Photo Stream...Confusing?

[Sean7512]

Ok, I have been trying to figure out exactly what Photo Stream is and if it is even useful. Please bear with me...


Over the weekend, I took some photos on my iPhone. The pictures immediately showed in my phone's Camera Roll but not yet in Photo Stream (because I wasn't connected to WiFi). Already, this contradicts Apple's website on its explanation of Photo Stream, as it says:

"iCloud stores new photos for 30 days, so you have plenty of time to connect your iOS device to Wi-Fi and make sure you always have your most recent shots handy."

So if I never connect my phone to WiFi then it never got sent to iCloud/Photo Stream, why does it matter if I connect my phone to WiFi within 30 days? I am assuming that it is not 30 days on iCloud, but rather it is 30 days from the picture taken date. So if I take a photo on my phone, then wait 31 days to connect to WiFi then it would NOT be uploaded to Photo Stream...is that correct?


Another confusing aspect...As per Apple's website:

"If you take a photo you really love and want to make sure it stays on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can save it from your Photo Stream to your Camera Roll."

When I took a picture on my phone, it automatically went to my Camera Roll (and later in my Photo Stream when I connected to WiFi). If I save the photo from my Photo Stream, then it just duplicates that picture in my Camera Roll. What am I missing here? Pictures taken on a particular device will stay on my device forever or is iCloud going to delete the pictures from my Camera Roll in 30 days? If so, then you need to live with picture duplicates for 30 days? After I connected to WiFi, that picture then showed up in both Photo Stream and Camera Roll, is that a copy of the picture in my Camera Roll (taking up 2x the space)?


If anyone can help me clear this up, I'd appreciate it.

I think that I will be turning off Photo Stream regardless because I like to have ALL my iPhoto Albums/Events on my devices at all times, so I'll end up with a lot of duplicate pictures on my devices. And because I need to connect via USB to sync my phone with iPhoto to import the videos then I might as well just import the pictures at the same time...

 

[HXGuy]

On th second part, I think it's talking about if you take a photo on one device and really love it, you can save it to the Camera Roll on another device...like if you take it on the iPhone, you can go to Photostream on the iPad and save the photo there.

 

[flatfoot99]

On th second part, I think it's talking about if you take a photo on one device and really love it, you can save it to the Camera Roll on another device...like if you take it on the iPhone, you can go to Photostream on the iPad and save the photo there.

i think your right

 

[delawaredave]

It is very confusing. Newbie. So all photos taken have to go to Camera Roll ? Then they automatically get duplicated to Photostream ?

Then you have to delete them from both locations ?

Anyway to have new pics automatically going to a "shared folder" ?

"Camera Roll" is a stupid name too - I guess "roll" has to do with old film days - young people aren't going to know what that is....

 

[hafr]

Original post

You're confused because you're not thinking "several devices". Of course there is not point what so ever for you to save a picture from the photo stream taken with your iPhone, to the camera roll of that very iPhone. But if you also have say an iPad and you want to have that picture on the iPad as well, you save it from photo stream and taadaa - you have the same photo in both devices' camera rolls.

Also, if you sync your entire iPhoto library with all of your devices all the time, then photo stream is rather useless for you

"Camera Roll" is a stupid name too - I guess "roll" has to do with old film days - young people aren't going to know what that is....

Maybe if you're under twelve - but then you're not really a target group for Apple. If you're older and still reckon it's a strange name, you're most likely retarded and should play with a colorful ball instead.

Do you have any suggestions to what they could name it instead?