Most Windows Phones include a camera and while I've never spent much time evaluating cell phone cameras and wouldn't make a purchase decision based on the Windows Phone's camera, a decent cellphone camera can be extremely convenient and useful.  I've learned that with just a little bit of patience, some planning and an understanding of the camera software options anyone can take pretty good pictures with today's Windows Phone cameras. . . even novices like me! 

Every Windows Phone I've used has included a camera, and the cameras have come a long way from the 1.3 Megapixel camera in my IPAQ hw6925 to the 3 Megapixel autofocus camera of the IPAQ 910c to the 5 Megapixel camera of the HTC Touch Diamond2.

Nonetheless cellphone cameras are slow and they won't take the same quality pictures as a good digital camera.  You'll have to be willing to make some tradeoffs between efficiency and quality when you take pictures with your Windows Mobile camera:

• Greater efficiency, such as faster picture taking or small picture file size, results in lower picture quality.  To improve camera efficiency:
  • Turn flash on or turn it off, don't let the camera decide what to do
  • Set smallest image resolution suitable for the job
  • Set high compression.  High compression creates a smaller file size and a lower quality picture
  • Use good lighting (low lighting takes longer for the picture to process)
  • Set a lower resolution
  • Set a lower photo quality
  • Use Burst mode, if available, and plan to take a bunch of pictures.  If you use Burst mode, make sure the camera is set to store the pictures to your storage card.
  • The speed of the storage card probably won't make much of a difference
    
• Higher quality pictures result in lower efficiency in terms of camera speed and picture file size.  To improve picture quality:
  • Hold camera steady
  • Use the camera's timer option, if available.  Using the timer option prevents you from shaking the camera when you press the button.  To take the best pictures, consider using a tripod along with the camera's timer option.  It takes longer for the camera to take a high quality picture, so you'll need to keep the camera steady for a longer period of time. 
  • Set low compression.  A lower compression creates a larger file size and a higher quality picture
  • Get close - avoid using the camera's digital zoom option
  • Use highest resolution
  • Use high photo quality
  • Get the lighting right
    • Use bright light (lower light takes longer for the picture to process)
    • Make sure the light is behind or to the side of you
    • Use flash as little as possible

I've got a couple of different Windows Mobile phones with cameras.  The camera software options differ from device to device, but here's a short summary of camera features and options for a couple of different Windows Mobile cameras.

HP IPAQ Voice Messenger Camera Settings

The HP IPAQ Voice Messenger runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard operating system (no touch screen) and includes a 3.1 Megapixel, auto-focus, 5x digital zoom camera.  You can set the camera options for the Voice Messenger by selecting Start > Camera > Menu.

Resolution:  You can choose amongst 6 different resolution settings, ranging from 240x320 to 1536x2048. 

• The higher the resolution, the better the picture and the more space is required to store the picture. 
• Higher resolution pictures give you the greatest flexibility for editing the pictures later. 
• The file size of lower resolution pictures can be much smaller, but the quality is not as good, and you won't have much flexibility to edit pictures later.

Quality: You can choose between Low, Medium or High quality.  The higher the quality, the larger the file size and the slower the camera will take to capture images.

White Balance:  Be sure to check the camera's white balance settings to match the current lighting situation by tapping Menu > Settings > White Balance.  Then you can choose Daylight, Shade, Incandescent or Fluorescent.

I will leave it to you to explore the other options, but some options that might be of interest include Night Mode, Zoom (available for lower resolution pictures only but allows you to choose from 5 different zoom settings and Flicker Filter (select 110v/60Hz or 240v/50Hz).

I've been very impressed with the quality of the pictures I've taken with the IPAQ Voice Messenger.  Click the picture below to view my "Study in Mushrooms" slideshow and see why.  If you view this slideshow in full screen mode, you'll see the amazing detail.  All the pictures in the slideshow were taken with the IPAQ Voice Messenger with the following settings:  Resolution: 3MP 1536x2048; Quality: High; White Balance: Shade; Default settings for everything else. 

HTC Fuze Camera Settings

The HTC Fuze runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system and has a 3.2 Megapixel Color CMOS camera with auto focus. 

You can set the options for the HTZ Fuze camera by tapping the gear icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Avoid the use of the Flash Light.  Instead try to arrange the picture to use the lighting in the room to your advantage.  If set up properly, even inside pictures can look pretty good without turning on the Flash.

Before snapping pictures, always check the White Balance option.  You'll get better pictures if you do not use the Auto option.  Instead, take a few minutes to toggle through the sunlight, moon & star, incandescent light and fluorescent light options to find the one that gives the best lighting for your picture.

Using the Self-timer and even a tripod will ensure the steadiest picture.

Resolution: The HTC Fuze provides five resolution settings:  M (320x240); L(640x480); 1M (1280x960); 2M (1600x1200); 3M (2048x1536). 

• The higher the resolution, the better the picture and the more space is required to store the picture. 
• Higher resolution pictures give you the greatest flexibility for editing the pictures later. 
• The file size of lower resolution pictures can be much smaller, but the quality is not as good, and you won't have much flexibility to edit pictures later.

Quality: You can choose between Basic, Normal, Fine and Super Fine. 

• Choosing a higher quality setting (Fine or Super Fine) will create a larger file size and
• Taking pictures will be more time consuming - the camera takes quite a bit longer to save the picture, so a steady hand is necessary to get the best picture (or use a tripod and the timer to create a steady picture). 

I'll leave it to you to explore the other Advanced Options of the HTC Fuze camera, but some other options that might be of interest to you are:

Effect lets you choose between None, Grayscale, Sepia or Negative.

Flicker Adjustment lets you choose between Auto, 50 Hz, or 60 Hz.

Tapping the center icon on the Camera screen allows you to choose amongst ten different capture modes: Photo, Video, Panorama, MMS Video, Contacts Picture, Burst, Picture Theme, Sports, Video Share, and GPS Photo.

A Simple Registry Edit to Enable Burst & Sports Mode on the HTC Fuze

Burst Mode snaps pictures as long as you hold down the button.  Sports Mode snaps five pictures at a time (as long as you hold down the button).  By default, both of these modes are disabled on the HTC Fuze.  You can use a registry editor, like Total Commander's registry editor, to make a couple of simple registry edits to enable them (1).  With your registry editor software, you'll navigate to:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Software>HTC>Camera>P6>Enable.  Change the value from 0 to 1
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Software>HTC>Camera>P8>Enable.  Change the value from 0 to 1

Then exit the registry editor software and perform a soft reset.  Now when you turn on the camera and tap the middle icon on the bottom of the screen, you'll find icons for the Burst and Sports modes.

HP IPAQ hw6925

The HP IPAQ hw6925 runs the Windows Mobile 5.0 Professional operating system and includes a 1.3 Megapixel camera.  The hw6925's camera is quite inferior to those of the other windows mobile cameras discussed in this article, but I think it provides an interesting contrast for the article.

You can set the camera options for the hw6925 by tapping Start > Programs > Photosmart Camera.  Then tap the bulleted pointed icon on the left side of the screen.

The settings tab provides access to the White Balance, Color, Compression, Resolution, and Flicker Filter options. 

White Balance:  You can choose Auto, Sun, Tungsten (which is the same as incandescent), or Fluorescent

Color:  You can choose Full Color, Black & White, Sepia, and Negative

Compression: You can choose Good, Better or Best.  Best compression creates the smallest file size, and the poorest quality picture; Good compression creates the largest file size, and the best quality picture.

Resolution:  You can choose amongst 4 different resolution settings, ranging from 160x120 to 1280x1024

You can also set the Self Timer (2 seconds or 10 seconds) by tapping the Setup tab.

Concluding Remarks

To get the best feel for your Windows Mobile camera, take several pictures of the same thing, changing the resolution, quality, and lighting.  Then copy the pictures to your computer and review them.  You'll soon find the best combination of settings to get the best pictures from your Windows Mobile camera.

Also cell phones and their cameras get exposed to a lot of junk bumping around a purse or a pocket, so be sure to clean the camera lenses regularly.

Every Windows Mobile camera for every Windows Mobile phone is going to be different and the settings you use on one phone may not be the best settings for another phone.  As an example of this, compare the pictures below.  I snapped the first picture with my HP IPAQ Voice Messenger and the second picture with my newest Windows phone, the HTC Touch Diamond2.  I snapped these pictures within minutes of each other, and I tried to use similar camera settings on both devices. I don't know if it is a fair comparison since I've only had the HTC Touch Diamond2 for a week or so and haven't spent much time playing with the camera options, but I can tell you that the HP IPAQ mobile cameras I've owned have always taken better pictures than any HTC mobile camera I have used.

Taken with the HP IPAQ Voice Messenger:

Taken with the HTC Touch Diamond2:

References

1. Pocketnow forum, provided by speed_pour (registry settings to show the Burst and Sports modes on the HTC Fuze)

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