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| The New iPad 2 (photo taken from whitezine.com) |
UPDATE: In the video below, several capabilities of the iPad 2’s front and rear facing cameras are given. Around 2:30 into the video, the builders describe the cameras as being bigger and better than you have ever been able to use before and changes the entire experience of FaceTime and video sharing. Everything is now clearer and more expressive.
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| The iPad 2's new FaceTime feature. (photo taken from sizlopedia.com) |
It still does not have a camera card slot, but the new iPad 2, in stores tomorrow, March 11, has made advances over the previous iPad with two recently added cameras containing several features.
Both the front and back cameras of the iPad 2 are designed for FaceTime video calling, enabling you to make video calls through a Wi-Fi connection to someone who has an iPhone 4, iPod Touch, Mac, or iPad 2 and be there in person, even when you are miles apart. This feature, much like Skype, is great for long-distance relationships and far away family and friends.
These cameras also contain the Photo Booth application, allowing you to capture photographs and transform them. You can twist your face, double your head, or make yourself look like an alien or comic book figure.
In addition to these capabilities, the rear camera of the iPad 2 also has HD video capabilities, recording up to 30 frames per second as well as a still camera with 5X digital zoom.
The following video discusses other capabilities of the iPad 2.
Because of its many capabilities, photography businesses are seeing the benefits of using the new iPad 2.
In a PhotoRadar article by Jeff Meyer he states:
The iPad could be the most important piece of all your wedding photography equipment. Take a group shot, pass it around. People will love it. And if they don't, then you know to take the shot again!
This use would help create a sense of ease for the bride, groom, and photographer.
Meyer also expresses:
With the heaviest model weighing just 1.35 pounds, the iPad 2 is considerably lighter than your laptop. What's more, it's likely quicker to start up and shut down when on the move. Apple claims the iPad 2 also boasts 10 hours of battery time.
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| The iPad 2's new Photo Booth application. (photo taken from whitezine.com) |
The article also confirms that this new generation iPad has the capabilities to be hooked up to a television to use video mirroring, allowing you to turn your television screen into your iPad. This feature makes it easier to transport your photos and show them to clients on location.
Despite the positives that the new iPad 2 will bring to its consumers, there is a major downfall. A March 4th article on CNN Tech confirms that the new iPad 2’s front and rear facing cameras are as basic as you can get and are similar to the iPod Touch camera. The rear facing camera contains 0.92 megapixels, only about half of the megapixels you need to develop a regular 4x6 photograph, making it almost useless.
Overall, the iPad 2 seems to have improved considerably when compared to the original iPad. Although it was never designed to take the place of a regular camera, it can help in those certain situations in which you need it the most.
For a list of other occupations that may be able to use the new iPad 2 capabilities, please click here.
I enjoy photography, making your posts really interesting to read. As an added bonus, I know little about photography and learned a lot just from a first reading. You allow readers to better understand unfamiliar topics through your rich descriptions about the technology and the events. It’s great!
ReplyDeleteWhat I would love to see is how you interact or have experienced these technologies. I would trust a real person, like you, talking about the greatness of an iPad with camera more than I would someone who is employed by Apple. You briefly injected down side to the cameras quality, which was helpful as well.
You did a good job providing a lot of quality information. I might have to add your blog onto my regular cycle for class reading just to know what’s going on in the photography world!
As a person who generally tries to stay away from anything from Apple besides my old iPod, it was good to know some of what is going on in the high-tech world!
ReplyDeleteYour article held my attention throughout and I like your use of block quotes.
The thing that seemed slightly off was the first quote about the iPad 2 being important wedding photography equipment. That seemed out of place but it would fit well if you used your comment about the new cameras having only .92 megapixels, therefore being useless. I think that would contrast nicely with the wedding comment from Meyer. Basically, I think his quote just needs a little more context.
Great topics!
Hey Bobbie!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting aritcle! I'm not so up-to-date on whats going on in the photography world so reading some of your blog posts was interesting for me. Great topic this week, it seems the iPad 2 is all anyone has been talking about and, previous to your article, I realized I had never heard anything negative about it. I liked how you started off listing all the magical things the iPad can do and how it could even be a hit at weddings. Then moved on to say that although these are great suggestions the truth is that the camera is essentially worthless. Very good investigating! Great incorporation of multimedia, but I maybe would have put the "Facetime" photo at the top since thats what you start your article with. Great blog, it was a pleasure to read!