Face Recognition? Smile Detection?

[stsinner]

What is this? We bought our son a cheap ($90) point and shoot for Christmas, and it boasts features I've seen on other name brand cameras coming out-face tracking and smile recognition.. It claims that it can detect when someone smiles and capture it. Now this seems a little silly to me, and I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with these seemingly useless features? I mean, if you can't track a face or determine when someone smiles, you probably shouldn't be driving a camera... Anyway, here's the camera in question:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8942433&type=product&id=1215217299399

And here is the claim:

"Face Detection technology
Tracks faces within the frame and automatically focuses and optimizes exposure. Smile capture mode automatically releases the shutter to snap a digital photo when your subject smiles."

 

[LaFoto]

I've heard about it in commercials on cameras (which abound now, so shortly before Christmas) and have always wondered why anyone would WANT this to begin with? Does the camera REFUSE to take a photo when you want to take a photo of an unsmiling person? Does the camera fire away like crazy when held in your lap and someone has just told you a good joke and everyone in the room is laughing? Would "laughing" already be too much for that camera? Does the person have to smile and smile only?

Questions and more questions.

Also where do YOU look while the camera takes photos of smiling faces all by itself?

 

[Big Mike]

My mother has a Sony camera with smile detection. It's a mode that you select on the 'dial' and when in that mode, you press the button but it won't actually snap the photo until the subject smiles.

I can certainly see that people would like this feature. One of the biggest problems with P&S digital cameras is the shutter lag, which makes it very hard to capture a smile on some people...because by the time you see it and try to take the photo, the smile is gone.

Face detection is getting to be standard on most P&S cameras these days. I've got a little Canon with that feature. If it regognizes a face, it will use that area for focus and metering. I think it's a neat feature for people who don't know how to set focus or exposure for their subject. One of the most common 'mistakes' I see with non-photographer's photos these days...is that they missed the focus...and the background will be sharp while the subject is blurry. Face detection can help to avoid that.

To someone who knows what they are doing, these features are nothing more than gimmicks...but to people who just hold the camera up and press the button, these are useful features. And there are a lot more of them than there are of us.

 

[abraxas]

I can't help but wonder if the camera would wait for someone to frown if you held it upside down? ... Sorry- I'm out of here.

 

[stsinner]

Big Mike and Corinna, ..good points. I guess I'm just being too serious, as I'm trying to learn photography, and if you've got a camera like that, there's nothing to learn. It's good for kids, I guess, or people who aren't technical and have no desire to do anything but take shapshots at parties and family gatherings, etc..

Or maybe I'm just jealous that my camera doesn't have it... LOL

 

[SrBiscuit]

I can't help but wonder if the camera would wait for someone to frown if you held it upside down? ... Sorry- I'm out of here.

:lmao::thumbup:

 

[Big Mike]

or people who aren't technical and have no desire to do anything but take shapshots at parties and family gatherings, etc.

That describes 90% of people who buy cameras...so the camera companies are certainly going after their target market.

Remember, if it wasn't for all those snap shooters...the camera companies wouldn't have the money to develop and sell the good stuff that we like to play with

 

[zbo2408]

7 MP
IS
1600 ISO

... wow I wonder who made that camera for BB ... those are impressive stats for a cheap ol p&s and I know those stats aren't all that matter for image quality... I'm just marveling at how cheap this technology has gotten compared to my almost $400... A95 back in 2004 w/ 400 ISO & w/out IS 5MP