(Archived) For those using a fixed-focus cell phone camera

[SilverSpringSteve 0]

Like the one on the iPhone to photograph business cards. You've probably noticed that you get mixed results with the text recognition because the focal length of the camera is not really good for this purpose. Well, I've found that you don't necessarily have to buy a special lens or case with a built-in lens. I simply put a regular magnifying glass I had around the house in front of the (in my case) iPhone camera, photographed the card, and got a sharp image. I tested the result using a variety of searches, and the text recognition worked perfectly!

I have consistently been using this method, and it seems to work even with cheap plastic lenses. I used an old compass with a little magnifier, and got similarly very good text recognition, even of handwriting (neat handwriting, but still!).