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Rubbish cameras on iPad make it an expensive upgrade

Mac.World said:
According to Apple, it was simply an issue with space... as in there wasn't any to put a higher res camera in the back.
But I'm not sure most people buy a tablet to take pictures either.
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I see so many people say that tablets are too awkward or are stupid for taking photos. But how many people actually tried it? I've taken many pictures and a 10" viewfinder is so much fun. Sure, you look weird but let's not pretend people using a phone or camcorder to take still photos didn't look weird at first either. Just like articulating screens, it gives a whole new perspective on photography and changes the experience in a good way.

As for the "Apple not being able to do any better", I just don't buy it. Apple is a company that has earned buzzwords like "innovative", "think different" and even "magical" so If Apple is missing a feature it's not because they "can't" do it, it's because they didn't want to.
 
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kevingaffney said:
Rubbish cameras on iPad make it an expensive upgrade
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1: Expensive is relative to your income.
2: Upgrade implies ownership of iPad 1. Selling iPad 1 can cover most of the cost of iPad 2.
3: Your news flash is nothing new, been covered before iPad 2 was even available to the public.
 
Agree, the cameras are crappy, but good enough for FaceTime and some quick video shots.
The main reasons to buy the iPad two would be the Dual-Core CPU, 512MB RAM, faster graphics and display mirroring.

If the above don't justify the upgrade for you, then you should wait for the next iPad. It would be a wise decision.

I'm sure the iPhone5 will have really good cameras, so it will complement my iPad for picture taking (actually any good phone with good cameras would fit the purpose).

If I need to take professional photos, I would use a real camera with a good lens.

I'm not rushing to get it either. I'm waiting for it to become available at a local store, so I'll get it when I get it.
 
kevingaffney said:
Looking at the macmost review by Gary of the iPads cameras has convinced me to wait for the next incarnation of the device to upgrade. One of the few additions the new iPad has is the two cameras. It turns out they are rubbish for anything except facetime. Interestingly, most reviews I've read from people who have upgraded, have been so so with few if any saying it is dramatic upgrade as Apple would like to lead us believe. I'm usually an early adopter of new stuff, iPhones as soon as they are launched and the iPad a month before it released here, but not this time.
Probably great for any first time buyers of course
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Okay. I am sure all of us like to take pictures with 9.7 inch tablet.
 
/me yawns. I love the hell out of my iPad 2. I've used the cameras only while screwing around and showing someone photobooth. I have no intent to use the iPad cameras so I just don't care. My iP4 takes great video and pictures. I simply use Photosync to move the videos wirelessly over wifi or bluetooth onto the iPad for editing in iMovie.
 
The cameras aren't the BIG upgrade, the faster CPU/GPU and increased RAM are. You may only see minor improvements in applications right now, but you see a big boost in multitasking (just check out some of the vids on youtube) and you'll see a lot of apps in the future that are built from the ground up to utilize that extra power that won't run as well on ipad 1, if at all. All there is right now is apps that have been patched (like infinty blade) that's not the equivalent of designing something from the ground up to work on much faster hardware from the get-go.

To me, the cameras are passable, they're a nice bonus. Why in the heck would you want to use something like an ipad for serious photography or movie making? It's not really designed to be held like a camera. The cameras are, however, just fine for making youtube quality or home videos, casual picture taking, and facetime. I really thing the only real reason people want better cameras is just so they can say they have them. The iPad doesn't need to replace a good point and shoot, it's designed to do a myriad of other things really well.

Would it be cool if they were better? Sure, but are people really going to utilize the extra fidelity? By and large, I'd say no. It actually makes more sense to put a high quality camera in a device like the iPhone (or maybe a future iPad nano), because it's form factor is much closer to an actual camera, it makes more sense as a photo/video capture device. That being said though, if the iPad 1 already does everything you want it to do, and you don't really care about improved multitasking and apps that require the extra power of the iPad 2, then yeah, upgrading would be pretty pointless. It all depends on what you're going to do with it, but the ipad 2 is a pretty good step up from ipad 1, with or without the cameras.
 
sinsin07 said:
1: Expensive is relative to your income.
2: Upgrade implies ownership of iPad 1. Selling iPad 1 can cover most of the cost of iPad 2.
3: Your news flash is nothing new, been covered before iPad 2 was even available to the public.
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Expensive not relative to income but relative to other expenses. When you run your own business and rear a family of three, you have to fight for every penny, thus learning the true value money. If you're a spotty faced student handed everything on a plate, well that's another matter of course.
Selling ipad1 does not come anywhere near covering the cost of the upgrade unless you're kidding yourself.
If my "news flash" has been covered so often, why bother reading it or commenting, interesting
 
I'm confused. Were you under the impression that the iPad 2 was a camera? If so, let me clear things up. It's an internet communicator/productivity/gaming tablet which happens to have a couple of webcams on it.
 
At least the front camera is good enough for the USAA deposit at home app. I'm amazed at how well this app works, amazing!

That said, the cameras are pretty meh quality wise. And you know :censored: well that Steve is going to come out on stage in slightly under a year and crow about how apple put better cameras in the v3.

If space concerns on the new design are the reason for the lower quality cameras, it does explain why there was no camera on the 1st generation: people would have expected better quality ones on the new one, not ones with the same or worse specs.
 
I didn't but iPad 2 for a quality pics. I have cameras for that. Facetime camera meets my expectations. The other improvements are nice too. Yeah, it is worth the upgrade to me.
 
The cult-like defense and undying devotion to Apple, makes me throw up in my mouth a little.

And the comments about "Oh, it's not meant for professional photography. You want professional looking pics, go shoot it with a DSLR." are probably the dumbest arguments I've ever heard.

Picture the most perfect luxury sedan. Powerful refined engine, luxurious interior, etc. It could have been the ultimate machine. A luxury sedan with power that handles very well but instead, there's 1 thing that's wrong. The company decided to put 15 inch wheels on the car instead of 18 inch wheels. So while the car is still extremely luxurious with a powerful engine, the car handles like a pig now.

All the fanboys will now say "That car is a luxury sedan and not meant to handle like a sportscar. You want a car that handles like a dream, go get a Ferrari".


Apple chooses to put in minor incremental upgrades to keep us on an annual leash. They could easily pack a gig of ram, 5 megapixel camera, etc. But they choose not to. Because now, that would be bad for their business forecast.

While other companies are out trying to pack in the latest and greatest (1 gig of ram, 5 megapixel camera, etc.) Apple would rather give us the bare minimum just so they can "wow" us every year.
 
swy05 said:
While other companies are out trying to pack in the latest and greatest (1 gig of ram, 5 megapixel camera, etc.)
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And how is the all spec'd out but no place to go theory working for the other devices (xoom) right now?
 
I suspect the cameras are of lower grade quality to compensate for the thinness of the device. Samsung are reported to have downgraded their cameras to make their new Galaxy Tab thinner too....
 
Sketchr said:
And how is the all spec'd out but no place to go theory working for the other devices (xoom) right now?
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And you know what, you are absolutely right. You just proved the point everyone is making.

Apple has crushed the tablet market. And in doing so, they feel they have no reason to give their consumers anything new and innovative.

So from a business perspective it makes all of the sense in the world to Apple.

"We're destroying the competition. Why spend so much on R&D and new enhancements when we can just give them the bare minimum this year and next year, and the following year."

They have their customers on an eternal leash so they know that they can get away with giving them the bare minimum.
 
Here's the deal.

In about one year Apple improved the iPad with iPad 2 and kept the prices the same.

Hard to argue with that.

It becomes a bit more difficult if one is trying to decide if upgrading from iPad 1 is worth it.
 
I checked the iPad2 in an Apple store. The lighting was good and the cameras are perfect for Facetime. The back camera is good enough to take a shot of a document and it is still ok readable. what more do you want from the iPad cameras? they do what they need to do.

my guess is that the thinness of the iPad limits the camera quality more than the price. i'm ok with them and plan to upgrade as soon as iPad 2's are available without waiting in line.
 
Be honest. Were you planning at pointing this rather large device at something and taking pictures with it?
 
I couldn't care less about the cameras, in fact, I wish they offered a model that had none, for cheaper.

I do care about the increased processing, graphics, ram... and decreased size and weight, though.
 
s1m said:
So you dont have any actual experience of the iPad2 cameras - just repeating what some web blog reported?

I actually have no intention of using my iPad2 cameras for anything other than facetime...

No mention in the blog of the performance improvements then?
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To be fair, I have yet to see a single review or post on here that is anything but negative about the camera
 
swy05 said:
And you know what, you are absolutely right. You just proved the point everyone is making.

Apple has crushed the tablet market. And in doing so, they feel they have no reason to give their consumers anything new and innovative.

So from a business perspective it makes all of the sense in the world to Apple.

"We're destroying the competition. Why spend so much on R&D and new enhancements when we can just give them the bare minimum this year and next year, and the following year."

They have their customers on an eternal leash so they know that they can get away with giving them the bare minimum.
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Much on the same lines as what I was saying. Need to be careful here though seemingly so as not to offend any of the real die hard fan boys. Some people can't hack any criticism of the Apple product at all. God knows, I buy as much Apple gear as the next person
 
kevingaffney said:
Much on the same lines as what I was saying. Need to be careful here though seemingly so as not to offend any of the real die hard fan boys. Some people can't hack any criticism of the Apple product at all. God knows, I buy as much Apple gear as the next person
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I'm certainly no fan boy but really, people would not keep buying products if they were not satisfied. And if people were really satisified with the competition, they would flock to that instead. So far, what has happened is the competition has lots of specs to show, but they are not useable. Say what you want about Apple not raising the technology bar as swiftly, but excellent user experience can't be denied.
 
swy05 said:
The cult-like defense and undying devotion to Apple, makes me throw up in my mouth a little.

And the comments about "Oh, it's not meant for professional photography. You want professional looking pics, go shoot it with a DSLR." are probably the dumbest arguments I've ever heard.

Picture the most perfect luxury sedan. Powerful refined engine, luxurious interior, etc. It could have been the ultimate machine. A luxury sedan with power that handles very well but instead, there's 1 thing that's wrong. The company decided to put 15 inch wheels on the car instead of 18 inch wheels. So while the car is still extremely luxurious with a powerful engine, the car handles like a pig now.

All the fanboys will now say "That car is a luxury sedan and not meant to handle like a sportscar. You want a car that handles like a dream, go get a Ferrari".


Apple chooses to put in minor incremental upgrades to keep us on an annual leash. They could easily pack a gig of ram, 5 megapixel camera, etc. But they choose not to. Because now, that would be bad for their business forecast.

While other companies are out trying to pack in the latest and greatest (1 gig of ram, 5 megapixel camera, etc.) Apple would rather give us the bare minimum just so they can "wow" us every year.
Click to expand...

I thought it was just me. Glad it isn't though.
 
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