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Apple's new iPad brings 4G, better camera, more pixels than an HDTV

2. Camera

Robert Galbraith/Reuters
Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, talks about the built-in camera on the new iPad during a March 7 Apple event in San Francisco.

  • By Megan Riesz

The iPad’s new back-facing camera is much approved from the iPad 2, with a 5-megapixel illuminated sensor. Included is a 5-element lens, allowing the camera to auto-focus, and an IR filter that helps with auto-exposure.

It’s not as good as the iPhone 4S, which has an 8-megapixel camera, but now Apple can rival tablets like the Motorola Xoom that also have rear-facing 5-megapixel cameras.

What puts the new iPad on top for some shoppers is its ability to film and edit in HD and its automatic stabilization. The rear iSight camera films in 1080p – a jump from the iPad 2, which films in a meager 720p. The iPad 2 also requires users to tap the screen to focus in on their photo’s subject, while the new iPad (taking a page out of the iPhone 4S’ book) requires nothing but point and shoot.

Critics of the new iPad’s predecessor’s poor quality can now calm down, considering this upgrade is quite monumental for tablet cameras. Then again, tablets aren’t the best shape for cameras – phones are much more portable.

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Mark Sappenfield
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