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How good is the camera on the iPhone 3G

B

bass93

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 25, 2009
134
0
Hi all, I have an 8GB iPod touch 2g. I have filled this thing up to it's max, and yet I still have more music in my iTunes let alone movies. I was considering getting a 32GB iTouch but my friend might sell his white iPhone 3G 16GB to me. The maximum price that he would be selling it for is $200. I would use this just like my iPod that I have now, not a phone.

I like the thought of having a camera with me wherever I go. My question is: how good is the camera in this generation of the iPhone? What are the specs? Also is the mic anything to speak of? For $200 this seems like a good deal. How much do you think i could get out of my old iPod?

Thanks for your time :)
 
bass93 said:
Hi all, I have an 8GB iPod touch 2g. I have filled this thing up to it's max, and yet I still have more music in my iTunes let alone movies. I was considering getting a 32GB iTouch but my friend might sell his white iPhone 3G 16GB to me. The maximum price that he would be selling it for is $200. I would use this just like my iPod that I have now, not a phone.

I like the thought of having a camera with me wherever I go. My question is: how good is the camera in this generation of the iPhone? What are the specs? Also is the mic anything to speak of? For $200 this seems like a good deal. How much do you think i could get out of my old iPod?

Thanks for your time :)
Click to expand...

To cut it short, it sucks. Its a 2.0 mp camera. :mad: You could probably get 175 for your ipod, depending on if its scratched etc.
 
I'm a pretty firm believer in getting the proper device for the job. For example, if you want a media player, get an iPod. If you want a phone, get an iPhone. If you want a camera, get a digital camera. Its pretty unnecessary to get an iPhone just to have an iPod with a camera because the camera isn't that great ... It's mediocre at best when it comes to cameras on mobile phones. Now if you'll be combining two devices that work great ( ie an iPod and a cell phone ) and want a device that does both of those jobs just as well ... an iPhone would make sense. But like I said, the camera isn't that great ... I recommend selling your iPod, taking that money plus your $200 and buying a higher capacity.

But that's just my suggestion.
 
That depends on what you expect from the camera. I've seen some pretty impressive pictures taken with the 3G but of course it has limitations. Most night shots will be pretty bad since it doesn't have a flash for example. I would check out this thread if I were you but I think that's a good deal. iPhone Photo-of-the-Day

And don't let anyone fool you by saying that the camera is crappy because it's only 2MP. An old 2MP SLR will still take a lot better pics than a current 8MP cell phone camera. Also a good photographer can take great pics with a crappy cell phone camera.
 
thats a great deal, you should do it, worse case scenario, you can just sell the iphone and make another 100 profit
 
Mystikal said:
It takes better concert pics than my $400 camera does.
Click to expand...

i see what you mean ( cell phone probably doesn't get confiscated)

but the iphone 3g and 3gs take really bad pictures when lighting is poor ( no flash, no iso settings,etc)
 
The 3Gs can take good pictures, provide there's sufficient lighting. I was surprised at how well the 3Gs takes video also.

My expectations are low, with the camera on the iPhone, buts surprised me from time to time. I use it for quick shots when I don't have my camera with me. Its not like I use it in place of my camera.
 
xbuddycorex said:
I'm a pretty firm believer in getting the proper device for the job. For example, if you want a media player, get an iPod. If you want a phone, get an iPhone. If you want a camera, get a digital camera. Its pretty unnecessary to get an iPhone just to have an iPod with a camera because the camera isn't that great ... It's mediocre at best when it comes to cameras on mobile phones. Now if you'll be combining two devices that work great ( ie an iPod and a cell phone ) and want a device that does both of those jobs just as well ... an iPhone would make sense. But like I said, the camera isn't that great ... I recommend selling your iPod, taking that money plus your $200 and buying a higher capacity.

But that's just my suggestion.
Click to expand...

Have fun carrying a million things around everywhere you go
 
I shall refrain from calling people names, but I do not agree with comments such as "low mpix it is crap" or "buy a camera if you want a camera"...

An iPhone is one of the best inventions in the last 2 years.
It combines the availability of a mobilephone, a music player, a camera, a voice recorder, an internet connection, tons of apps (w or w/o internet), a calendar, etc.

It serves a niche market for people who want most of everything, but not the best in everything.
If you want a great camera, buy a dSLR.
If you want a great handphone, buy a Nokia.
If you want great internet experience, get a netbook or a small laptop (full power).

Otherwise to answer the question about the 3G or 3GS camera, both are acceptable and even good in good lighting conditions.

I just sold my 3G, 16Gb (1 year old) for something like US$450. So the price you quoted was very attractive.

I bought the new 3GS for video, 3 mpix (but this is similar quality to eye to the 2Mpix) and voice control and 32Gb.

If music is your thing and not phone or camera, then buy the biggest iPod touch. Otherwise that offer is quite a good deal.

Good luck.:D
 
darngooddesign said:
Duh? Really?? What are you in 3rd grade?

No doi the phone has a microphone. :D

I mentioned the microphone as a benefit to buying the 3G over just getting an iTouch.
Click to expand...

I did not know of any iTouch. I know only of an iPod Touch.
:p
Anyway I did not know (sorry cos I am still in 3rd grade) that the Touch has no microphone. I thot all iThings have microphones?
No?
I will tell teacher...
:p
 
i got a 3gs, before this i had like 9 other phones, with higher megapixel, iphone is the best by far. even compared it to blackberry. you wouldn't need a 10mp camera anyways, unless you're printing like poster sized picture. the mp tricks people into thinking, the more the better, when you can't even tell the difference between 8 and 12 megapixel unless you're a pro. the iphone camera will do the trick.
 
The 3G camera is not very good, even by cellphone standards - it's CCD is poor, the lens is weak, it's image processing and colour accuracy is bad, it's low light performance genuinely terrible even in it's class and the image processing and sharpness filtering non-existant.

The 3GS is better, but by no means great either - the Pre's camera (for example) dumps on it from a great height due to better processing and sharpness filtering.

Phazer
 
I always wondered how the Pre camera compared, I always thought the Pre's was better due to the extended depth of field among other things. Is it noticable?
 
Alright, thanks for all the responses :) I have seen some pretty impressive pics taken with the iPhone. I have a digital camera already, I just want to not be stuck somewhere with out the ability to take a picture. I don't want a monthly contract (I cant get AT&T where I'm at anyway). Plus I would be doubling my capacity. Thanks again for all the responses
 
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