[mr breaker]

I am looking to get a webcam for video conferencing (mac to mac). Is the iSight worth the money, or is a cheaper one like the Logitech
QuickCam Pro 4000 ($75) just as good?

[SSharon]

I use my isight to talk to my family at home and I am very happy with it. The audio is clear, and the video is better than most other webcams, but it needs a lot of light. Would I pay $150 for it? probably not. If you can't get the edu price I would look around the marketplace here as thats where I bought mine. You can easily get it for $100 shipped and then you will only be talking about a $25 difference from the logitech you mention. I justify the $25 by saying that this one is made by apple (nice looking and easy to use), and that it comes with mounts that work well with most Macs.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

If you are going to use it than it is 100% worth it.

[Grrr]

If you think a Mac is worth the money, then an iSight is certainly worth the money too. USB cams wont work in iChat anyway, unless a 3rd party patch is used, which needs paying for.

PS, Don't shine high powered green lasers into them. Really fcuks with the pixels (I speak from experience )

[mr breaker]

Thats what I figured. I ended up getting two yesterday.

Are there any cool third party applications or utilities for it that I should know about?

[Paco500]

Originally posted by mr breaker:
Thats what I figured. I ended up getting two yesterday.

Are there any cool third party applications or utilities for it that I should know about?

Check out iGlasses, very cool, and worth the $.

[Maccare]

I agree, only if you use it!!

[MilkmanDan]

iGlasses rock. The iSight is a wonderful thing, if you use it. I video chatted with my parents from Japan twice a week while I was there. I'll do it again when I go back this summer.

PS: If anyone has tiger and wants to do a 3 or 4 way video chat, IM me. I want to try this out.

AIM: jzlives

[cc_foo]

The iSight:
1. Is supported directly by Apple and iChat
2. Has FW, which is good
3. Has a built in mic that works on the Mac, which is not common on FW cameras

Point 3 is especially important for people who have Mac minis, have Power Macintoshes, or run their PowerBooks close lidded.

[Lucky8]

Anyone knows what is the diffrence between the A or B version of these iSight cams?

[Maccare]

The attactments for your camera to the computer...

[sworthy]

yea, the camera itself is exactly the same.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by SSharon

The audio is clear, and the video is better than most other webcams, but it needs a lot of light.

I couldn't disagree more. No, it's no Sony camcorder with Super NightShot. But the iSight's low-light performance far exceeds that of cheaper cameras, and in fact far exceeds what I had expected. For a $150 camera, its low-light performance is extremely good.

tooki

[cc_foo]

Just to add to my earlier comments:

Anyone owns a digital handycam, should try to see if it plays nice with iChat. The picture from my Sony handycam is IMHO clearer than an iSight, and the handycam microphone is utilised as well. Disadvantages are the size, inconvenience, complexity, power cable, and so on.

However, just trying that out may save the ocassional iChatter a few bucks on an iSight.

[tooki]

The biggest problem with many camcorders is that they will automatically shut off after a few minutes if you're not taping.Many models lack a preference setting for this.

tooki

[MaxPower2k3]

Originally Posted by tooki

The biggest problem with many camcorders is that they will automatically shut off after a few minutes if you're not taping.Many models lack a preference setting for this.

tooki

I think some cameras (like my Canon Optura 10, if i remember right) will stay on as long as you want if you take the DV tape out. the auto shut-off feature is there to preserve the tape heads if you go a while without taping anything, so if there's no tape in the camera, it doesn't need to shut off.

[jamesl]

SO what are the differences in attachments between version A and B?

[Randman]

B has magnets.

[Lucky8]

Is there a C?

[Maccare]

no C that I am aware of....

[rparke1]

Originally Posted by Maccare

no C that I am aware of....

i know this is an old thread, but just to update, there is now a c version of the isight. the differances are better audio, auto focus and something else, i dont remember. AND the program iglasses is so worth the 8 bucks. makes the isight image so much nicer!

[gudrummer]

Does anyone have a Dell 2405FPW and uses that ISight?Does the mount works with this screen?

[tooki]

Originally Posted by rparke1

i know this is an old thread, but just to update, there is now a c version of the isight. the differances are better audio, auto focus and something else, i dont remember.

Those are just software differences, provided to all iSight owners via firmware updates. There's no difference in the camera hardware, only in the attachment bundle.

tooki

[rparke1]

Originally Posted by tooki

Those are just software differences, provided to all iSight owners via firmware updates. There's no difference in the camera hardware, only in the attachment bundle.

tooki

whats the difference between the b and the c bundles?

[tooki]

Not sure.

In the past, Apple has updates SKUs without making any real differences, so it's possible that there is none.

tooki

[theTechyDork]

Can I use the iSight's mic without using the camera? Like to record in GarageBand??

[tooki]

Yep. The iSight's audio shows up as a standard audio input. Sounds pretty good, too.

tooki