Build complex toys and simple tools
by Tony Karp

Do you need fancy equipment?
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One of the nice things about the revolution in digital photography is that it has made it much easier to digitize an art collection, in terms of both cost and time.

Do you need the fanciest, most expensive equipment? Nope.

Picture of a Renoir I took with my cameraphone - I did it with my cameraphone - Tony Karp, design, art, photography, techno-impressionist, techno-impressionism, aerial photography , drone , drones , dji , mavic pro , video , 3D printing - Books -
I did it with my cameraphone

As an example, the picture of this Renoir from the National Gallery in Washington, DC was made with my cameraphone. It's a 1.3 megapixel model.

While the camera in my cell phone isn't that great, the phone itself is pretty good, considering it's about three years old. It has great reception, plays my MP3s through stereo speakers (no kidding), and folds up to fit in my pocket.

The only problem is that I don't use the phone all that much -- no texting or twittering and, since I'm home most of the time, I am usually on my regular home phone. The cell phone is in my pocket when I'm out running errands. If someone calls on my home phone, the cell phone rings as well, so I don't miss many calls.

Since I use my camera a lot and very seldom use the phone part, my camera phone is actually the reverse of what I need. What I'd like is a great little camera (like my Panasonic DMC-FZ18) with a so-so phone built into it. I don't even need the stereo music part.

A suggestion for cell phone designers -- why not include a ebook reader in one of these large-screen cell phones? The screen is more than big enough if held horizontally. An ebook reader is just another application. The only problem is that you'd need the backlight and this would put some strain on the battery, but I'm sure this could be worked out.

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