The iPad includes front- and back-facing cameras for capturing still or video images and videoconferencing with your friends and family. Apple calls their videoconferencing system FaceTime, and you'll be able to video chat with anyone who has a new iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or even just a Mac with a webcam. If you capture stills or videos, you can transfer them to your computer to edit them, or use apps like iPhoto (photos) or iMovie (videos) to edit them directly on your iPad. As long as you have your iPad with you, you can capture pictures wherever you go.
Your iPad comes with an app called Camera, which lets you take still or video images using the front- or back-facing camera. To see how to take pictures, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Camera. The Camera screen appears, as shown in Figure 21-1.
Tap anywhere on the screen (like a nearby face or a far-off building) to focus the iPad's camera on that object.
Tap the Camera button in the lower-right corner of the screen. Tapping this button switches between the front- and back-facing cameras.
Slide the Still/Video slider in the lower-right corner of the screen. When the slider appears to the left, the iPad's cameras capture still images. When the slider appears to the right, the iPad's cameras capture video.
Tap the Record button in the middle of the right side of the screen to capture a still image or start recording a video. (You will need to tap the Record button a second time to stop recording video.)
Tap the Photos button in the lower-left corner of the screen to view your captured still or video images. (This is equivalent to tapping Photos from the Home screen.) Tap the Done button in the Photos app when you want to return to the Camera app.
Your iPad comes with an app called Photo Booth, which mimics those coin-operated photography machines at amusement parks and shopping malls. With Photo Booth, you can take a regular picture or a distorted image using either the front- or back-facing camera.
To see how to capture bizarre images using Photo Booth, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Photo Booth. The Photo Booth screen appears, displaying several different visual effects, as shown in Figure 21-2.
Tap a visual effect, such as Light Tunnel or Mirror. Your chosen visual effect appears, as shown in Figure 21-3.
Tap the Camera button in the lower-right corner of the screen. Tapping this button switches between the front- and back-facing cameras.
Tap the Record button in the middle bottom of the screen to capture a still image.
Tap the Effects button in the lower-left corner of the screen to view different visual effects (see Figure 21-2).
Perhaps one of the more practical uses for the iPad's cameras is to chat with someone through a videoconference using FaceTime. To use FaceTime, both you and the other person need an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or a Mac with a webcam, and Wi-Fi access.
To call someone who has an iPhone, you simply need that person's iPhone number. To call someone who has an iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, you need to use that person's email address, which they have assigned as their FaceTime ID.
Before you can make a FaceTime call, you must assign an email address to your iPad's FaceTime account. When you set up your iPad, you likely chose an email address that FaceTime will use automatically. This is your Apple ID, which you also use for purchases in the iTunes store. However, you can define additional email addresses by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears. (If you start FaceTime without setting up an account, you'll be prompted to enter an existing Apple ID.)
Tap FaceTime. The FaceTime settings screen appears, as shown in Figure 21-4.
Tap Add Another Email. Another Email field appears.
(Optional) Type another email address someone can use to contact you through FaceTime.
(Optional) Tap the FaceTime on/off switch to turn FaceTime on or off. At this point, anyone else can contact you through FaceTime by using the email address you assigned to your FaceTime account.
Note
If you don't already have FaceTime installed on your Mac, you can download and install it through the Mac App Store.
When you want to make a FaceTime to call to someone else who uses a Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, make sure you are in a Wi-Fi hotspot and then follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap the FaceTime. The FaceTime screen appears, using the front-facing camera so you can see how you will look to others, as shown in Figure 21-5.
(Optional) If you have already used FaceTime on your iPad, you can tap the Favorites or Recents icons in the bottom-right corner of the screen to connect with someone you chatted with before.
Tap the plus sign in the upper-right corner of the screen to define a new FaceTime contact. A New Contact window appears, as shown in Figure 21-6.
Type a name and an iPhone phone number or email address associated with someone else's FaceTime account and tap the Done button. Your saved name and FaceTime contact information appears.
Tap the iPhone number or email address to start a FaceTime videoconference. Your face appears as a thumbnail image in the corner of the screen while the other person's face fills the screen, as shown in Figure 21-7.
(Optional) Tap the Mute or Switch Camera icons to shut off the volume or switch from the front-facing to the back-facing camera.
Tap the End button when you want to stop your FaceTime videoconference.
If you're in a meeting or class, you can turn on the iPad's camera to record notes jotted down on a chalkboard or whiteboard, or take pictures or video of a slideshow presentation.
If you like using videoconferencing but need to reach people who don't have FaceTime, then you can use Skype instead. Skype works nearly the same as FaceTime, allowing you to have audio- or videoconferences with almost anyone. Best of all, Skype can run on a Windows or Linux PC, which you can't call through FaceTime.
Finally, don't forget that while the iPad's cameras may not offer the sharpest resolution, they're still available anywhere you take your iPad. If you get in a car accident, use your iPad to take pictures of the accident scene. If everyone takes their iPad with them everywhere they go, maybe one day we'll finally get a decent picture of a UFO or Bigfoot that isn't blurry or out of focus.