Cheap(er) alternatives to iSight?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'd like to have iSight but its just too expensive compared to other webcams, and unless I'm missing something (which is more than likely) It doesnt do anything special...



Anyone bought an alternative that works (and mounts) on a powerbook?



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    regreg Posts: 832member
    I got a Logitech QuichCam when I forgot my isight on one trip. The picture was a lot grainier on the other end and did not do as well in low light. My wife and kids saw the difference right away. If you are going to get something else make sure it is either firewire or USB2. The picture quality is so much better.



    reg
  • Reply 2 of 8
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ripkord

    I'd like to have iSight but its just too expensive compared to other webcams, and unless I'm missing something (which is more than likely) It doesnt do anything special...



    Auto-focus, auto-color-calibration, noise-reduction differential microphone...



    It does quite a lot. If you can find a similarly featured camera/microphone bundle with similar picture quality, for less, I'm sure a lot of us would like to hear about it. (Hey, it's entirely possible - at the time it came out, it was actually quite a deal for what you got, but things change.)
  • Reply 3 of 8
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Yea, the iSight really is a great camera. A buddy of mine got some high end logitech and he was bragging about all the things it could do, but at the end of the day, the picture quality on it looked crappy, and it was USB(2.0 even) too so it had hideous lag during video chats.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    mikefmikef Posts: 698member
    My Logitech Quickcam 4000 has good overall performance (far better than the $30 Quickcams you guys are talking about)... but it doesn't work with a damn on OS X.



    iChat AV works optimally Firewire cams, which leaves the iSight.



    There's no way around it, IMHO(1). Go with the iSignt.





    (1) actually, there are ways around it, but they're processor intensive (to convert the native USB webcam output to DV or whatever the format the iSight outputs)
  • Reply 5 of 8
    boemaneboemane Posts: 311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mikef

    My Logitech Quickcam 4000 has good overall performance (far better than the $30 Quickcams you guys are talking about)... but it doesn't work with a damn on OS X.



    iChat AV works optimally Firewire cams, which leaves the iSight.



    There's no way around it, IMHO(1). Go with the iSignt.





    (1) actually, there are ways around it, but they're processor intensive (to convert the native USB webcam output to DV or whatever the format the iSight outputs)




    If you have a Firewire DV camera, you could use that. I supose the picture quality of that would be supperiour. But thene again a DV camera is way more expensive than an iSight.



    .:BoeManE:.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BoeManE

    If you have a Firewire DV camera, you could use that. I supose the picture quality of that would be supperiour. But thene again a DV camera is way more expensive than an iSight.



    I tried using my 3CCD Panasonic camcorder and the picture & sound was much better than iSight. But the camera times-out after a while therefore disconnecting the video stream.



    BTW, I tried the no-tape method and my camera still timed-out.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    boemaneboemane Posts: 311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BeigeUser

    I tried using my 3CCD Panasonic camcorder and the picture & sound was much better than iSight. But the camera times-out after a while therefore disconnecting the video stream.



    BTW, I tried the no-tape method and my camera still timed-out.




    Are you sure your camera doesn't have an option to not use the shutdown timer ? Most cameras have that option in the menu system somewhere...



    At least my Canon MV650i does



    .:BoeManE:.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    beigeuserbeigeuser Posts: 371member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BoeManE

    Are you sure your camera doesn't have an option to not use the shutdown timer ? Most cameras have that option in the menu system somewhere...



    At least my Canon MV650i does





    Nope. They must have eliminated that option because this camera has a "webcam mode" which only works through the USB port. My computer only has USB 1 so I didn't even bother. Besides, the camera only came with Windows drivers.
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