If photostream doesn't count against the 5GB of storage on iCloud, why is it showing that 3.5GB of my backup is for my camera roll?
iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.3
Because the backup includes photos and videos in your camera roll (not photos in your photo stream album).
please explain the difference in the photo stream vs. the camera roll
When you take a photo or video on the phone, or save a photo from an email, the web, a text message, etc., they are saved to your camera roll album. Photos added to the camera roll are then added to your photo stream when you camera is off, your phone is connected to wifi and you have at least 20% battery life remaining.
Photo stream photos are then synced to your other devices sharing the same iCloud account with photo stream enabled. These photos appear in your my photo stream album. They are separate from the ones in your camera roll album (you can delete the photo from one and it will remain in the other) and do not count against your iCloud storage.
The iCloud (and iTunes) backup includes the photos and videos stored in your camera roll album, but not the ones stored in your my photo stream album. The backup, of course, does count against your storage plan.
Camera roll taking iCloud storage space?
