Is There An Issue With iPad 2 Cameras? [Video]

By

The third time.
The third time.

We’re beginning to hear reports of potential camera issues with the iPad 2. Nearly a dozen people have reported this issue so far. Basically, for a few frames, the colors from the video feed of the cameras will completely go bonkers. I’ve been noticing this myself on my own iPad 2 that I’ve had since launch day. I made a few FaceTime calls on it, and I immediately began to notice the issues. It’s not clear if it’s hardware or software related.

Spoiler: According to some people on Twitter, the issue persists in iOS 4.3.1 that was just released on Friday.

I compiled some still images from a recording that I made while inside a car wash. I had my iPad 2 in my bag, and I figured that, since I’ve yet to record a video on it, I could just record my trip through the car wash. During the two and a half minutes that I was in there, I noticed that the colors were “glitching-out.” It’s happened three times now.

You can see the video glitches in my video below.

The video:

The first time it happened was at around 00:35. The mirror and some of the surrounding turned black for a few frames. The second time it happened was around 01:19. The third and last time that it happened was at around 02:08, and it was the most obvious (that’s what you’re seeing from the image at the top of this post).

The animation you see above is of the color glitch frame-by-frame over the course of 7 frames.

The first time.
The second time.
The third time.

Like I mentioned earlier, this happened days earlier during my FaceTime calls. Not only did it affect the rear facing camera, but also the front facing camera. It’s so fast, it’s nearly impossible to take a screenshot in time.

Sure, it only happens for a split second, but this shouldn’t be happening at all.

The issue isn’t widespread, but others are having similar problems. People commented on my video as well as my Twitter account about it. Maybe it’s just a few bad iPads (everything else seems to be great, despite having the slight screen bleeding issue). If you’re also seeing this issue, please let us know in the comments below.

Feel free to follow Brian on Twitter.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.