TINY CAMS BOOST BIZ

By Paul Worthington

Just two years ago, the low resolution and poor optics of a $500 camera could cause a first-time buyer to dismiss digital photography, and lead most businesses to dismiss the technology entirely.

Today, digital cameras have dramatically improved in image quality and declined in cost. For $200, new models provide resolution sufficient for an 8-by-10-inch photographic print, and impressive new photographic functions that let anyone take better pictures.

After a period of healthy skepticism, the mass-market general consumer now understands the picture-taking advantages that digital photography can provide – such as knowing right when they take it that the photo came out well because they can see it on the camera’s display.

Business users might have seen the possible benefits of digital photography but, in previous years, they shied away from investing in the new hardware because of common-sense doubts over the cost of the initial purchases, training to use a new technology, and integration into existing workflows. When those business users today see the newer cameras, lower cost, improved quality, and better design, they realize digital photography can fit into their everyday work environments without difficulty, add significantly to many business functions, and boost the bottom line.

Shrinking Sizes

Electronic de-vices tend to get smaller with every generation, but digital camera makers especially have accelerated miniaturization in recent years. Many new models are more than 30 percent smaller than their year-old predecessors, while delivering superior performance – and in some cases, a lower price. This more portable size will bring key benefits in the form of new usage patterns that enhance productivity and creativity in the business realm.

Two primary factors have allowed for smaller sizes:

Sensors: Many camera lines have switched from half-inch to one-third-inch CCDs (the chip that converts light to an electrical signal). When the sensor is smaller, the lens size gets smaller, and everything is scaled down.

Optics: Major advances in aspherical optics, which focus all light rays on the same focal plane for a sharper image, have opened the door for a significant reduction in the size and number of lens elements – while still allowing for good image quality. Aspherical elements also mean the lens weighs less.

Other technological enablers for smaller digital cameras include new stainless steel fabrication technology, which allows for reduced size and weight while bringing greater durability. Also, circuit boards have been miniaturized, with today’s models having a much higher degree of integration between the components in order to reduce the number of chips on the board.

Regardless of the inevitable twists and turns driven by the dynamics of component technology, the overall direction for the majority of camera form factors is clear: Continued, accelerated miniaturization.

Better Use

There is undeniable value in an “always there” image-capture device. When it comes to getting important photos, the camera that you have with you is far more valuable than the one back home on a shelf.

We are nearing the time when we all will carry a conveniently sized digital camera with us at all times – perhaps as part of a portable phone/computer combo.

In business, an always-there camera means you will always be able to get the picture of the product you want to sell, and send the shot to a buyer; you’ll capture the notes on the whiteboard from the strategy meeting; you’ll send images of a new office or factory to your co-workers while you are scouting the location; and when you’re meeting a new colleague at lunch, you’ll have a photo on your PDA to help ensure you sit at the right table.

Visual Communication is a self-propelling, snowballing behavior. The more you do it, the more obvious its value, the clearer its myriad uses and, therefore, the more desirable the tool.

The digital cameras now coming to market, with their smaller sizes, better features, and greater ease of use, will help make that possible. Thankfully, continuing technological improvements driven by infoimaging companies mean that tomorrow, a card-deck sized phone/camera combo in your pocket will take pictures as good as the cameras that today might require a neck-strap.

For a detailed look at the overall digital camera market, please see “Digital Cameras: The Battle for the Emerging Consumer Market – A Competitive Analysis,” now available from the Future Image Web site, www.futureimage.com.

Getting Prints

Despite the advances in digital cameras, the digital photography service infrastructure is still not in place to provide simple and ubiquitous printing services. You can get a film roll processed and printed just about anywhere, but similar services for digital camera media cards aren’t nearly as widespread – yet.

Fortunately, many of the pieces of that infrastructure are either in development or now hitting the market. In less than a year, you will be able to get prints from a digital camera even more simply than you do now from film.

At the center of this transition is the Common Picture exchange Environment [CPXe] initiative. This open standard, and the network built on it, will let everyone use a retail kiosk or an Internet-connected PC to order prints and other services from both retail and online fulfillment centers.