Herein you’ll find articles on a very wide variety of topics about technology in the consumer space (mostly) and items of personal interest to me. I have also participated in and created several podcasts most notably Pragmatic and Causality and all of my podcasts can be found at The Engineered Network.
The Worlds Most Popular Camera
It has been said that the best camera is the one you have with you. Most people today have a mobile phone. From the time when mobiles first started sporting cameras built-in, the days of the compact camera and DSLR were to some extent numbered1.
Information from Flickr certainly suggests that if you look at their most popular cameras in the world the top ones are all smartphones and specifically iPhones. IMAGE From a quality standpoint most high-end mobile phones take near compact-quality pictures but there are a few key caveats.
Distance shots
The only smartphone camera I’ve seen that does an impressive job of distance photography is the Nokia Lumia 1020. It achieves this but having a massive 43MP sensor allowing digital zoom to actually work well unlike every other smartphone where digital zooms usually yield grainy horrible shots. The downside is that to fit this impressive sensor and lens in the phone, the 1020 developed an upside down slightly pregnant belly on the back of the phone. It doesn’t sit flat on a table, is thicker and heavier than many other smartphones, however if you’re not tied to an ecosystem (Android or iOS) then frankly it’s one of the best options. Although it doesn’t address the other three issues on its own.
Blur
Very few smartphone cameras have Optical Image Stabilisation simply because it requires a physically larger lens/counterbalancing arrangement hence the quality of the photo relies a great deal on the steadiness of the users hands. Often I find myself having to steady my iPhone when holding it for photos or video hence one hand isn’t usually enough. When pushing the Volume shutter or tapping the on-screen button it also tends to introduce a small wobble that can ruin a photo - particularly in lower lighting conditions. Beyond the immediately obvious idea of using a tripod, a better way to grip the phone without one would be ideal. Again the Lumia has a camera grip attachment that overcomes much of this.
Battery Life
Taking photos drains the battery but not as quickly as taking video. Whether this is driven primarily by the screen backlighting as a viewfinder or by the video encoder onboard is unclear though I can tell you that the drain on the battery causes the temperature of the phone to significantly increase with an iPhone 5S. A professional photographer would have multiple batteries that are changeable, fully charged and ready to go to take as many photos or as much video as possible. Relying on a smartphone as your camera/camcorder has the added problem that you need to ‘conserve’ some battery in case you need to make/receive a phone call, get directions or check something on the internet. For Apples products at least there is no battery you can just swap out - you’re just out of luck2.
Remote Shutter
The argument regarding a lack of a remote shutter is perhaps the most flimsy where many people are happy to use a different camera application on their smartphone that comes with a built-in timer function. It’s interesting that Apple have excluded such functionality from their default Camera application in iOS but then such a function implies the necessity of external gripping equipment for the iOS device in question and most are not free-standing devices3. Apples answer to this perhaps is the continuous improvement to the front-facing (FaceTime) camera and this leads to the proliferation of ‘selfies’. Unfortunately until the front and back cameras are the same spec it’s hard to suggest this is ideal either as we are implicitly accepting lower quality from the device than is possible whenever we want to take a photo with us in it and there’s no one else around to take that photo for us.
Potential Solutions
You might think I have a crush on the 1020 and photographically speaking that’s true but there’s more to being the most popular camera in the world (otherwise the 1020 would be nearer the top of Flickrs list) and that’s as much about how good it is to use as a smartphone when you’re not taking precious memories. I love my iPhone and since I can’t easily give it up for a multitude of reasons where does they leave those of us that aren’t Nokia/Windows Phone users?
The ultimate answer is to use the smartphone standalone for general photography but if you want to extend its usefulness then add some accessories to augment its performance. If you’re using an iPhone there seem to be a lot of options that are ‘close’ but not quite everything in one package. There are battery cases and lens cases, cases with tripod mounts but precious few that have them all. The other problem with accessories is they should be cost effective. If I’m going to spend about $500 on accessories then I could just buy a high end compact camera or a low end DSLR.
There are no single accessories out there that do what I want on their own, however the AtoB Grip I have used and reviewed here and it covers the battery, grip and tripod issues very well. I’m currently testing the Muku Shuttr (review coming shortly) and long term I’m looking into telephoto lenses (caseless ones).
Just Buy A DSLR
I have been told this over and over by other people and here’s the problem: I can buy an iPhone on a monthly plan for no money up front and pick up the accessories above for under $200. In addition it’s smaller, lighter and more useful than a DLSR that frankly can only take pictures. If I drop, fold, spindle or mutilate an accessory it’s not a big financial setback. The truth is the money alone doesn’t stack up and frankly I’m not a photography nut and most people aren’t. Accessories work well enough.
Conclusion
Ultimately the best camera is the one you have with you and since people want to feel connected above all else that is the smartphone. For those people with smartphones that want to push their photographic limits, accessories are preferable to an entirely separate camera. It’s a far more efficient proposition to extend the capabilities of a smartphone as a camera knowing it won’t quite match the performance of a DSLR but will likely be close enough for most people. If you’re really obsessed with picture quality and you’re REALLY obsessive about taking photos you’ll buy a DSLR and nothing I have said will stop you.
If you do have both devices be honest: Was there ever a time when you wanted to take a great photo but just didn’t have the DSLR handy and used the smartphone in your pocket? Thought so.
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So far as large volumes of products are concerned. Clearly DSLRs and Compacts will always have a place however smartphone cameras are now good enough quality for the average individual not to bother with a second device. ↩︎
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An replaceable battery has the big plus of immediacy such that if your device goes flat, a quick swap out of the battery has you back at full charge, whereas a battery pack needs time to recharge unless it’s constantly attached. ↩︎
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If they are free standing (possible with a 4, 4S, 5, 5S but it’s not the most stable) but even so they aren’t able to be adjusted (height/tilt) making capturing group shots incredibly difficult. ↩︎
Passion Over Academic Proof
I’ve had the great pleasure and good fortune to work with some truly gifted people and amazing engineers. In management positions I’ve watched them progress from interview to position and probation to full time and respected engineers. Then again I’ve seen a great deal more that didn’t make the cut. For many years I’ve been thinking about the problem of assessing competence and I’ve written about it before, but this time I wanted to explore the aspects, briefly for once, that I’ve come to look for in prospective employees.
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Some people interview well and some don’t. The sad truth is that people get nervous, they feel financial or parental or peer pressures to get a specific job (or a job at all), they wake up in a bad mood. They say that first impressions are the most important but if that’s true it’s only true for those that don’t know any better. In my experience, first impressions are the most misleading. Treat them with caution because most of the time, you’ll get the wrong impression.
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Passion is more important than a degree. There is a prevailing wisdom it seems that more educated people make better employees. It’s bullshit. The very best of people I have worked with and who have taught me the most valuable, enduring lessons in engineering weren’t engineers. There are two exceptions but notable insofar as they obtained their degree part-time or by correspondence after they were already working in the field of engineering. These people were passionate about what they did - they loved it. And whenever I see a junior engineer that is so keen to work on a job they look like they’re going to explode I always give them a chance. Most of the time, they turn out to be a diamond in the rough. Passionate people challenge what they learn, they seek out the information and don’t wait for it to come to them and they work harder trying to get it right - sometimes even on their own time. They care. They want to be successful. They enjoy what they’re doing. These are the people you want working with you.
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Probation is the only way to know if someone is capable. However most probationary periods are for only 3 months, though occasionally I’ve seen 6 months. That’s fine but in the end they must be targeted probation such that the new employee is working on the very things that they will inevitably be doing and were employed to do. If you waste this time by giving a drafter for example some filing to do then you’re not only hurting the new employee but you’re hurting yourself too. It’s not fair and it’s a waste of time.
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Give everyone unrestricted Internet access. Yes you will get some bad eggs that live on Facebook or Twitter. If they’re not getting through their work you should know this by other means. If you don’t then you need to work on your progress reporting. The internet has become the always available mentor to whom any question may be asked. It’s an invaluable resource and saves an immeasurable amount of time in looking up information.
In the end don’t expect miracles from anyone - we’re all human and nobody’s perfect. In the matter of trying to assess someones suitability however, their passion about the subject they’re being hired for far outweighs any academic proof they may have.
Consequences
Recently I started recording the Pragmatic with Ben Alexander of the FiatLux podcasting syndicate. I did not imagine that by the second episode we would be breaking into 4-digit download territory, appearing so high in the iTunes charts or receiving so much positive feedback from our listeners.
One thing that I did want to do for Pragmatic was to heavily research the materials I wanted to cover to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible. This inevitably takes time and each week I’m spending 10-15 hours on average just doing show preparation. Working a 40-hour a week job, with 15-hours commuting time each week and family time on top of that, it leaves precious little time for much else.
Wishing to focus on Pragmatic for the time being and as I attempt to keep the standards for the show as high or higher than they have been I’ve decided I have no choice but to cut back on my other part-time endeavours.
TechDistortion will support Pragmatic with parallel updates when/if they make sense on a show by show basis for the foreseeable future. Independent articles will be fewer and farther between as a consequence.
Regrettably I have also had to fade into the background of the Anodised Podcast with Clinton Philips. I’ve really enjoyed co-hosting season one with Clinton, just as I did with Exastential and Clinton intends to continue Anodised as an interview-style show as the sole host. Clinton has already told me about a cracking list of great guests already organised to appear in the first half of this year. My appearance on the first episode in 2014 was my last scheduled appearance however from this point I will probably drop by as a guest from time to time as time permits.
I know I say this a lot but my heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who is enjoying Pragmatic and to those that have written such positive things about it. It’s been a crazy few months as there are lots of topics yet to cover.
My Bedside Clock
My Bedside Clock was an iPad only application that was available in the App Store during 2010/2011. It sold over 1,000 copies at $0.99 price point and was to be followed by an iPhone/iPod Touch version however personal circumstances ended the project late 2012. The final version v1.1.1 was released on the 15th of November, 2012
The design of the program was such that anyone with an iPad could use it as a large bedside clock with easy to read numbering from a distance (i.e. without having to put their glasses on at night). It had dimming functionality as well as pinch to zoom number resizing. It also supported alarms however was never intended to be an alarm clock. There were four fonts to choose from and a live colour picker that showed the fore/background colours changing as the colour was modified.
I spent a fair amount of time working with a Beta team to get an iPhone/iPod Touch version that worked back to the original models however with 2-3 weeks of coding remaining the project was stopped due to personal issues. Some day I may revive the app. It hasn’t been updated in over three years now and yet I’m still tracking people using the app and get the occasional email from users reminding me that there was a market (however small) for such an unusual clock app.
Original Site Blurb:
“The “My Bedside Clock” application is intended to be a replacement for your old bedside clock but with all the features the iPad can provide. Now with version 1.1 and an iPad running iOS4, alarms will sound even when the clock is not running.
If you’re like me with bad eye-sight, you want the numbers on your bedside clock to be the biggest possible size in a bright and easy to read font. Choose from four different font styles and pick whatever foreground and background colour you like from the easy to use colour palette.
My Bedside Clock gives you the ability to have the time always fit itself automatically to the screen - always the largest size - all of the time.
There’s no clutter unless you want it. Selectable seconds, 24-hour format, AM/PM display, and flashing separators. It works in every orientation of your iPad for maximum flexibility.
Want to adjust the size of the time yourself? You can using pinch-to-zoom. Shrink it or expand it whatever size you like. My Bedside Clock remembers your settings in each orientation so every time you load it, it’s just the way you like it.
Talking Clock: Turn on the speak the time option and when the clock is visible, a tap of the screen will read you the time in whichever format is selected.
Multiple Alarms: Add as many alarms as you like with repeats for each day of the week and a choice of 8 different audible alarms. For something more discrete, a visual alarm will flash the screen. Snooze is independently settable for each alarm. Due to OS limitations, currently alarms only work when My Bedside Clock’s clock is showing.
Accessing the settings is easy - swipe your finger up and the setting screen slides up from the bottom. To return to the clock, swipe down and the settings will slide back down. No fuss, no clutter. Just the time, with no distractions.
My Bedside Clock, a simple clock with a lot of nice touches.”