Magazine cover shot by camera phone

click to enlarge

October adds, “We wanted to showcase their capability to our readers - and what better what than by shooting our cover, which has traditionally been the domain of high-end SLR cameras?”

Cover photographs need to be of high resolution for a full-page, full-colour print to get sharpness and clarity from the image.

“Previously it was difficult to get sufficient quality from camera phones,” says October. “The images appeared pixelated when blown up to a full page size. At 8.1 megapixel, the Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot camera produces both the clarity and dimension we needed.”

Looked bewilderedly

A professional photographer was commissioned for the shoot; but when offered the Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot, a small handset at only 10cm long and 5cm wide, in place of his standard SLR equipment, he understandably looked bewilderedly at October.

“When the shoot began, he commented immediately on how different it was to be using the small, light handset as opposed to his usual kit,” October explains. “SLR cameras offer a lot more freedom with dozens of functions, buttons and settings, so he had to adjust his technique. The Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot does allow stops to be set and also matrix metering, functions usually only offered by high-end SLR cameras.”

The Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot handset used for this shoot was a standard, commercially available handset with no additional features or software.

“Our new Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot handset is that next step up in the camera phone generation,” says Sonja Shear, head of marketing at Sony Ericsson SA. “There's no better way to demonstrate the quality and capability of camera than having its image on a magazine cover.”

1.2 million copies of Vodaworld magazine are distributed quarterly to Vodacom service roviders and Vodacom contract holders; they are available - at no charge - from Vodacom outlets.