I, me and my selfie
Selfie popularity has pushed industry to take note, respond with the right technology
The classic image of the Buddha has him seemingly looking into himself. 'Contemplating his navel', was supposed to concentrate the mind and prevent confusion. One might think the millions of selfies captured and posted on the Web's social media sites indicate some sort of mass sharpening of minds. And one would be wrong. The current selfie craze is more about a narcissistic preoccupation with self -- rather than self realization. In other words it's all about ‘I, Me and Myself’, sorry, ‘My Selfie’.
Not so long ago, getting into a photo that you were taking, meant setting the self timer in a camera and racing to join the group, before the shutter clicked. At tourist spots, those who wanted a photo with their loved ones, thought nothing about handing over their camera to a fellow tourist to click that keep-sake image. The result was usually a well composed image with you, your companion and the Taj or Charminar or the Singapore Merlion, nicely in focus.
Now people whip out their phones, click on the front camera -- and do-it-yourself: The result: millions of skewed, distorted images of people grinning like devils. There seems to be an unwritten, globally accepted rule, that you are expected to make a fool of yourself when you click a selfie. It was not always so. In fact the first selfie that still exists, dates back to 1839, when a Robert Cornelius of Philadelphia, shot a shaky self image.
By 2012, Time magazine had rated 'selfie' one of the Top Ten buzzwords. And in November 2013, it was the Oxford English Dictionary, Word of the Year.
The most famous selfie ever taken is more recent -- the group of stars captured by host Ellen Degeneres at the 2014 Oscars. It was re-tweeted 2 million times before the event was over. "If only Bradley (Cooper)'s arm was longer!" Ellen lamented when she could get only 12 actors in the picture. She should have done what any selfie-addict would have done -- used a selfie stick.
Narci-stick:
With a handle at one end and an adjustable clamp at the other, to hold the phone, today's selfie sticks let you position the camera 30-70cms away and with some of the wide angle lenses that cameras boast today, you can easily fit 20 friends in the frame -- via wireless Bluetooth.
A casual search on Indian e-tailing sites will throw up dozens of self stick priced Rs 300 - 1000. Chennai-based Zebronics has recently launched one of the pricier (Rs 999) models the ZEB-SS100 with a Bluetooth shutter release, and 5 telescopic rods that stretch to a full 79cms. The most compact selfie stick I have seen is the one on sale at e-bazar ninja which collapses to palm-size and costs Rs 499. You know selfie sticks have gone mainstream when even the big name camera makers get into the act: Nikon launched its own stick, the foam handled N-MP001, earlier this year.
Most sticks come preinstalled with software to work with leading makes of Android or iOS phones. But if you have an odd phone which doesn't, you can always download Camera 360 or one of its clones, a popular app that has become the de facto standard powering selfie sticks.
Over-enthusiastic selfie stick artists have caused some grief to fellow humans and surroundings, by their aggressive stick work. So they are today banned from many museums and public amusement parks (and an entire nation: South Korea). But where ever allowed, these narci-sticks are finding new and innovative uses. Last week in New York, at the Reem Acra 2016 Fall Bridal fashion show, models sported a Swarovski jewel-encrusted selfie stick (with matching headphones) which will set back prospective brides a full $500 (Rs 32,500). Who needs a shaadi-ka-photographer, when the bride records it herself?
And a new video posted on YouTube entitled Selfie Stick Aerobics invites you to practice some high energy selfie admiration, by recording your moves, as you work-out. If you don't like what you click -- you need to exercise some more!
Selfie-friendly phones:
Recent smart phone launches in India have seen makers woo selfie lovers with some special photo-enhancing features.
Micromax has launched a Canvas Selfie Lens smartphone with a clip-on 0.4X wide angle lens to capture the widest image, with a face beauty feature added, that allows you to smoothen the skin, sharpen and enlarge the eyes, remove blemishes -- all with pre-sets. (Rs 8, 299)
The Gionee Elife E7 mini takes its camera features to a next level by sporting a 13 megapixels rotating camera that lets you take pictures by just twisting the camera swivel, front and back. So, instead of turning the entire phone, you just need to turn the phone’s camera for taking those perfect selfies. The Elife E7 mini also offers various editing options like smile detection, gesture shot, etc. (Rs 25, 999)
Although the front camera of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is just 5 megapixels, it comes with some impressive selfie features. The camera boasts a 120 degree wide angle, which lets you take groupies with your gang of friends or family. It also features Samsung’s ‘Advanced Selfie Technology’ with digital image stabilization, HD recording and an f 1.9 aperture that produces sharp and bright pictures. (Rs 53,900)
The Asus ZenFone 'Selfie' has done the inevitable has provided two cameras, in the front and rear, with the same resolution. Both cameras come equipped with dual-colour, dual-LED flash and laser auto-focus for real-time identification and focus on the face of the object. The 88-degree wide angle camera is able to focus faster than many other selfie phones. Asus' digital cosmetic features also help make you look better than you are! (Rs 15,999)
