The iso-polyhalomethanes are important reactive intermediates, displaying intense near-UV absorption bands that have been assigned to the S-0 -> S-3 transition on the basis of Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) calculations. In this work, theory and multi-dimensional Franck-Condon (FC) analysis are used to model the electronic spectra of selected iso-polyhalomethanes. The S-0 -> S-3 transition approximately corresponds to a pi-pi* transition on the halocarbocation subunit, which induces significant geometry changes. The calculated multimode FC profiles capture features of the experimental spectra of the matrix-isolated species, and are compared with the results of previous Resonance Raman studies of the isomers in solution. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.