Why does my Aunt's Imac take better photos than my Macbook Pro

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my aunt has the new imac w/ snow leopard

i have a macbook pro (i think leopard?) version os x 10.5.5

here is a photo that i took with her imac camera:

76680375.jpg



here is a photo that i took with my macbook camera:

photo172w.jpg




why is there such a difference in quality/color/clarity???


is it because im on 10.5.5 os x and shes on snow leopard or is the camera in the imac better than the camera in the macbook pro???

there are alot more reds in my photo and seems to be more grainy than hers...
 

pigoo3

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The two photos are not exactly the same are they? One is much more zoomed than the other...and who is to say that the outdoor lighting didn't change while taking both photos?

By the way...take almost any two different digital cameras...taking the same exact photo, and you will see differences as well.

- Nick
 
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The two photos are not exactly the same are they? One is much more zoomed than the other...and who is to say that the out-door lighting didn't change while taking both photos?

- Nick


i mean they arent exactly the same the macbook photo i had the camera slightly tilted upwards but distance wise they are the same.

also the outdoor lighting was exactly the same because i took them within seconds of each other.

at first i thought that the desktop was emitting a stronger light than the macbook but i turned the light on my macbook all the way and that was the result of the photos i posted.
 

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i mean they arent exactly the same the macbook photo i had the camera slightly tilted upwards but distance wise they are the same.

Are you saying both computers were sitting side by side....and the "zoom" was that much different?

Seems like the iMac was on a desk, and the MacBook Pro was on the bed when each photo was taken.

- Nick
 
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Are you saying both computers were sitting side by side....and the "zoom" was that much different?

Seems like the iMac was on a desk, and the MacBook Pro was on the bed when each photo was taken.

- Nick



the imac was on a desk. i held the macbook pro right underneath the camera on the imac. i even pressed the back of the macbook pro up to the screen on the desktop so essentially they were the same distance from the bed & the window. just at slightly different angle..

if u look at the pillow in both pics they look about the same size.

its just that u cant see the bed in the 2nd photo because the camera is slightly tilted upwards thats why u can see the top of the window in the 2nd photo and not in the first photo...

ive noticed that pictures i take with the macbook are slightly red and darker no matter where i take the pics.

is it possible that the operating system & my version of photo booth has something todo with it?
 

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It's a webcam. It's not meant to replace a dedicated still camera, nor is it meant to take quality pictures. It's there for video chat/conferencing in relatively low resolution. Variances like this are to be expected.
 
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pigoo3, there is no zooming. look at that thing under the window...same size in both pics.
 

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pigoo3, there is no zooming. look at that thing under the window...same size in both pics.

Yeah it's the angle (and no bed in the picture) that made it look different to me.

- Nick
 
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OP did you read cwa107's post? Web cams are not for quality pics in any way or form.
 
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OP did you read cwa107's post? Web cams are not for quality pics in any way or form.

obviously not, and what he said would be applicable if i was comparing a digital camera with the camera in my macbook but thats not even the issue so i dont know where his statement came from.

im comparing two cameras which are to my knowledge exactly the same except one is in an imac on snow leopard and the other is in a macbook on leopard.

differences "like this" are not really to be expected if its the same exact camera.
 

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differences "like this" are not really to be expected if its the same exact camera.

This is the big question. Are the two cameras "exactly" the same?

Firstly the comparison is between a MBP & an iMac...specifications have not been listed to determine the age or model of each computer...then we would have to determine if Apple actually used exactly the same camera/webcam in each.

- Nick
 

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I have not really researched this but...

The camera board in all the iMacs I have worked on is quite large and I doubt the one in a laptop is the same size. Maybe there is a bit of difference between the two cameras. The iSight in my iMac got damaged. I got another iSight for it. It looks a bit different just in a bit more noise when the light is low but otherwise looks the same in color saturation and picture quality.

Do you know anyone with a macbook Pro like yours that you can compare the camera with? See if they are the same.
 
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Im pretty sure (dont quote me on this) that some of the older iSights were 0.3MP while the newer ones are 1.3MP. I remember reading something like that a while back I just can't remember where though. But it would explain the difference in picture quality. How old is your MBP?
 

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Again, it's a WEBcam. If it was billed as being a still camera, I'd be concerned with it. It's not marketed that way. It's a low quality camera, designed to be used for motion video in low bandwidth situations. Just because you're using it for a purpose other than it was intended, doesn't mean that you suddenly have a defect when you find it doesn't work well for that purpose (in this case, inconsistent between machines).
 
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Again, it's a WEBcam. If it was billed as being a still camera, I'd be concerned with it. It's not marketed that way. It's a low quality camera, designed to be used for motion video in low bandwidth situations. Just because you're using it for a purpose other than it was intended, doesn't mean that you suddenly have a defect when you find it doesn't work well for that purpose (in this case, inconsistent between machines).

the fact that the camera in the macbook pro doesnt perform as well as the camera in the imac is the issue here.

i dont know why you keep saying "its a webcam" and that im trying to use it for a purpose other than it was intended. i am comparing one webcam with another webcam. nobody is expecting this webcam to take macro shots of very fine details. what IS expected is that it performs just as well as the same camera in the imac--and in this case it does not.

please read and thoroughly process things before you make unwarranted comments.
 
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Im pretty sure (dont quote me on this) that some of the older iSights were 0.3MP while the newer ones are 1.3MP. I remember reading something like that a while back I just can't remember where though. But it would explain the difference in picture quality. How old is your MBP?

there we go finally an answer lol. anybody else know more details to what halo has brought up?

i purchased my mbp in 2007.
 

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I think Mac just likes your aunt better.
 
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CWA, so if the two cameras are the same as you claim, it's acceptable that apple's quality control standards are so poor that there is such a drastic quality difference from two similar cameras?

Clearly they are different quality pieces of hardware, any digging would see that.
 

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CWA, so if the two cameras are the same as you claim, it's acceptable that apple's quality control standards are so poor that there is such a drastic quality difference from two similar cameras?

Clearly they are different quality pieces of hardware, any digging would see that.

Look at the cameras, they're different units in different sizes, with different lenses. Of course there will be a disparity. Even between identical cameras, there are slight differences in CCDs. I didn't claim that they were the same. My point is that we're talking about a webcam, and not a still camera. And we're talking about miniaturized webcams, which in general are not known for their quality images. Obviously the OP doesn't think it's relevant, but I have a hard time being critical of the image quality when comparing the output of two devices being used for a task for which they weren't designed. I would expect them to be more consistent shooting motion video.
 

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