Small camera as a handheld colorimetric tool in the analytical chemistry

Recently, there is an effort to introduce new types of analytical procedures and handheld assays to provide simple and reliable equipment for the field and household analyses. Development of diagnostic tools for self-diagnosis is another challenge in analytical chemistry. Digital cameras are widely available and cheap, hence they could be the sensor platform for construction of analytical and diagnostic methods. In general, good availability of cameras integrated into smartphones can be easily converted into an analytical tool. This review relates to the use of digital camera in analytical chemistry and there are introduced the facts how digital data can be processed and what the limits of digital photography are. Recent papers in this issue and discussion of development in camera based assays is also provided here.