Ordered one last night. My teenage daughter is going to Spain for the month of July and I figured what better way to communicate with her? I hooked up my digital video camera on my end and she can hook iSight to her iBook. Not cheap at $150 but it would cost me at least $100 to buy her an international phone card for voice calls alone. This was a no brainer.
iChat AV is miles ahead of anything I have tried on any platform. Just got done VC'ing with the Apple support group in Germany. I helped them with the "time out" problem they were having with their camcorder. The solution? Take the tape out of the camera!
Great to give support to the Apple support team for Europe. They were thrilled.
The picture's great, even @ full screen. Sound works (unlike most other VC programs) This is the KILLER APP!
How does iChat A/V and the camera differ from other solutions such as a kritter cam with yahoo messenger??
It seems the same to me...perhaps save the sex appeal.
Other cameras are mostly USB based, and have bad quality optics. The iSight is Firewire based (faster), does 640x480, 24bit, 30fps, has better optics and light capture, and is smaller.
Can you actually record with that little thing? If so, that's gotta be the coolest/most cost effective surveilance solution out there.
Cool? yes.
Cost effective? Muaaa haaa haaaa
You're joking right?
You can buy a quad camera setup inluding VCR for the same price. Cheap, low-quality surveilance equipment has exploded in the past 10 years. For a few hundered bucks, you can buy a color, 8 camera system. Typcially, wires are the most expensive component in the setups.
Yet... the iSight should prove quite capable. I can't wait to scare the crap out of my house mate. Ssh in from work and use apple script to say things about what's happening in the room. OMG, I just might fall out of my chair laughing.
How does iChat A/V and the camera differ from other solutions such as a kritter cam with yahoo messenger??
It seems the same to me...perhaps save the sex appeal.
Some how Apple has managed to do two things MUCH better than any other VC app on the Mac.
1) The video quality of iChat is unmatched with any other app. I had been using SquidCam for several months and I got used to seeing VERY poor quality video and VERY slow Frame rates. I figured it was the connection between us. It wasn't. With iChat the video is so clear and the frame-rate is updated VERY smoothly.
2) iChat is the first software solution I've seen that actually does echo cancellation, and does it well!
I give Apple a Standing-O for this great app, Panther, and the G5 (of course). Wow, the Keynote was fun to read yesterday.
An employee at The Grove yesterday said they'd have the iSight by today. I expect you can probably get them at any other Apple Store as well, if you don't want to wait for it to ship.
An employee at The Grove yesterday said they'd have the iSight by today. I expect you can probably get them at any other Apple Store as well, if you don't want to wait for it to ship.
i was there today for an interview. they had a TON of them. they were flying out the door pretty fast though. i saw at least five-ten of them leave in the hour or so that i was there.
Mine shipped today. However, I paid for expedited (2nd-day) shipping, but they shipped it FedEx Ground. I'm going to call them tomorrow and rip them a new one. It's little things like this that erode the customer base.
I've got one for the next few days at least and I'd say it needs work. It gets damned hot when turned on. And to add insult to injury, there's no real way to turn it off short of unplugging it. Turning the lens merely "video mutes" the sucker and closes the shutter.
You must install iChat AV for the iSight to work at all. The iSight does work with QuickTime Broadcaster, so that's a way to record video with it. It doesn't work with iMovie, AFAIK.
Comments
Originally posted by pesi
hmmm... yeah. all they seem to mention is the weight at 2.3 ounces.
but looking at the pics of it in sue with a computer, it seems to be no more than an inch in diameter and about three or four inches in length.
Smaller than an AA battery .
Great to give support to the Apple support team for Europe. They were thrilled.
The picture's great, even @ full screen. Sound works (unlike most other VC programs) This is the KILLER APP!
How does iChat A/V and the camera differ from other solutions such as a kritter cam with yahoo messenger??
It seems the same to me...perhaps save the sex appeal.
Originally posted by scotio
Can I ask a really silly question...
How does iChat A/V and the camera differ from other solutions such as a kritter cam with yahoo messenger??
It seems the same to me...perhaps save the sex appeal.
Other cameras are mostly USB based, and have bad quality optics. The iSight is Firewire based (faster), does 640x480, 24bit, 30fps, has better optics and light capture, and is smaller.
-M
It should arrive tomorrow, at which point, I'll post a lengthy review.
Originally posted by Placebo
Can you actually record with that little thing? If so, that's gotta be the coolest/most cost effective surveilance solution out there.
Cool? yes.
Cost effective? Muaaa haaa haaaa
You're joking right?
You can buy a quad camera setup inluding VCR for the same price. Cheap, low-quality surveilance equipment has exploded in the past 10 years. For a few hundered bucks, you can buy a color, 8 camera system. Typcially, wires are the most expensive component in the setups.
Yet... the iSight should prove quite capable. I can't wait to scare the crap out of my house mate. Ssh in from work and use apple script to say things about what's happening in the room. OMG, I just might fall out of my chair laughing.
Originally posted by scotio
Can I ask a really silly question...
How does iChat A/V and the camera differ from other solutions such as a kritter cam with yahoo messenger??
It seems the same to me...perhaps save the sex appeal.
Some how Apple has managed to do two things MUCH better than any other VC app on the Mac.
1) The video quality of iChat is unmatched with any other app. I had been using SquidCam for several months and I got used to seeing VERY poor quality video and VERY slow Frame rates. I figured it was the connection between us. It wasn't. With iChat the video is so clear and the frame-rate is updated VERY smoothly.
2) iChat is the first software solution I've seen that actually does echo cancellation, and does it well!
I give Apple a Standing-O for this great app, Panther, and the G5 (of course). Wow, the Keynote was fun to read yesterday.
I'm happy -
Originally posted by dfiler
Just placed my order at the apple store... god I'm a sucker
It should arrive tomorrow, at which point, I'll post a lengthy review.
Though I hope you get it tomorrow, don't hold your breath. I ordered mine as soon as the store was back up on Monday, and it hasn't shipped yet.
If I'm really lucky, I'll have it by COB on Friday.
Originally posted by frawgz
An employee at The Grove yesterday said they'd have the iSight by today. I expect you can probably get them at any other Apple Store as well, if you don't want to wait for it to ship.
i was there today for an interview. they had a TON of them. they were flying out the door pretty fast though. i saw at least five-ten of them leave in the hour or so that i was there.
Originally posted by Placebo
Can you actually record with that little thing? If so, that's gotta be the coolest/most cost effective surveilance solution out there.
now that would be cool...