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Hanami, Camera Phone Watching
In Japan Hana mi - flower watching is a national event for the few days that the cherry blossom (sakura) trees bloom. It took me a while to get used to it, but to a foreigner it boils down to an excuse to sit somewhere nice with friends and colleagues and have a party. Hana mi is also a good time to reflect on the role of camera phone vs digital cameras.
Having a quiet after work stroll along the cherry blossom lined Meguro River and stopped by one of the many bridges. The world and her tokyo-mini-fit-in-the-bag-on-the-subway-sized-dog are out in groups chatting and pretty much all taking photos of the sakura.
Two things stand out from sitting and observing for half an hour.
Firstly roughly 90% of people taking photos were using camera phones. The remaining 10% either consumer digital cameras or mounted-on-tripod prosumer models which could have been digital or analog. A couple of people took with camera phone and then digital camera. This is at night and for this kind of outside use camera phone flashes still don't do it.
Secondly, that the way the shots were being lined up, the camera phone was at least treated equally with the digital camera in terms of what was expected from the photos. There were the Im-here snapshots, but also people spending a long time getting the right angle and choosing the right cherry blossom to photograph.
Hanami isnt an unplanned quick-theres-david-beckham-wheres-i-wish-i-had-a-camera moment. People will discuss and plan where and when to go, who will go early to reserve the best spot to picnic and wholl bring what food and drink.
A % of those people using camera phones also own a digital camera. Where do you keep you digital camera in your home when it is not in use? And your phone? Taking something with you when you leave home requires recollection that you own it. Recollection is all the more difficult when the object is tucked in a cupboard somewhere. Out of sight out of mind.
Camera phones already have the mind share being good enough for this kind of social event photography. The next time those people leave home the digital camera will stay in the cupboard. For digital camera manufacturers this is a one-way trend. In the longer term, for the digital camera needs to deliver better value (quality, convenience, ease of use, ...) perceptually beyond that of a camera phone.
Writing from Tokyo | April 11, 2005 | Permalink
Comments
Just reading these old posts - way too late for a "topical" reply. It occurs to me though that one of the real advantages of having this kind of photo on your phone isn't technological per se, it's social. The nice thing about cheap, poor quality pictures on your phone is that you always carry them, and you can easily show them to people you've just met in real life. Always a good icebreaker -
"I have a dog"
"Really, what kind is he?"
"Well, he's a Jack Russel. HERE'S A PICTURE."
They are a great way to encourage natural conversations in a language learning situation too, you just ask the student to show you some pictures on their phone and explain about them.
Posted by: Michael at August 21, 2006 10:05 PM