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Apple iPod Touch
5th Generation ("5G," 2012-)
© 2014 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

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Apple iPod Touch 5th Generation in blue

Apple iPod Touch, 5th Generation, blue version (5 megapixel camera, 3.3mm f/2.4 lens, 1,134x640 16:9 display, 3.1 oz./87 g). My biggest source of support is when you use any of these links, especially this link directly to them all at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thank you! Ken.

 

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iPod Touch 5G Audio Quality

 

Introduction         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Usage   Recommendations   More

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Introduced in September 2012, this fifth-generation iPod Touch is most of an iPhone 5, just without the phone and most of the cost.

It has a 5MP camera and comes in 32 GB and 64 GB versions in about five colors.

It's thin and weightless. It's almost nonexistent and feels like it will blow away. It feels like a second-generation iPod Nano, just with with softer edges but no click wheel.

The black version is like a black monolith with no thickness; more a wafer than a device.

 

Differences from iPod Touch 4G

Added

Much, much better cameras:

   Much higher resolution.

   Much better color.

   Focusing lens with great macro performance.

   Excellent new HDR and Panorama modes.

Siri voice control and dictation (only when connected via Wi-Fi)

512 MB RAM compared to 256 MB RAM. Dual-core A5 versus single-core A4 processor. In actual use, this new iPod is much, much faster at everything than the older version.

 

Taken Away

No auto brightness control for LCD monitor.

Lighter construction, aluminum case feels dinkier than the solid stainless steel of the prior model. The older version felt as good or better than what Bang & Olufsen used to do, while this new iPod feels like something eventually disposable, not eternal.

 

Different

More slippery case (dull aluminum versus shiny stainless).

New tiny, sturdy, 2-way "Lighting" connector instead of old, delicate, one-way-only 30-pin connector.

 

Differences from iPhone 5

Added

Hundreds of dollars back in your pocket.

No ringer mode switch near the volume control buttons to confuse your finger when changing volume or using these buttons to snap pictures.

Since the iPod isn't a cellular phone, regulations that restrict the use of cellular telephones don't likely apply to your iPod.

 

Taken Away

No auto brightness control for LCD monitor.

5MP versus 8MP camera. Smaller sensor, lower ISOs, more noisy.

Lower maximum ISO means the iPod can't shoot in conditions as dark without flash as the iPhone.

No battery percentage indicator.

No compass.

No AC -> USB charger adapter included.

Same great-sounding Apple EarPods earphones, but missing the snap-closed dustproof plastic carry-case, mic and remote.

Cheaper, lighter construction: the stamped sheet aluminum case feels dinky compared to the iPhone.

Only 512 MB RAM instead of 1 GB RAM. Faster A6 processor instead of A5 processor. In actual use, everything is about 15% slower, which is only noticeable if you use both side by side. The iPod Touch is plenty fast for everything.

 

Different

The smaller sensor of the iPod has a shorter lens, and therefore larger depth-of-field, which in many practical cases may lead to sharper photos due to better focus.

iPod is so light and thin that it constantly requires effort not to drop drop it, at least when used without a case.

 

Specifications         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Usage   Recommendations   More

 

Main Camera

Lens

3.3mm f/2.4.

5 elements.

Uncoated flat protective cover glass.

It sees an angle of view similar to what a 33mm lens sees when used on a full-frame 35mm camera.

 

Sensor

5 megapixels.

Professional 4:3 aspect ratio.

2,592 x 1,936 pixels.

10x crop factor (2.6 x 3.46 mm).

ISO 32 ~ 640, automatically selected.

 

Shutter

1/15 slowest speed.

At least 1/64,000 maximum speed.

 

Autofocus

Yes.

No AF assist light, although the white LED will sometimes try to help to little avail.

 

Flash

No xenon flash or flashbulb support or sync, but has a continuous-light white LED that does its best to stand in. This LED is much better suited for video than for stills.

 

HDR

Works great.

Will store both non-HDR and HDR versions for each shot.

 

Panoramas

Work great, point and swipe. Done.

10,800 x 2,332 pixel files.

16MB JPGs.

Print 9 x 2 feet at 100 DPI. (108 x 23 inches or 275 x 59 cm.)

 

Still Photo File Data

JPG format only.

1.5 MB median file size.

 

Video

1080p, up to 30 fps.

Electronic stabilization.

About 2 MB per second of run time.

 

 

Screen Camera (a.k.a. "Front" or "Facetime HD" camera)

Lens

2.2mm f/2.4.

It sees an angle of view similar to what a 33mm lens sees when used on a full-frame 35mm camera.

 

Sensor

1.2 megapixels.

Professional 4:3 aspect ratio.

1,280 x 960 pixels.

15x crop factor (1.7 x 2.3 mm).

ISO 32~1,000, automatically selected.

 

Shutter

1/15 second slowest speed.

1/40,000 or faster maximum speed.

 

Autofocus

Probably fixed-focus.

 

Flash

None.

 

No HDR or Panoramas.

 

Video

720p, up to 30 fps.

Electronic stabilization.

 

Audio Transducers

Mono mic.

Mono speaker.

 

LCD

FIXED BRIGHTNESS, adjustable under Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper.

4-inch diagonal 16:9 display with Multi-Touch IPS technology.

Branded as "Retina display."

1,136 x 640-pixels at 326 pixels per inch.

800:1 contrast ratio (typical).

500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical).

Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

 

Radios

Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)

Bluetooth 4.0

 

Audio Playback

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz. (It's actually much better than that!)

Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV.

User-configurable maximum gain limit.

 

Video Playback

AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p.

AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (3rd generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (2nd generation) at up to 720p.

H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 MBPS, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 MBPS, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in µ-law, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format.

 

Sensors

Two cameras and a microphone, covered above.

Three-axis gyroscope.

Accelerometer.

 

Power

No percentage indication.

Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

Music playback time: Up to 40 hours when fully charged.

Video playback time: Up to 8 hours when fully charged.

Charging times: Fast charge in about 2 hours (80% capacity), full charge in about 4 hours

 

Connectors

"Lightning" connector.

3.5mm stereo headphone/line out jack.

 

Computer Needed

Apple ID (some features).

Internet access.

Syncing with iTunes requires:

OS X v10.6.8 or later.

Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later.

iTunes 10.7 or later.

 

Environmental

Operating ambient temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C).

Non operating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C).

Relative humidity: 5% to 95% non condensing.

Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 µm).

 

Size

4.86 x 2.31 x 0.24 inches, HWD.

123.4 x 58.6 x 0.24 millimeters, HWD.

 

Weight

3.055 oz. (86.64 g), measured, 64 GB model with 60GB used.

Apple specifies 3.10 ounces (88 grams).

 

Included

iPod touch.

iPod touch loop.

Apple Ear Pods (without plastic storage case).

Lightning to USB Cable.

Quick Start guide.

 

Announced

12 September 2012.

 

Promised

October 2012.

 

Price, USA

Late 2012: $300 (32GB) or $400 (64GB).

 

Performance         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Usage   Recommendations   More

iPod Touch 5G Audio Quality   

 

Overall     performance

Real photographic artists can make great shots with anything; their camera's technical specs don't matter, even if it's broken. Therefore, the smallest, simplest, most adaptable and fastest-handling camera always wins — and that's this iPod Touch and the iPhone 5.

 

Ergonomics

With the exception of fixed LCD brightness, the ergonomics are better than anything this side of the iPhone 5.

The iPhone wins because it adjusts its LCD every time the light changes without the six clicks required to change brightness manually on this iPod.

The iPod Touch also lacks the battery percentage indication and the magnetic compass of the iPhone 5.

Ignoring these petty concerns, the iPod camera just goes: no menus and no BS, just great pictures a lot faster and more discreetly than any DSLR, mirrorless or compact camera.

The volume control Is two tits, not a rocker switch. This is the same as iPhone, but with no ringer button next to them to confuse your fingers.

 

Macro

An advantage of the tiny lens is fantastic macro performance. With the iPod Touch, there's no need for any accessory lenses or other cameras for macro close-ups:

Bee, Legoland SeaLife parking lot, 04 Dec 2012

Bee, complete image. (f/2.4 at 1/120 at ISO 40.)

Bee, Legoland SeaLife parking lot, 04 Dec 2012

Crop from above at 100%. If this is 6" (15 cm) wide on your screen, the full image would print at 26 x 20 inches (66 x 44 cm).

 

Rockwell's Watch

Rockwell's watch, complete image at closest focus distance. (f/2.4 at 1/133 at ISO 32.)

 

Rockwell's Watch

Crop from above at 100%. If this is 6" (15 cm) wide on your screen, the full image would print at 26 x 20 inches (66 x 44 cm).

 

Bokeh

You'll never get anything out of focus, but if you do, bokeh is neutral.

Here's a snap from a few inches away of a part of of a water valve:

Screw at school

1" (2.5cm) diameter screw, complete image. (f/2.4 at 1/120 at ISO 32.) Original file.

 

Distortion

The iPod Touch has a small amount of pincushion distortion — much less than most exotic DSLR zoom lenses

It can be corrected by plugging a figure of -1.5 into Photoshop's lens distortion filter.

 

Ghosts

If you have a brilliant light source in your image, you will get a dim green ghost opposite the light source. This is caused by internal reflections between various flat optical parts. The only way to eliminate it probably is to pull off the uncoated exterior protective cover glass — don't do that!

Apple iPod Touch 5G Ghosts

Make a crappy picture like this, and you'll get a green ghost, the Flying Dutchman.

 

HDR

HDR works wonders. Better and faster and easier than DSLRs, it always retains texture and color in highlights.

You can set it to save the normal and HDR versions of each shot.

HDR makes two shots by magic and combines them very well. If your subject is moving fast yo may get a double image, but for most shots of everything, including people, HDR works wonders.

 

Panoramas

Panoramas work and look great.

Just tap OPTIONS, tap PANORAMA, hit START and sweep from left to right.

Done.

 

Sharpness

Used properly in good light, it's sharp. At 100 DPI, great 20 x 24" prints can be made.

In dimmer light, noise reduction softens the image, if subject motion and camera shake don't get you first.

Apple iPod Touch 5G Sharpness 05 Dec 2012

Palms. (f/2.4 at 1/905 at ISO 32.) Original file.

 

Apple iPod Touch 5G Sharpness 05 Dec 2012

Ready for work. (f/2.4 at 1/308 at ISO 32.) Original file.

 

Sound Quality

Video sound, recorded with the built-in mic, is clean. Only the slightest noise is audible if you're playing back under hi-fi conditions.

Audio playback of music is marvelous. Listening to good transfers on my Ultrasone Edition 8 headphones sounds marvelous for hours and hours — no need for any external amplifiers.

Comparing the analog line output of the iPod Touch 5G directly to the same files fed from my MacPro into the Benchmark DAC1 HDR and monitored with the Audeze LCD-3, I can't hear any difference switching between them once the levels are matched — both are phenomenal. As usual, the iPod Touch has great smooth, detailed and quiet DACs already built in — no need for external DACs to plug it into your Hi-Fi.

Audio levels are the same as other iDevices: 1 V RMS maximum at 0 dBFS.

Changing the volume still puts a big SPEAKER icon over your screen for several seconds, a huge annoyance when doing anything else while enjoying music. This is the same on all iDevices, so it's just Apple encouraging you to close your eyes and listen carefully.

It measures better than almost all audiophile gear. See iPod Touch 5G Audio Quality.

 

Power

There's no battery percentage indication.

I ran for 5 hours with about 30% left on my first uncalibrated charge.

 

Usage         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Usage   Recommendations   More

Still photos shoot the instant you remove your finger from the button. For critical timing, hold the button and release it at the moment you want to shoot.

The flash is awful, as it is on all cell phones and similar today. Turn it off and hold still in dark conditions.

To adjust the LCD brightness, click HOME > Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper > move slider > HOME > whatever you were doing.

I suggest making a habit of presetting it to maximum each time you go outside, a medium level when indoors, and much dimmer at night. If you don't adjust it and leave it in the middle, it will be too dark outside and way too bright at night.

Use the included Apple EarPods earphones with the free Dirac HD Player app for outstanding sound, arguably better than the Ultrasone Edition 8 to which I compared them directly.

 

Recommendations         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Usage   Recommendations   More

The new iPod Touch 5G is a huge improvement for those of us who use the camera, compared to the previous iPod Touch 4G.

If you use your iPod Touch more for music, web browsing and everything other than photography, the previous iPod Touch 4G has a more solid case and better LCD because it automatically adjusts to ambient light, which this new iPod can't. Except for the hugely improved camera, there's no reason to throw away the previous model if you already own one, and if buying one new, it's a toss up depending on what you want to do with it — except for photography.

The previous iPod Touch's camera was horrible, and this new iPod Touch's camera is very good. The camera and everything about this new iPod Touch work extremely well.

Whatever this iPod does, the iPhone 5 does it a little better. it doesn't show in printed specifications, but the iPhone is a huge improvement overall compared to this iPod Touch. The iPhone has a far better LCD because it adjusts to conditions by itself, and the iPhone 5's camera is even better in just about every little way, especially in low light without flash. (No Apple iDevice or cell phone yet has a decent flash yet.) The iPhone 5 feels much better in-hand; a precision device versus this flimsy-feeling iPod — but the iPhone 5 costs twice as much.

If you've found all the time and effort I put into researching and sharing all this for free, this website's biggest source of support is when you use any of these links, especially this link directly to them all at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live.

Thank you!

Ken.

 

More Information         top

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From the Press Release, 12 September 2012:

Apple Introduces New iPod touch & iPod nano

World’s Most Popular Music Players Reinvented With Ultra-Thin Designs & Amazing New Features

SAN FRANCISCO—September 12, 2012—Apple today introduced the new lineup of the world’s most popular music players including the incredible all-new iPod touch and reinvented iPod nano. The new iPod touch is the thinnest iPod touch ever and features a brilliant 4-inch Retina™ display; a 5 megapixel iSight camera with 1080p HD video recording; Apple’s A5 chip; Siri, the intelligent assistant; and iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. The new iPod touch comes in a gorgeous new ultra-thin and light anodized aluminum design, and for the first time ever, iPod touch comes in five vibrant colors. The new iPod nano is the thinnest iPod ever featuring a 2.5-inch Multi-Touch™ display; convenient navigation buttons; built-in Bluetooth for wireless listening; and the new iPod nano comes in seven gorgeous new colors.

“With over 350 million sold, iPod is the world’s most popular and beloved music player,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Music lovers may have a difficult time deciding between the reinvented iPod nano, the thinnest iPod ever, and the all-new iPod touch with its stunning 4-inch Retina display, 5 megapixel iSight camera and ultra-thin design—both in beautiful new colors.”

The new iPod touch has been redesigned with a brilliant 4-inch Retina display in an ultra-thin and light anodized aluminum body—the thinnest iPod touch ever at just 6 mm thin and weighing just 88 grams. With Apple’s dual-core A5 chip inside, iPod touch delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than the fourth generation iPod touch, all while maintaining incredible battery life of up to 40 hours of music playback and up to eight hours of video playback.* And, for the first time ever, iPod touch is available in five vibrant colors.

The new iPod touch includes a 5 megapixel iSight camera with autofocus, support for 1080p video recording with video image stabilization, face detection and an LED flash, and the new panorama feature that lets you capture gorgeous panoramic photos by simply moving the camera across a scene. Every new iPod touch comes with a color-matched iPod touch loop, a clever and convenient wrist strap you can use while taking photos, recording video and playing games.

The new iPod touch comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 features, and for the first time, features Siri, the intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri arrives on the new iPod touch with support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings.** The new iPod touch also includes: built-in Facebook integration with ability to post directly from Siri; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and other key iOS features like iMessage™, FaceTime, Mail and Game Center. Now you can wirelessly display your iPod touch screen right on your HDTV with AirPlay Mirroring, allowing you to stream photos, videos, music, apps and play games on your big screen TV.***

The reinvented iPod nano is the thinnest iPod ever, at just 5 mm, and features the largest display ever built into an iPod nano, allowing you to enjoy more of your music, photos and widescreen videos. The new iPod nano features a 2.5-inch Multi-Touch display to make navigating your music even easier; a home button to quickly get back to your home screen; and convenient buttons to easily control volume and quickly play, pause or change songs without looking. The new iPod nano gives music lovers built-in Bluetooth for wireless listening with Bluetooth-enabled headphones, speakers and cars. At 30 hours, the new iPod nano offers the longest music playback of any iPod nano so you can enjoy your playlists* and FM radio even longer. With built-in fitness features including a pedometer and support for Nike+, iPod nano users will be ready to take their music walking, running or anywhere they like. The new iPod nano comes in seven gorgeous new colors with fun color-matched wallpapers.

With the App Store on iPod touch, users have access to the world’s largest and best collection of over 700,000 apps, including over 175,000 game and entertainment titles. Customers also have the iTunes Store at their fingertips, giving them instant access to the world’s largest catalog of over 26 million songs, 190,000 TV episodes, 45,000 movies and 1.5 million books to purchase and download directly to their iPod touch.

Both iPod touch and iPod nano come with the new Lightning™ connector that is smaller, smarter and more durable than the previous connector. The all-digital Lightning connector features an adaptive interface that uses only the signals that each accessory requires, and it’s reversible so you can instantly connect to your accessories. The Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter is also available to connect iPod touch and iPod nano to legacy 30-pin accessories.****

iPod touch and iPod nano also come with the new Apple EarPods™ featuring a breakthrough design for a more natural fit, increased durability and an incredible acoustic quality typically reserved for higher-end earphones.

 

Pricing & Availability

The new iPod touch comes in pink, yellow, blue, white & silver, black & slate for a suggested price of $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model. The new iPod touch will be available in October. The fourth generation iPod touch is still available in black and white for $199 (US) in a 16GB model and $249 (US) in a 32GB model. iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port, Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later and iTunes 10.7 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.7 or later. An Apple ID is required for some iPod touch features. iOS 6 will also be available as a free software update for iPod touch (fourth generation) customers allowing them to experience the amazing new features including Facebook-enabled apps like Photos; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place.

iPod nano will be available in October in pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver and slate for a suggested price of $149 (US) in a 16GB model. iPod shuffle is available today in pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver and slate for a suggested price of $49 (US) in a 2GB model. iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0, Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later and iTunes 10.7 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.7 or later. iPod nano requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port, Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later and iTunes 10.7 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.7 or later.

 

* Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

** Not all features are supported in all countries.

*** AirPlay Mirroring is only supported on the fifth generation iPod touch.

**** Sold separately.

 

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Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

 

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Jan 2013