I find that when i'm purple my vision has a lot less distance, this really hurts when i'm playing as Urgot and can't target the faraway enemies with acid hunter. Also when i'm playing as any champion i sometimes can't see the enemy unless i look at the minimap, but if i were on the blue side i would be able to see that far.

Is it just me? or does blue have an advantage by being able to see better?

No, you're not the only one. I know loads of people who hate playing purple. It is a lot easier to move upwards than downwards. Also constantly moving your mouse backwards (towards you) creates more strain on your wrists (tendonitis, etc) than moving upwards. I wish there was a way you could flip the map, but right now it's not possible.

some people say there's no difference, but I play with an unlocked camera, and it seems like (well in my case anyway) that I seem to do better on blue side because it feels like I'm playing uphill so to speak.

For some reason i feel like this would change if they allowed a free-rotating camera instead of this stagnant 40 degree angle south to North view.

this thread comes up every so often, yes its definitely an issue for locked-camera players, like meyself.

i only notice it as bot lane ranged AD but its such a hindrance to me, when i know im purple, i choose another role.