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Really Apple 5mp for the camera?

M

macguy360

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 23, 2011
836
512
Why in the world did Apple choose to use a 5mp camera is beyond me. The cost of putting in an 8mp or 14 mp chip would have been miniscule. Right now you can go down to your local electronic store and try to find a 5mp camera and you will have a hard time even finding one. If you are able to find one it will probably cost about $20 or less.

Apple putting a 5mp camera in a retina iPad is like putting a geo metro engine into a lamborghini. It makes absolutely no sense. Good luck taking photos that even look remotely decent on the screen lol.
 
Really? It's good for a tablet. What the **** do you want to do with the iPad anyway? I can't see actually using it all that much.
 
You're probably the type of person that buys a computer strictly based on CPU GHz :rolleyes:
 
KylePowers said:
You're probably the type of person that buys a computer strictly based on CPU GHz :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

In terms of cameras, theres a reason why none of the major camera makers still use 5mp chips, they are garbage compared to the technology we have today. MP refers to pixel density of photos, kind of like pixel density to screens like the retina display. If you are using low pixel density (low resolution) then you are going to get a low quality picture.

This type of technique of putting in 1 or 2 high quality parts and then putting in garbage for secondary parts is similar to what a lot of other computer companies do and I am surprised that Apple is doing that.

The same can be said about them sticking to 16, 32, and 64gb hard drive sizes, what is this 2007? I can go to online and buy a 32gb flash drive right now for less than $30 but for some reason Apple deems it necessary to charge $100 more to upgrade from 16gb to 32gb. This is insanity.
 
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Unless you're developing poster size prints, 5MP is more than enough.

It is a far, far cry from that POS of a camera they had before. Laughable.
 
I care more about a good camera than one with higher resolution. Obviously there are limits, but if I had the choice between a 10MP iPhone 4 camera and a 5MB iPhone 4S camera, I'd choose the 4S camera.
 
So when iPad 4 comes equipped with 8mp, you will have a reason to upgrade?

Apple cripples its own hardware specs on purpose, this is not the first time.
 
macguy360 said:
In terms of cameras, theres a reason why none of the major camera makers still use 5mp chips, they are garbage compared to the technology we have today. MP refers to pixel density of photos, kind of like pixel density to screens like the retina display. If you are using low pixel density (low resolution) then you are going to get a low quality picture.

This type of technique of putting in 1 or 2 high quality parts and then putting in garbage for secondary parts is similar to what a lot of other computer companies do and I am surprised that Apple is doing that.
Click to expand...
Please do us all a favor and educate yourself. Lower pixel density does not necessarily equate to low quality. If it did, does that mean you'd purchase a 14MP point-and-shoot over an 8MP DSLR?

Stop falling for the MP myth. And as my original post, don't fall for the GHz myth either, just in case you do that too.

EDIT: Also, you can't just compare a 32GB USB drive to the flash storage used in iPads. There are different classes of speed and quality when it comes to flash chips. Cheap flash drives are just that- slower and cheaper quality. Granted, the iPad flash memory upgrades probably are overpriced regardless.
 
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macguy360 said:
In terms of cameras, theres a reason why none of the major camera makers still use 5mp chips, they are garbage compared to the technology we have today. MP refers to pixel density of photos, kind of like pixel density to screens like the retina display. If you are using low pixel density (low resolution) then you are going to get a low quality picture.

This type of technique of putting in 1 or 2 high quality parts and then putting in garbage for secondary parts is similar to what a lot of other computer companies do and I am surprised that Apple is doing that.

The same can be said about them sticking to 16, 32, and 64gb hard drive sizes, what is this 2007? I can go to online and buy a 32gb flash drive right now for less than $30 but for some reason Apple deems it necessary to charge $100 more to upgrade from 16gb to 32gb. This is insanity.
Click to expand...

1. Go find a cheap 8-14mp camera.
2. Take a picture.
3. Compare it to a picture taken by an iPhone 4/4s.
4. Realize that megapixels != picture quality
 
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The camera is only a bonus feature and it wasn't the most used feature on my iPad 2. I look more forward to augmented reality that can take advantage of the new sensor resolution.
 
iSingandiDance said:
Unless you're developing poster size prints, 5MP is more than enough.
Click to expand...
You forgot "or cropping".

I'm assuming the optical Zoom on these things is fairly limited so if you are optically (not digitally) zoomed in all the way and your subject is still fairly small in the field of view and you want to crop everything else out you are left with a fairly small MP pic.

You might argue that's what digital cameras are for, and that is true, but as the OP says, when (for example) they already have the 8MP camera they've been using in the 4s for months now, why not their brand new iPad too?

KylePowers said:
Stop falling for the MP myth.
Click to expand...
True, but if you follow most photo forums (or fora which I hate) the the magic # they like to throw around is 6MP which has been attainable for years.
 
Nightprowler said:
Not sure if serious or just drawing attention to your own posts, but I'll bite.

Really? With Seth & Amy

It's an SNL skit on Weekend Update.
Click to expand...

Just thought it was comical that both threads I started today were both reposted with specifically REALLY APPLE? at the beginning. Conincedence?

Perhaps..
 
macguy360 said:
In terms of cameras, theres a reason why none of the major camera makers still use 5mp chips, they are garbage compared to the technology we have today. MP refers to pixel density of photos, kind of like pixel density to screens like the retina display. If you are using low pixel density (low resolution) then you are going to get a low quality picture.

This type of technique of putting in 1 or 2 high quality parts and then putting in garbage for secondary parts is similar to what a lot of other computer companies do and I am surprised that Apple is doing that.

The same can be said about them sticking to 16, 32, and 64gb hard drive sizes, what is this 2007? I can go to online and buy a 32gb flash drive right now for less than $30 but for some reason Apple deems it necessary to charge $100 more to upgrade from 16gb to 32gb. This is insanity.
Click to expand...

Call it garbage when you actually LOOK at the damn photos. Are you one of those who called the iPhone 4's picture quality garbage even though it easily outperformed most other competitor's cameras too? Do you think the iPhone 4S's pictures are garbage cuz they're not 12 or even 16 MP like some other phones (like the HTC Titan II)?
 
Where the **** is the tripod mount? I want a tripod mount since clearly the iPad's main function is to take professional quality photos that will be printed at A0.

So where the **** is it?
 
Okay, I'll bite. One possible reason (and we'll have to see what happens when review units turn up to confirm this) is they've got fewer pixels on the same size sensor. As a rule of thumb larger pixels = better sensitivity. They've got the same optical chain on the iPad as they do on the iPhone 4S which has proven its worth but they don't have a flash (I presume not enough room in the chassis for it). If low light performance is indeed improved then it's a worthwhile compromise.
 
i'm not an avid ipad photographer, so the camera was never going to excite me, but i have to admit that the first one was utterly worthless, even for photographing receipts.

5mp? not bad. plenty for a tablet if you ask me. i haven't any interest in an 8mp camera here, because my phone already has that, and my point and click is 14. i'd much rather use them for pictures than hold up a tablet.
 
Front Camera

The bigger issue for me is the Front Facing camera. I don't see myself trying to take a real picture with the iPad, but I do want to perform Video Chat. The front facing camera should support more than VGA!
 
because iphone always get the best.
Ipad will get the 8mp when Iphone 5 gets the 12mp.
 
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