Using distance/proximity information when applying a point spread function in a portable media device

An embodiment of the invention is directed to a relatively low cost technique for improving the sharpness or quality of digital images captured by a handheld portable media device. A housing of the device has integrated therein a digital camera image sensor, a camera lens, and a sensor that detects a distance measure, which is a measure of distance between the housing and an object or target in a scene that is before the lens. The device is programmed to select a point spread function, PSF, based on the detected distance measure. The selected PSF is then applied to de-blur the captured image, for becoming the final picture of the scene that is taken by the user. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.