DOF calculator for Cingular 2125 (and other WM5 SmartPhones)

[jeffkohn]

When it was time to upgrade to a new phone, I decided to go with one of the new Windows Mobile SmartPhones, because I knew there were DOF/Hyperfocal calculators for the PocketPC available for download and I thought it would be cool to have one of these on my phone (yes I am a geek).

Alas, none of the calculators I could find for download would actually run on my phone, they all seemed to be written for older versions of Windows CE and were platform-specific binaries. So, I decided to write one myself.

This first prototype is pretty basic in functionality, but if you can live with its current limitations it is functional so I thought others might be interested in giving it a try. The main screen allows you to input lens focal length, subject distance, and circle of confusion.



Once you do that (or accept the defaults) and hit the Calculate button (right soft-button). You get a grid displaying the near/far DOF and hyperfocal distance for various apertures:



Pretty straight forward I think, but IMHO quite a bit more convenient than printing a bunch of DOF tables on notecards that invariably get lost/bent/soaked or left at home.

I mentioned that there are some limitations in this version:

- Default values are currently hard-coded. Hey I was in a hurry, but once I get some time I'll fix it to remember previously-used settings.

- List of apertures in the results grid is hard-coded. Again, when I have time I'll give you the option of first/last full-fstop as well as whether or not to show half/third fstops.

- Distance units are in feet, sorry no meters at this time but I'll consider adding the option in the future if there's interest.

- Program Icon is really lame. What can I say, I took up photography because I can't draw.

Other than that it seems to work fine for me, although I've only tested it on one phone model (Cingular 2125). It should run on other Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphones, although if you don't have the QVGA screen I'm not sure how well it will display (would appreciate any feedback on this).

Unfortunately MS didn't ship .NET 2.0 on the current smartphone platform, so before you can run this app you're going to have to install the .NET 2.0 Compact Framework on your phone. The installer is downloadable from MS website here. Don't be alarmed at the size, I'm pretty sure they've bundled all of the platform-specific CABs into one MSI. The CAB for my phone was only about 2MB.

After you've installed that, just download the CAB for Hyper-Calc here and install however you normally install. To me the easiest way is copying the CAB to the phone and then running it from there. You'll get a warning about it being signed by an unknown publisher since I don't have a certificate, after that it should run like any other app.

Anyways, if anybody wants to try it, feel free. Please post feedback here if you try it and it works (or doesn't). I probably won't have time to do any more work on it until after I get back from vacation at the end of the month though.

[jeffkohn]

Guess I'm the only geek with a WM SmartPhone...

[PeteQ]

Treo 650 running Palm OS... I love DOFmaster

[Abel]

ppc6700 here...

jeff... so youre not the only one hehe

[engstrom]

Yep - I had a stupid old phone (Motorola e815) but it makes and receives calls well.

[jeffkohn]

I'd heard good things about the palm-based phones but as a Windows programmer by day the WM SmartPhones were appealing to me since it would be easy to write custom apps for them.

[PeteQ]

I hear ya... As a Mac guy the Palm's offer the best integration for me.

[MarekWK]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

Guess I'm the only geek with a WM SmartPhone...

definitely not the only one... saw your post this morning. My phone (Audiovox SMT5600) runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. So far, I did not find DoF calculator for it, but then again, I did not look very hard. Might have to give your app a spin;)

[jeffkohn]

Marek, I'd be interested to know if it works on your phone, as I've not looked into whether the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 is support on WIndows Mobile 2003 SE.

[jeffkohn]

I uploaded a new version, it will now save the 3 input parameters and remember them next time you run the app instead of using my old hard-coded defaults.

[MarekWK]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

Marek, I'd be interested to know if it works on your phone, as I've not looked into whether the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 is support on WIndows Mobile 2003 SE.

me too;) before I pull down .Net 2.0, I will do some more research, though.

btw, I believe your phone is a next gen to the one I have (same OEM... nor sure why they call it Audiovox). after many Nokias, an Erricson, Motorola, etc. I can honestly say it's the best phone I owned to-date.