Caught in the Moment

Camera phones aren't just fun accessories; they're necessities

By KIMBERLINA ROCHA

Snap. Surprise! You’re on camera — a camera phone, that is. With one click of a button, your image is captured on the handheld device.

Look around. They’re on campus, at concerts, sporting events, family reunions and at the mall.

They’re everywhere.

What makes the camera phone so appealing is its portability and the convenient ability to capture those hard-to-catch moments in life.

Julie Martinez, a senior photography major, uses her camera phone to create a personal collage of everything that’s important to her. She said she has more than 50 images of family members, friends and her dog, Neo.

“I didn’t warm up to my camera phone at first,” Martinez said. “Now, I realized that I have a camera with me at all times. So I started taking more pictures.”

The first camera phones came out in Japan in the late 1990s, where they continue to be a hot commodity. The camera phone didn’t make its debut in the United States until 2002.

In 2003, more than 70 million camera phones were sold. Last year, that figure surged to 150 million, according to Info Trends Research Group. The cell phone industry projects to sell 420 million camera phones this year.

Camera phones run anywhere from $150 to $400 apiece, depending on their features. Since its beginning, the camera phone has become better equipped with storage space and the ability to play MP3 music files, videos and Web browse. One of the newest technologies is Bluetooth, which allows users to talk on a wireless headset.

As with any new gadget, the camera phone has its drawbacks.

Some of the major drawbacks for Ramon Meza, a junior history major, are the image quality and the time it takes to snap the perfect picture.

“I usually have to pause to focus and stand there to take a picture,” said Meza, who uses a Motorola V600. “You just can’t sneak up on someone and take one.”

The opportunity to take pictures of unsuspecting strangers has led to the type of voyeurism that’s behind Web sites that support camera phone imagery.

If someone has caught an embarrassing moment on a camera phone, these images can easily be transferred and uploaded on a camera phone Web site.

Such tactics have led authorities to ban camera phones in public restrooms, gyms and even strip clubs.

A New Jersey bill proposes camera phones make a beeping sound or flash when a picture is about to be taken. If it passes, the bill will go into effect in 2007.

In spite of the negative aspects associated with camera phones, some people consider them a positive staple within our society.

Sociology professor Tim Kubal finds images captured on camera phones as a liberating force against corporate interests.

“Camera phones have the potential to create and sustain popular culture that is created by and for the people,” Kubal said. “Not by and for corporate interests.”

Sandra Winters, a sophomore pharmacology major, said she likes her camera phone because of the convenience of taking pictures when she doesn’t have a regular camera handy.

“Sometimes you don’t have a camera with you to capture those Kodak moments,” she said. “You can’t capture those moments out of nowhere.”