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DctrJ

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 16, 2010
93
0
I searched for this and couldn't find an answer. I see the term illumination used but that might refer to light gathering. Is that a flash?
 

falconman515

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2010
578
36
No .... why I don't know ... if they are going to tout a new amazing camera why in the hell would they not put in a 10 cents flash???

Apple is just notorious for giving just a bit but not to much to save something for the next release crap.
 

falconman515

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2010
578
36
So what does "Backside Illumination" mean?

The next-generation backside illumination sensor is engineered with increased sensitivity and a shorter exposure time to achieve the same scene brightness — colors are less saturated and you’ll see more details.

It's not a flash it just helps illuminate pics a bit ... but pure low light pictures will not come out at all without a flash.
 

fullmanfullninj

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2009
232
0
It does not have a flash, well, based on the pictures at least and the fact that nothing has indicated there would be one.

It would have been useful as a flashlight, but honestly, I turn flash off on my phone...I don't prefer it and it makes my pictures look .. "flashy" :p
 

pure3d2

macrumors 6502
Mar 7, 2012
418
1
The backlight on the image sensor allows it to take better pictures in low light. I'm not sure why Apple decided not to include an LED flash; many say it's because of battery life concerns.
 

KittyKatta

macrumors 65816
Feb 24, 2011
1,058
1,212
SoCal
It does not have a flash, well, based on the pictures at least and the fact that nothing has indicated there would be one.

It would have been useful as a flashlight, but honestly, I turn flash off on my phone...I don't prefer it and it makes my pictures look .. "flashy" :p

Flashes for photography on cheaper cameras tend to ruin pictures (especially since most people don't know WHEN to use it). But the usefulness is in video where it acts as a spotlight. The more illuminated the subject, the better the sensor is at focusing. The problem of course is that the flash on the iPhone is too close to the sensor so I don't actually use it there either.

But where I do use a flash the most is with a flashlight app. Whenever I lose stuff in the dark its so convenient to just turn on that app and my phone is a pretty bright flashlight.
 

DctrJ

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 16, 2010
93
0
I've actually used a small flashlight to illuminate objects I wanted to photograph at night turned out pretty good.
 

barkomatic

macrumors 601
Aug 8, 2008
4,518
2,821
Manhattan
Ummmmm Ok ... That was waste of 3 seconds of my life to read! :rolleyes:

Back to the original topic stupid!

Well, he's right. If you want a tablet with a flash then don't get an iPad. You don't need to throw a childish fit every time you find out your desired toy doesn't have some feature you want.
 

bawbac

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2012
1,232
48
Seattle, WA
Apple is saving the photo flash feature for iPad4.
They will tell everyone how inventive and ingenious it is and how much better it is than the other tablet photo flashes without any specs to back up their claims.
And the applets will cheer with satisfaction and run to the store to exchange their year old iPad for the iPad4 just for this one spectacular feature and praise apple for their remarkable breakthrough and innovative progression of the iPad. :D
 

Lindenhurst

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2011
612
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.6; en-us; SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

They are holding back the flash for next years revised model. That's what apple does right?
 

sekazi

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2012
469
84
If you have a iPad then you likely have a iPhone 4 or 4S in your pocket too. There is your flash.
 
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