Study Confirms Potential of Cell Phone Photography - Image Quality Requires Further Optimization

Study Confirms Potential of Cell Phone Photography - Image Quality Requires Further Optimization

February 07, 2007

Cell Phone Displaces Digital Camera


    BAD KREUZNACH, Germany, Feb. 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
The photography sector is facing another upheaval: Towards
the end of the 1990s, digital cameras started replacing
analog models.  Now there is a new trend to replace digital
cameras with cell phones with camera capabilities.

    A representative study carried out by optical component
specialists Schneider Kreuznach confirms the potential of
cell phone photography.  Around 1,000 users in Germany,
China, India, and the U.S.A. were interviewed about their
specific usage patterns relating to picture-taking with
digital cameras and cell phones.

    International comparison of usage patterns

    One out of four respondents indicated that in future
they would exclusively use cell phones for picture-taking
(early adopters), provided the quality matched that of
today's upper mid-range digital cameras with approximately
6 million pixels.  Under certain circumstances, 43 percent
would be willing to replace their digital camera with a
suitable cell phone.  At present, only 32 percent would
still prefer a digital camera.

    Users in India and China were particularly open-minded
towards cell phone photography: In these countries, eight
out of ten of those questioned (79 percent) could imagine
using only cell phones for picture-taking in future.

    While in India and China more than half of all
respondents (60 and 52 percent respectively) already take
pictures with their cell phones several times per week and
in the U.S.A. more than a quarter (26 percent), Germany has
the lowest number of so-called `power users' (12 percent)
and at the same time the highest number of non-users (59
percent).

    Image quality - room for improvement 

    The image quality of cell phones currently available on
the market is regarded as mediocre in all four countries. 
One result of the survey indicates unanimously in all four
countries that unsatisfactory image quality is one of the
main reasons for not using the cell phone camera.

    Cell phone manufacturers have recognized the need for
optimization and are developing models with
higher-resolution sensors and more powerful lens systems. 
This is where specialized lens manufacturers come in. 
Through their professional know-how, they will play a key
role in improving the camera function of cell phones.

    Click on
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/pdf/mobil_phone_study.pdf
for detailed information on the study.

    Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH (Schneider Kreuznach
for short) was founded in 1913 in Bad Kreuznach,
Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.  The international Schneider
Group also includes the subsidiaries Pentacon in Dresden,
Praktica (U.K.) in London, Schneider Optics in New York,
and Century Precision Optics in Los Angeles.  The German
headquarters has a staff of 340 employees.  Schneider Group
employs 600 people worldwide.  

    The Group operates in five business areas: photography,
cinema/projection, industrial optics, ophthalmic optics, and
servo-hydraulic systems.  Well-known brands include Angulon,
Symmar, Xenar, Xenon, Variogon, Cinelux, and B+W Filter. 
Schneider Kreuznach has been among the global market
leaders for high-performance lens systems for years.  The
company is the international Number One when it comes to
cinema/projection applications.  Furthermore, the Schneider
Group is also active in the seminal areas of digital
projection, home cinema, e-cinema, and simulation.  Its key
markets are the U.S.A., Japan, China, India, South Korea,
Brazil, and Europe.

    Further information can be found at
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com .



    For more information, please contact:

     Diana Memmesheimer M.A., PR consultant (DPRG)
     Bartenbach & Co. Agentur fur Kommunikation AG
& Co. KG
     An der Fahrt 8
     55124 Mainz, Germany
     Tel:     [phone]
     Fax:     [phone]
     Email:   [e-mail]
     Website: http://www.bartenbach.de


SOURCE  Schneider Kreuznach