The Cornerplay: Your phone's front facing camera does actually matter

[Jeffrey Yuwono]

One of the big smartphone trends last year was the “selfie” phone. HTC, Nokia, Sony, Huawei and many others all had at least one device marketed towards that purpose.

I suspect that my initial reaction went like many of yours: scoffing dismissal. However, I’m now a convert and completely understand why this market might actually be large.

Sure, apps like Snapchat and Bolt encourage quick shots as ways of communicating, so the front facing camera is more valuable.

But it goes beyond that, and it all comes down to this one tool: the selfie stick.

In case you've been in hideout for the past year or two, the selfie stick is a simple tool where you can attach your phone to one end, extend the stick out and have the camera countdown to take a photo. So instead of asking strangers to take photos of you (and your group), you can easily do it yourself with the stick.

I’ve been away for the holidays with my girlfriend and she absolutely loves it. We’re in Japan, where the stick is not yet commonplace, and we get a lot of people staring. I’m pretty sure most of them want one, too.

I snigger as much as the next guy when it comes to selfie-crazed behavior, but it’s a different thing when you’re on vacation. You don’t just want a pic of the temple, you want the pic of the temple with you in it.

You want to be in the photos, and asking strangers who don’t speak your language to take one for you is a major pain. The selfie stick solves this problem.

We took a ton of photos this way, to the point where we probably took more photos with the front facing camera than with the main one. It flips the typical camera phone use case on its head. At this point I wished our iPhone 6 Plus’ front facing camera was better.

The selfie stick craze is sweeping through at least China and South East Asia. If it hasn’t hit your region yet, trust me, it will. Once it does, you’re going to start paying more attention to whether your next phone has a good front facing camera. Or buy a GoPro.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/59277-cornerplay-phone-front-facing-camera-does-actually-matter.html

 

[Kibaruk]

Or buy an actual camera instead of using a crappy phone to take pictures, those ussually come with small tripods you can put them wherever and take timed perfect pictures (New cameras even come with a connection to your phone where you can click to take the picture and even have that as a screen to watch how it goes) of excelent quality without a stick becoming the first thing you WILL notice on EVERY picture you take through a XVGA to 2mp crappy front facing camera.

Maybe I'm just being mean... but will take a dedicated camera (Even the ultra portable ones) to a phone any day (Even my high-end G2 camera that takes good pictures even with no light) , SPECIALLY on vacations where you KNOW you'll be taking pictures to commemorate and have lovely memories.

 

[Rippleman]

Or buy an actual camera instead of using a crappy phone to take pictures, those ussually come with small tripods you can put them wherever and take timed perfect pictures (New cameras even come with a connection to your phone where you can click to take the picture and even have that as a screen to watch how it goes) of excelent quality without a stick becoming the first thing you WILL notice on EVERY picture you take through a XVGA to 2mp crappy front facing camera.

Maybe I'm just being mean... but will take a dedicated camera (Even the ultra portable ones) to a phone any day (Even my high-end G2 camera that takes good pictures even with no light) , SPECIALLY on vacations where you KNOW you'll be taking pictures to commemorate and have lovely memories.

most people accept the old saying "the best camera for the job is the one you have on you. I think the formula for most is: [convenience -/+hassle]/[priority + importance]. Example, if it was a wedding, the situation is isn't about being convenient or a hassle so a person chooses a HUGE camera with extreme clarity.

 

[GreenArrow]

I feel this is one of those things that new generations will be laughing at us for. similar to how we laugh at disco.

 

[wizardB]

I feel this is one of those things that new generations will be laughing at us for. similar to how we laugh at disco.

It's okay the last generation is already busting a gut at your generations idea of it"s self importance.

 

[Kibaruk]

most people accept the old saying "the best camera for the job is the one you have on you. I think the formula for most is: [convenience -/+hassle]/[priority + importance]. Example, if it was a wedding, the situation is isn't about being convenient or a hassle so a person chooses a HUGE camera with extreme clarity.

Yeah of course, but Jeff uses his vacation time as example. And that being the case I would get a nice compact camera with a real flash with me.

On my day to day basis the phone is perfect, the camera is above average and I have it in my pocket almost 24/7. Keeping this in mind I don't think I'll have a stick in my pocket to take selfies with (... besides that one... you know =P), and if the convenience would be to carry one in my daily pack or whatnot, could do the same with a camera.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

I feel this is one of those things that new generations will be laughing at us for. similar to how we laugh at disco.

It's okay the last generation is already busting a gut at your generations idea of it"s self importance.

You mean you've never updated your status with a pic of your dinner?!

 

[p51d007]

Or buy an actual camera instead of using a crappy phone to take pictures, those ussually come with small tripods you can put them wherever and take timed perfect pictures (New cameras even come with a connection to your phone where you can click to take the picture and even have that as a screen to watch how it goes) of excelent quality without a stick becoming the first thing you WILL notice on EVERY picture you take through a XVGA to 2mp crappy front facing camera.

Maybe I'm just being mean... but will take a dedicated camera (Even the ultra portable ones) to a phone any day (Even my high-end G2 camera that takes good pictures even with no light) , SPECIALLY on vacations where you KNOW you'll be taking pictures to commemorate and have lovely memories.

I agree, if I'm out somewhere, where I'm pretty sure I'm going to be taking photos, I'm going to lug my dSLR around, before I'd short change the event, by using a PINHOLE camera.

 

[cdman]

"and asking strangers who don’t speak your language to take one for you is a major pain."
.... erm, I thought that was one of the joys of travelling abroad, surely better than a phone on a stick?

 

[gamoniac]

I totally agree with the author. I recently traveled to South East Asia and saw some folks with a selfie stick. I wished I had one.

To the dSLR comments, no I didn't bring my dSLR. It was not an option to bring it on a 20+ flight, and I wasn't about to lug it around with a tripod all that time. A selfie stick would have come in handy.

 

[wizardB]

You mean you've never updated your status with a pic of your dinner?!

Don't have a status....social media game is for those who don't have a real life and need 3000 internet "friends"