Well, more ‘what if the cell phone owner is recording a crime and really, really doesn’t want to draw attention to themselves, like if it’s the police committing the crime?’
I was talking about the imitated shutter sound. It’s an embarrassing sound for a non-SLR camera to make. You can usually hear that it’s coming from a speaker, as opposed to an actual mirror being flipped up and down. I am ok with a camera making a sensible pleasant ‘beep’ type sound if you need the feedback. I personally use the auto-preview that most cameras have as my feedback.
To me it would be like having a low-powered car play a ‘VROOOOM!’ sound every time you push the gas pedal.
Yes, that’s what I was referring to as well. I know several people who without that shutter sound would be unable to tell if they took a picture or not.
It’s more like if you had a silent electric car and they put in motor noises so that people would know it was on. Some people need some kind of feedback.
It’s not about the inalienable right to a silent camera: it’s just that government has no business mandating that everyone have an annoying clicky camera, no matter what ridiculous overhyped justification they come up with it. Just because a tiny fraction of the population might abuse the ability to have a camera that doesn’t make an annoying noise isn’t a sane justification for mandating that no company shall make a camera that can be rendered silent.
And that doesn’t even address how easy this would be to circumvent for anyone who feels like using their camera for pervy purposes. Hell, I would circumvent this in a heartbeat just because I don’t want my camera to make a goddamn annoying clicky sound. And yes, I believe that is my right if I so choose.
Well, I’m sure Mr. King is merely missing the forest for the trees. But yeah, I am under no illusion that some in the police community may not be looking at this as a step towards the day they can have it declared that aiming a live camera or mic at a police officer w/o his permission is “interferring with police” and a crime in and of itself, or declare such evidence inadmissible. Or more generally, some people will never give up on the idea that you should not be using any communications or recording technology w/o someone in authority being able to know you’re using it, and what are you using it for. Because, of course, technology endows you with evil super powers…
I suppose it’s not that important an issue to me in and of iteself - enough to make it push my ‘help, help! I’m being repressed!’ button. I guess I’m just accustomed to a certain level of government interference - and I don’t necessarily see it as the start of a slippery slope.
It’s a camera that emits an annoying click. A shit idea, as I said. If it was a prosthetic limb that emits a constant blood-curdling scream, then I reckon I’d feel quite different about it.
I think we’re getting mixed up. I’m not saying there should be no feedback. I’m saying does it need to be that particular sound?
Thanks for posting that. I’ve heard about police confisgating pictures/video and wondered if they had the right to do it. I would be f!#%ing pissed if someone confiscated my phone (or camera).
Now we’re getting into iconography (and even further off the topic at hand 
). For various reasons the masses associate that sound with a picture being taken. I absolutely agree with you that the exaggerated tone is goofy and if my phone had a camera I’d be sure to turn that noise off, it’s just that people connect that sound with the action of taking a photograph. I don’t like it but I understand it.
(And while we’re drifting this far off topic is there a term like iconography specifically for sounds?)
I don’t really understand the justification for this. So, in the future, you want all cell phone cameras to make a noise that can’t be disabled when taking a photo? Okay, what about all the cell phone cameras out there right now that can do so silently?
I think this could be more advantageous for the predator than the prey for a different reason – if we start telling people “all cell phone cameras must now make a noise when taking a photo,” people will misunderstand and think “well, that guy’s phone isn’t making a noise, so he can’t be taking a photo of me.”
Then there’s the whole what-about-those-tiny-cameras-that-aren’t-cell-phones-but-are-also-silent issue.
Sounds like someone who wants to make a name for himself is doing so by pushing a pointless, time wasting bill. I hope it dies in committee, where it should.
In Japan, it’s required that there be some kind of sound, and you can’t disable it in any way through normal interfaces. Even the iPhone was modified for this market. I think it’s stupid, along the same lines as the women-only subway cars. If people actually did something about the creepy shit a very small minority (even in Japan) of men get up to, they wouldn’t need passive-aggressive crap like this. I’m pretty disappointed to find that people in the US find this enough of an issue to propose a bill about.
If trees could scream, would we still cut them down? I suppose we would if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
Bills for next session:
-
911 “Panic Button” GPS tracking non-removable security bracelets, activated by wolf whistle; mandatory for all females ages 2-59 (some states exempt)
-
“Red dot sight” contact lenses, mandatory for all males ages 12-112, to provide to females a visual alert of breast ogling (not required in San Francisco, CA or Manhattan’s Chelsea district)
My iPhone makes the shutter noise when it takes a picture. But… if you plug in the headphones, the noise goes only to the headphones. Hmm.
I think congressmen are just pissed about the lack of quality in the crappy cell phone pics and want to force them to use their 10 megapixel digital camera to take dirty pictures.
They’re outta control, I tell ya. What’s next, they gonna outlaw the mirrors on my shoes?
Well at least he didn’t offer the alternative bill. You know, the one where the camera says in a Jery Lewis nutty voice, “M’hey, I’m taking your picture pretty lady.”
Eh, sooner or later we’ll have really good AIs. Then some clown will put forth a bill requiring the AI to determine the target of the picture and either refuse to take it if the “victim” is underage and in any state of undress, or put forth VERY LOUD ALARMS if adult and in any state of undress.
Then someday we’ll have the telepathic cameras that will actually refuse to take a picture if anyone in the frame denies consent.
Imps. The future is little blue Imps.
I for one cannot wait until we can legislate moral choice from our lives completely.
I sthis what Congress is worried about?? The banks are collapsing, 401Ks are being wiped out, and tese fools have nothing better to worry about!
Time for term limits!