barely related Greg,   Has JACKASS been screened on Japanese TV, or has the movie been released on video there? posted by DjangoSeptember 13, 2003 at 23:42 [ e ]

not sure I know some of my Japanese friends saw the move and thought it was hilarious but I don't know where they saw it.  Maybe on cable TV. Why? Did someone go through and replace all the sample pictures with ass pics or something? posted by greggmanSeptember 14, 2003 at 0:52 [ e ]

thanks As I said - it was barely related. I saw some footage of a few of the JA crew at the Japan MTV awards from this year. No pranks - just an appearance, so they must be getting ready for JA or it's there.   Thanks, Django posted by DjangoSeptember 14, 2003 at 14:05 [ e ]

a cell phone will NEVER replace my Nikon SLR A cell phone will NEVER replace my Nikon SLR But it may replace my mid size and small Nikons.. but my big digital SLR camera's are just too good.. I have never been able to get the kind of sharpness even from the high end Prosumer camera's that I can get with my nice Nikon lenses. I do not like the Bokeh(pleasing background blurr) from anything less than a SLR based camera too. Anyway im a nut... I bust a couple of grand for just 1 lens and I know most people would barely spend 100 bucks on a lens... hehe love your site... keep it going dude peace from LA dearing posted by joshuadearingSeptember 15, 2003 at 15:27 [ e ]

point-and-shoot replacement, not SLR replacement Gregg said they'll replace digital point-and-shoot cameras, not SLR's. I agree with Gregg's assessment. posted by MoonKnightSeptember 16, 2003 at 3:20 [ e ]

Jackass in Japan Jackass has been shown on Japanese MTV for over two years - probably as long as the proper Japanese MTV has been going. They need to get it screened on terrestrial TV though - I don't think the masses have cable yet. posted by anon_jrSeptember 16, 2003 at 21:40 [ e ]

According to a recent report, camera phones already outsell digital cameras in Europe. Analog? I suspect it's dead--except as a medium for serious photographers. Yes, it won't replace your SLR... but why carry something else for snapshots? posted by GregCSeptember 25, 2003 at 21:09 [ e ]

Zoom? Do any cellphone cameras have zoom yet? posted by hummbabySeptember 29, 2003 at 2:32 [ e ]

Zoom There's no optical zoom. Digital zoom exists, but digital zoom not really zoom. It's cropping. The big things that keeps cell phone cameras from replacing cheap cameras are the low quality of the optics and the lack of a flash. Some cell phone cameras have a tiny light that's good for brightening things up 5cm from the lens. A real flash would drain the batteries too quickly. posted by dmaOctober 7, 2003 at 9:48 [ e ]

That's true today but may not be tomorrow.  Already one of the cell phones has the same optics as the Casio Exlim series.  Some also have flash or flash attachment.  Give it another year or two and they should get there. posted by greggmanOctober 9, 2003 at 1:55 [ e ]

battery life So, one current cell phone has the same optics as an Exslim. Does that tell you more about the quality or lack of quality in low end digital cameras? There were one or two cell phones for sale with a flash attachment. They never were very popular. A friend of mine had one and I considered upgrading to the same model, but the photo quality was actually lower than my older 256 color model. If there was a phone with a real built-in flash it would consume the batteries too rapidly if you used it often and then you wouldn't be able to use your phone for it's primary purpose, making calls. Color QVGA screens and other cool but not necessary in a cell phone features are are already reducing the phone functionality by limiting the time you can use them before you have to recharge. My first cell phone was much thinner and weighed half as much as most those that you can buy today. The batteries would last three days without a charge! The only other things other than calls that I used it for was for mail and it's built in calendar and calculator. My new phone's battery can easily be depleted in a day and it's not because I use it more than my old one. Tomorrow's cell phone cameras are catching up with yesterday's digital point and shoot cameras, but remember that tomorrow's digital point and shoot cameras will always be a step or two ahead. What I think you are getting at is that eventually consumers will think that a dedicated camera's additional quality and features aren't worth the additional cost for snapshots. You'll still probably see vending machines selling selling disposable film cameras on Mt. Fuji for people whose cell phone batteries have died out. posted by dmaOctober 10, 2003 at 21:50 [ e ]

So, one current cell phone has the same optics as an Exslim. Does that tell you more about the quality or lack of quality in low end digital cameras? Neither, it tells me that cell phones with quality optics that can take quality pictures are coming.  Note that by quality I mean "good enough for most people that would be happy with a cheap point and shoot camera".  I don't mean that cell phones are going to replace SLRs or Digital SLRs or even prosumer cameras.  But, cameras like the Sony DSC-F77 series, the Casio Exlim series, the Sony DSC-P?? series, I seems like most of those will be easily replaced by cell phones within a few years. The QVGA screens are necessary in my opinion. Sure the batteries need to either catch up or they need to make screens that use less power but using a cell phone for personal GPS navigation, which the newest AU phones can do in real time, works alot better if you can actually both see enough of the map that you can tell where you are and have enough resolution that you can read the words printed on the map.  Even QVGA is probably not enough for that.  Fortunately VGA cell phone displays have already been announced. posted by greggmanOctober 11, 2003 at 6:51 [ e ]

GPS Yes, higher resolution screens might be necessary for GPS navigation and games but not for what is primarily a cell phone. Larger screens mean shorter battery life, and there haven't been any real advances in battery technology recently. To use your phone as a phone and do a bit of mail, all you need is small a b/w screen. It'll be thinner, lighter and cheaper. Of course you the phone company won't be able to subscribe you to the cute 3D pooh-san screen saver download for 300 yen a month if you don't have a large color screen. How does AU price their GPS service? I've never seen anyone using it before. A lot of places in Tokyo would be easier to find if you had it. Most people don't know how to use all the features in their cell phones the way things are. I've got Japanese friends who don't know how to use their answering machine properly. posted by dmaOctober 14, 2003 at 0:49 [ e ]

flash Tu-ka now has a model with what they call a flashlight but they put it so close to the lens that it would cause redeye if it did get bright enough. It's thinner and lighter than anything else out there. Kyocera has some pretty cool phones. http://www.tu-ka.co.jp/line_up/tk31.html posted by dmaOctober 16, 2003 at 8:16 [ e ]