iPod touch Most recent iPod Touch Camera

windowstomac said:

Hi,

Could someone please explain to me the camera limitations on the still camera on the latest iPod touch. The specs are a bit ambiguous, am I right in saying you can only use the VGA camera for stills and the main camera is restricted to video only?

Many Thanks

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Front camera is 640x480. The rear camera is 960x720. Either camera shoots still or video. There's no flash or HDR photography. Both are fixed focus lenses, so no auto focus either.

The back is decent for video, its gonna be shaky and have tearing you are walking around with it though. For pictures, they are both poor, but with good lighting, the pictures come out alright, just small.

windowstomac said:

Are they any good?!

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Not really. The only current iOS device that has a decent camera you could use as an every day point and shoot is the iPhone 4.

windowstomac said:

Very helpful, thank you. Looks like my wife is getting a Nano instead then

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I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the iPod Touch camera. Sure it is lo-res. But depending upon what you want to do with the photos, it just might be good enough.

I took my 4G iPod Touch 64GB with me on a trip to Romania as my only mobile device. I took 100's of photos with the Touch that (because of the almost instant on capabilities) I wouldn't have otherwise been able to take. They look fine when displayed on social media sites. But obviously would not look good printed.

I purchased the "ClearCam" app for it. ClearCam takes a rapid succession of images and uses that data to construct a higher res image. On those occasions on the trip where I wanted a higher res image (group photos), the results were quite adequate. I also took 3D photos with it (using the 3D Camera app and viewing them on the iPod with Hasbro's My3D viewer) which were terrific.

Given the slimness and functionality of the iPod Touch, I was delighted with the results overall.

Having said that, I just recently purchased a 32GB iPhone 4 (with a bad ESN due to non-payment of cell contract) for use as an "iPod Touch Pro" ($210-in pristine condition). As others have said, the iPhone 4 camera is excellent.

also, the HD video recording for the back cam is going to be better than any "dumb" cell phone. its best in high light situations, mainly during the day, thought i have had success in street lights. the photos are like said above, adequate for facebook or computer viewing, nothing more.

The camera captures light pretty well, it just doesn't take large photos. I sometimes apply some effects with Infinicam or Camera+ or something. Looks fine.

^ wow that was captured with an iPod touch? Amazing!

Since we're sharing the love of the iPod Touch camera, here's two from my trip to Romania.... (raw and unmodified)


Black Church - Brasov Romania by tcperconti, on Flickr


City Plaza, Brasov Romania by tcperconti, on Flickr

Don't have any pics to share but the camera is amazing outdoors.

windowstomac said:

Hi,

Could someone please explain to me the camera limitations on the still camera on the latest iPod touch. The specs are a bit ambiguous, am I right in saying you can only use the VGA camera for stills and the main camera is restricted to video only?

Many Thanks

Click to expand...

Wait and get ipod touch 5 with its improved camera.

I'm sure the camera will be upgraded and then the camera will be decent.

I would highly recommend not getting the 4th gen ipod touch if you are planning on using either camera for anything but FaceTime. The pictures posted above are nice, but unless you always have a great amount of light, forget it. In my opinion the ipod touch has one of the worst cameras of any electronic device recently introduced. Almost nothing is good about it and some things such as the extremely low resolution are a total deal breaker for even simple things, like facebook photos. My old motorola rzr seems to produce better images which is really saying something. I likely am far more picky about picture quality then most as I use a dslr for every shot but seeing as how a new iPod is just around the corner I would just wait.

nickn said:

I would highly recommend not getting the 4th gen ipod touch if you are planning on using either camera for anything but FaceTime. The pictures posted above are nice, but unless you always have a great amount of light, forget it. In my opinion the ipod touch has one of the worst cameras of any electronic device recently introduced. Almost nothing is good about it and some things such as the extremely low resolution are a total deal breaker for even simple things, like facebook photos. My old motorola rzr seems to produce better images which is really saying something. I likely am far more picky about picture quality then most as I use a dslr for every shot but seeing as how a new iPod is just around the corner I would just wait.

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It is good advice to wait... simply because there may very well be a new/updated iPod announced within a few weeks.

If you use "a DSLR for every shot" then you are not taking the type of photos as some of us are. Not unless you are lugging your DSLR with you everywhere you go. The best camera is the one that you have with you.

Do some of us with a 4G iPod Touch wish that the camera was higher quality? Absolutely. Be we would rather take a picture with an inferior iPod Touch than miss the shot completely because our digital camera was left at home or took too long to set up for the shot. Or even a cell camera that takes too long to get set to take a picture.

I was impressed with how quickly I was able to slip the iPod out of my pocket, tap, swipe, and take a picture... literally 1-2 seconds total. There were some candid shots that would have been simply impossible to take with a DSLR or cell camera.

The iPod Touch isn't primarily a digital camera. It would be silly to buy one for that purpose. Taking pictures is just one of the things that it does.