? thanks.

 

[VinhT]

The E715 is one of the best phones on the market. It is the phone I would use if I didn't have AT&T (since I do, I prefer to take advantage of the future 850MHz coverage by sticking with 850/1900 dual-band phones). The E715 just exudes excellent Samsung quality. The design is top-notch, the user interface is outstanding, and the feature-set is pretty good. The serial cable is a tiny tradeoff for such a nice phone.

 

[Keith_R]

I've been doing a lot of thinking and feel as though the E715 will probably be the phone for me. Aside from lack of USB it has everything else I want in a decent looking package. The only reason I harp about the USB is because with my computer configuration and the ease of use of USB it is just my preferred connection method, not to mention the fact that the equipment to connect the phone is $50 less than the serial kit I'd have to get for the E715.

 

[Chad Ferguson]

Personally I you can, I would say wait just a little longer. Camera phones are selling pretty well now so companies are putting in a major interest. I expect a huge leap in quality in the next 6 months from them personally. I'm not sure what most phones offer but I think like less than a 0.1 of a megapixel. Also, I think flashes are just becoming available as we speak. Just my two cents worth.
Thanks

 

[Gui A]

Most Phones offer 640x480, or 0.3 MP.

 

[david stark]

I got a sony ericsson T616 a couple of months ago and i'm not really that happy with it. The camera is ok for a camera phone and the user interface is good. My only gripe is that the sound quality whils talking to people is not what I expected. Even when I get a green signal (3 or 4 out of 4 on the signal indicator) then the sound can be break up a bit and on 1 or 2 it is usually pretty bad.

My previous mobiles have been nokia (6150 I think) and siemens (C45 I think) and I hardly ever noticed any break up when talking to people no matter what signal strength I had.

 

[Michael Were]

Camera phones are the new autograph book.