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Would you use the back camera?

  • Yes

    Votes: 50 15.5%
  • No

    Votes: 194 60.2%
  • Sometimes, but not very often

    Votes: 77 23.9%

  • Total voters
    322
I love my iPad, but it really should have a front-facing and rear camera. All portable devices should. I don't think I would use a front camera much because I find video chatting awkward and unpleasent, but a rear camera would be great. In fact I'm surprised so many seem to be against the idea. Sure, I doubt I would use it to take photos very often, I hardly do this with my iPhone, which is even more portable and likely to be used. But it would be nice to at least have the option. And certainly I think there is a TON of potential for augmented reality apps on the iPad. That, to me, would be the main reason for a rear camera.
 
Like a lot of people here I think they should have included a front facing camera but not a rear one. The way that people would look would just be stupid holding up a 10" device to take a picture.
 
I might use it if the quality is decent. But if it is the same resolution and quality as the iPhone4, I'd rather stick with the iPhone one. If I'm traveling, going anywhere, I have my phone with me. Perhaps even a real camera. I'd hardly replace those for taking outside pictures with a big 9" screen pad. It's just a lot more cumbersome than the alternatives.

However, I would have a lot more use for the front facing camera, mainly due to the way that the iPad seems to have more use as a video-conference spec than one showing pictures from the back-side. The rear camera would be a bonus, and *only* used for Facetime. Only one situation is where I might used it. The case where I'm already using the Ipad to do the conferencing and I had this sudden urge to show the other person something. The rear facing camera would make it easier for me to aim my focus on the subject-matter of interest without having to hang-up and switch devices. That would be the specific situation, but not something impossible with only the 1 camera, as well. It would just be a matter of convenience, but there would be other things I think would be more important to include within the same area of internal real-estate.
 
I hope there's no camera on the back of the next iPad... a front one would be great for face time but that's it!! if you wanna take pictures get a iPhone a iPod touch or just a real camera...
 
But, say you are sitting in Starbucks, or some other place where there are other people, using your Ipad, and you see some incredible looking woman that you just have to have a photo of. Would it not be easier to just slightly tilt it and capture the image, vs dragging out your iphone or camera and being obvious? I'm just saying.....
 
Though I know you're joking. Dragging out your phone is never obvious, in today's society. Nobody assumes why you're taking the phone out. I could be playing a game of Sword of Fargoal, for all they know.
 
Rear camera would be AMAZING on the large screen

Merthyrboy said:
people would look would just be stupid holding up a 10" device to take a picture.

foiden said:
If I'm traveling, going anywhere, I have my phone with me. Perhaps even a real camera. I'd hardly replace those for taking outside pictures with a big 9" screen pad. It's just a lot more cumbersome than the alternatives.

big samm said:
I hope there's no camera on the back of the next iPad... a front one would be great for face time but that's it!! if you wanna take pictures get a iPhone a iPod touch or just a real camera...

I just don't get how you all can reject a rear camera on the iPad.

First off, why NOT have it. It's not going to hurt. If you don't use it often, it could still proove to be useful if only occasionally. I mean, you all sound like how people must have sounded when cameras first started appearing on cell phones. I am sure the camera industry resisted the idea.

But the idea that the ipad is too big, or not as good as a full camera, or to awkward is just crazy. And looking stupid, well, I gave up avoiding that when I stared carrying the ipad in a bag everywhere I go.

Photography is not about the camera...it is about the opportunity. You can't shoot if you don't have a camera. The camera doesn't take good photos, the shooter does. I can take great photots with any camera. Now I would love a ip4...but it isn't going to happen...and until iPhones are available for any service, I am not switching to AT&T for phone service.

If they put a camera in it, it has got to be good.

If it is good, then it will be incredible.

I have a lot of cameras, all different sizes and even types (full size DSLR, mid size dslr, small dslr, IR dslr, P&S, etc.). And I shoot a LOT of pictures. Cameras are like shoes...you need the right one for the right job. Tennis shoes for tennis, football, running, cardiostep, work, casual, etc. Obviously I am not going to shoot a wedding with an iPad, but for candids, a 9.7" view screen could be nothing short of amazing.

Have you ever taken a picture and somebody wants to see what you took? Happens all the time to me, especially when kids are around. That would be amazing with iPad.

As a matter of fact, I teach about and even have a large 4x5 view camera for student checkout. Now that is a large camera and very awkward to use. Ansel Adams used an 8x10 view camera for amazing shots of our national parks. I think it would be simply amazing to use the iPad to compose a shot, especially if it had a 8mp with a decent lens.

Ok, maybe I am dreaming that it would be good enough to take real pictures, but as long as it is decent enough for candids, the practicality of having it available anytime I have my iPad would be awesome.
 
But, say you are sitting in Starbucks, or some other place where there are other people, using your Ipad, and you see some incredible looking woman that you just have to have a photo of. Would it not be easier to just slightly tilt it and capture the image, vs dragging out your iphone or camera and being obvious? I'm just saying.....

You don't need an iPad. You need to grow a pair and ask her out.
 
I just don't get how you all can reject a rear camera on the iPad.

First off, why NOT have it. It's not going to hurt. If you don't use it often, it could still proove to be useful if only occasionally. I mean, you all sound like how people must have sounded when cameras first started appearing on cell phones. I am sure the camera industry resisted the idea.

But the idea that the ipad is too big, or not as good as a full camera, or to awkward is just crazy. And looking stupid, well, I gave up avoiding that when I stared carrying the ipad in a bag everywhere I go.

Photography is not about the camera...it is about the opportunity. You can't shoot if you don't have a camera. The camera doesn't take good photos, the shooter does. I can take great photots with any camera. Now I would love a ip4...but it isn't going to happen...and until iPhones are available for any service, I am not switching to AT&T for phone service.

If they put a camera in it, it has got to be good.

If it is good, then it will be incredible.

I have a lot of cameras, all different sizes and even types (full size DSLR, mid size dslr, small dslr, IR dslr, P&S, etc.). And I shoot a LOT of pictures. Cameras are like shoes...you need the right one for the right job. Tennis shoes for tennis, football, running, cardiostep, work, casual, etc. Obviously I am not going to shoot a wedding with an iPad, but for candids, a 9.7" view screen could be nothing short of amazing.

Have you ever taken a picture and somebody wants to see what you took? Happens all the time to me, especially when kids are around. That would be amazing with iPad.

As a matter of fact, I teach about and even have a large 4x5 view camera for student checkout. Now that is a large camera and very awkward to use. Ansel Adams used an 8x10 view camera for amazing shots of our national parks. I think it would be simply amazing to use the iPad to compose a shot, especially if it had a 8mp with a decent lens.

Ok, maybe I am dreaming that it would be good enough to take real pictures, but as long as it is decent enough for candids, the practicality of having it available anytime I have my iPad would be awesome.
+ 1. :cool: Beautiful post! I agree - I don't understand all the haters. What's wrong with choice?
 
Would I hold 9.7" device up in the air to snap a photo? No.

If the iPad had a front camera would I use it? Almost every day.
 
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I won't use a front facing camera because none of my friends/family have Macs or iDevices with a front facing camera.

Just because you don't one, doesn't mean it shouldn't ship with a rear facing camera. Apple (Steve Jobs) needs to consider everyone and in some of these posts, people are posting that they won't use it so Apple shouldn't put a rear facing camera in the iPad 2. This, isn't fair on those people who do. If you don't want a rear facing camera, and the iPad 2 ships with one, then don't use it - having it for the few people that will use will increase sales for Apple, fight "DOA" non-Apple tablets and make a few people happy.

I respect peoples opinions like "saberahul" (one above this post) who says that he wouldn't use it; however, he doesn't imply that he doesn't want the iPad 2 to ship with one (which would imply that the poster doesn't care about other peoples opinions  like the people who want a rear facing camera )

BTW: As well as discussing if you would use a rear facing camera, you should be discussing if you think Apple will put one in forth iPad 2, when they can shove a front faig camera for iPad 2, a decent rear facing camera in iPad 3 and a fantastical, "magical" rear facing camera for iPad 4 (with, of course, a 300+ PPI screen which can change to e-ink)? Remember this: Steve isn't the customers friend, unless he can make money from you.

*looks at post and wonders how he wrote it using his iPod Touch*
 
ReallyBigFeet said:
+1

You'd look like Helen Keller holding the thing up to take a picture.

ebooksforipad said:
I won't use it.. iPad is no more than reading device for me..

Then you are really missing out on what all the iPad is capable of doing.

And did you all even read any of the replies in this thread, like mine above where I detail just how awesome a camera on the iPad could be?

It certainly isn't going to hurt anything. But such a large number of people hating against the camera for iPad has got to have affected Apples decision to not include it in the first place. What a limitation!
 
Then you are really missing out on what all the iPad is capable of doing.

And did you all even read any of the replies in this thread, like mine above where I detail just how awesome a camera on the iPad could be?

It certainly isn't going to hurt anything. But such a large number of people hating against the camera for iPad has got to have affected Apples decision to not include it in the first place. What a limitation!
Well, with the recent rumors.... https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/2...-and-rear-cameras-for-second-generation-ipad/ .... it may not be too far out. :cool:
 
Just hold the thing in front of you and than do as you do on the iphone: click on the screen.
Not easy to keep it steady and you look like the biggest dork in town.
Front facing cam for videochatting? Sure in iPad 2.0, but I would put any money on the back-cam.
 
Yes. Bento, contacts profile pictures, pictures of things for reference,etc, etc. I wouldn't be doing anything that would require printing or anything, but it would be fantastic to have for reference shots. Oh and yes, barcode scanner would also be pretty useful with all the shopping apps about.
 
I'd use it for FaceTime the majority of the time, otherwise, I might use the camera occasionally to take a photo if I've got it out already.
 
I'd use it for FaceTime the majority of the time, otherwise, I might use the camera occasionally to take a photo if I've got it out already.
I'd mainly use the FaceTime camera, but a back camera would be useful now and then. I do agree with some earlier posters though - it'd still look a bit dorky (especially when tapping the screen to take a picture... unless, of course, Apple has some cool software tricks up their sleeves ;)).
 
I think I may occasionally use the camera if it had one (front and/or rear). I'm not a picture taker per se, but once in a while I do. I guess it really doesn't matter a whole lot to me if the iPad has them or not.

I'm about to buy an iPad here shortly and in April if they release a new one and the only new hardware features are cameras I may not upgrade to it. But if they add more RAM and/or CPU speed I'll most likely upgrade.
 
HAHA could you imagine holding a device that big as a camera?

You're at your cousins wedding, and everyone takes out there point and shoot camera, iphone 4's, and etc., and there you are, with a 10 inch slate of aluminum, taking a photograph with a 5mp camera.

Hold this device up high in the air, with one hand, and tap a TINY button on the screen. Tell me how that photo comes out.

Lets be real here. :apple:

so.. NO. A front, non VGA (possibly 2mp or higher?) camera is all that is needed. Facetime on this device would be amazing.
 
If Adobe made a good version of:

After Effects and Photoshop for iPad, then I would be more influenced to use the iPad to take video and pictures, as then I could directly edit them and if they have full compatibility with the desktop version then....

I obviously wouldn't expect very CPU / GPU heavy functions to be on there, but, really, does greenscreen editing take THAT much CPU up.

I did a test, using AE cs4, to check if it's possible:

First I opened AE up - 200mb "increase" in RAM. (200 more mb's of RAM were in use) [cold boot, but on warm it only increased by 50 - 950mb to 1.00gb - must have still been in cache]
Then I imported a 1280x710 piece of footage - Only an extra 25mb of RAM were in use (So, an increase of 225mb of RAM were used)
Then, I added cc Radial fast blur and cc Radia blur - An extra 50mb of RAM were in use (So, an increase, in total of 375mb of RAM)
Then I added the shatter effect and scrubbed through that animation - To my surprise there was only an increase of 25mb.
Then, I rendered the footage out in 1280x710 - There was a RAM "usage" increase of 100mb in this.

Lets say the next iPad has 768mb of RAM then (obviously the version of AE, for iPad, would be heavily optomised and would use MUCH less RAM)

iPad default - no apps running in the background - 710mb
Open AE app - 510mb in use
Do some advanced editing (shatter, radial blur) - 435mb in use
Edit out a green - 410mb in use
Render out footage - 310mb in use (290 left free)

So, with the correct amount of RAM and good CPU the iPad could possibly run an advanced movie editing program like Adobe After Effects. Obviously, applying radial blur in AE on xp may use more RAM than the potential iPad version. (and all the tools won't fit on the iPads "screen" [not enough resolution], so it'll be scaled down and then the processors has to do less.)

All I am trying to say is the iPad can handle an advanced movie / photo editing program and, in combination with the rear facing camera, the iPad 2 (with the two cameras) would be a great update from this gen.
 
HAHA could you imagine holding a device that big as a camera?

You're at your cousins wedding, and everyone takes out there point and shoot camera, iphone 4's, and etc., and there you are, with a 10 inch slate of aluminum, taking a photograph with a 5mp camera.

Hold this device up high in the air, with one hand, and tap a TINY button on the screen. Tell me how that photo comes out.

Lets be real here. :apple:

so.. NO. A front, non VGA (possibly 2mp or higher?) camera is all that is needed. Facetime on this device would be amazing.
Whoa, that's not quite what I meant. You'd use the iPhone for that, mate! :D

I was thinking of augmented reality apps, barcode scanners, FaceTime, occasional picture taking (just not as you described), and the like. I don't see a problem with choice. ;)
 
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