TECH WATCH

Smart tech choices
Digital Camera or Camera Phone?

Each has a place in real estate today. Find out which one is right for you.

BY MIKE ANTONIAK

Spend around $300 for one of today’s mid-level digital cameras and you’ll get the combination of image resolution, automated features, and optics that defined top-of-the-line digital cameras just two years ago. As prices continue to fall through the year, you may find it hard to resist stepping up to one of this year’s models, if you haven’t already.

At the same time, advances in camera phones have transformed them into something more than a picture-taking novelty. Image sensors of at least 1 megapixel (MP), enough for Web display or small prints, are now a standard feature on many models.

And, a new generation of higher-resolution camera phones is on the way. In March, Motorola announced the MS550, with a 3MP image sensor. Samsung, another handset provider, already offers a camera phone with a 5MP sensor in Korea. It’s expected to make a similar model available in the United States before year’s end.

Which Is Right for You?

In light of these recent announcements, you might be wondering whether you need a digital camera or camera phone. The answer, for at least the next year or so, is both. That’s right, both.

Cell phone users: It’s time to trade up to a camera phone, whether or not you think you need it. You’ll end up using it to conveniently capture images of new listings to send to buyer clients or to help you remember features of a new listing so that you can accurately describe them in your marketing materials. But you’ll still need that digital camera.

Digital camera owners: Carrying a compact camera phone ensures you always get a picture, whether or not you’ve brought your digital camera along.

The Benefits of Each

Both digital cameras and camera phones can serve as image-capture solutions but each offers a set of exclusive benefits.

As the digital progression of a film camera, a digital camera has the combination of camera features required to get the best possible image. Any camera with an image sensor of 2MP or better captures enough image information for use online, as 4x6-inch prints, or in flyers and brochures. Add camera optics such as a zoom or wide-angle lens and you’ve got a tool for highlighting features or capturing the full breadth and appeal of a room or home.

Camera phones, on the other hand, are phones first, with the ability to capture images as a secondary function. Although image resolution is beginning to rival what’s offered in digital cameras, vendors have had to sacrifice optics in order to achieve the extremely compact size consumers demand in their cell phones. Some current models have a modest built-in flash but offer a fixed-focus or auto-focus lens at best. Combine image capture with a cellular connection, and you can capture and send an image over cellular service to other camera phone users or to an e-mail address.

Real estate practitioners are tapping this capability to get pictures of listings to potential buyers as soon as homes hit the market, and to visually respond to buyer’s questions about features, in real time. They’ve also used camera phones to identify needed repairs for absent sellers. These are all conveniences that can become necessities once you start using them.

What the Future Holds

Within a year or two, camera phones may offer the optics and features of dedicated digital cameras. Or, digital cameras themselves could evolve to allow users to easily send images from the field, as with today’s camera phones. Until those next waves of technology appear, you’ll be better served—and provide better service to your clients—by embracing both tools.

For more on digital imaging, read Options Grow to Capture, Print Digital Photos , Tech Watch, March 7, 2005.