announcing the tiny Raspberry Pi camera module 3
Toronto. As collectors, we think of film and plate cameras as from well known makers with sizes from the Minox (sub-miniature) up. When digital came along, most digital cameras emulated their minicam film brethren in size and style.
This changed with smart phone cameras. A camera module was tucked into almost every smart phone, whether wanted or not. The module with lens and sensor was downright tiny. In many cases the price point and size took precedent over name.
My iPod Touch has a relatively old 8 MPX sensor and a lens equivalent to a 35mm focal length in angle of view (about 54 degrees horizontally). Recently Raspberry Pi announced its tiny camera module 3 with nearly a 12 MPX sensor and autofocus for $25 US up. The image at left is courtesy of ZDNET (ZD stands for Ziff Davis, who published magazines when I was a kid).
With smart phones, we no longer fuss over adequate lighting, camera make, lens design, etc. Instead we shoot and send the beautiful colour images world wide. The tiny camera shoots and combines multiple images for a good (steady, correct lighting) shot, often in HDR. Amazing!
