[pinkpanther]

Hey all,

I just set up my brand spanking new iSight, and while it is awesome I am a bit disappointed. There is a pretty unnerving green/blue hue i am getting. I have many lights turned on and even one pointed directly at my face and yet I still see a green background and a blue face. I would like to think that mine is a defect. Anyone else experience something like this? How did steve and his friend from paris make the coloring so friggen good??? Also, is there supposed to be a 1 second delay with the video feed? I would think that a firewire connection would eliminate that. Other than that, awesome product.

Cheers,
Jake

[Graymalkin]

Like most cameras the iSight has auto white balance. You need something in the frame as your base white color in order for the iSight to calibrate properly. Wear a white t-shirt or get a decent shot of a white piece of paper. The hue ought to disappear after that. Skin tones and the typical glare off your walls messes up the white balance which gives you green or blue hues depending on your lighting. Get something that is really white and the problem ought to go away.

[SonOfMan]

Originally posted by pinkpanther:
Hey all,

I just set up my brand spanking new iSight, and while it is awesome I am a bit disappointed. There is a pretty unnerving green/blue hue i am getting. I have many lights turned on and even one pointed directly at my face and yet I still see a green background and a blue face. I would like to think that mine is a defect. Anyone else experience something like this?

Cheers,
Jake

My iSight is dark, not really discolored, just dark. And there's no way to adjust it.

[JLFanboy]

My iSight is dark, not really discolored, just dark. And there's no way to adjust it.

Try turning some lights on.

Seriously, though, I think the iSight is really going to change the way a lot of people (read: computer geeks) light their little areas. I've known too many people who just sit in the dark with only their computer screen lighting the room. Not only is this terrible for your eyes, it makes the iSight completely useless. It's just a video camera, and just like any camera needs light to get an image.

Although it would be cool to use a digital camcorder with nightvision.

[tooki]

Originally posted by SonOfMan:
My iSight is dark, not really discolored, just dark. And there's no way to adjust it.

Sounds like your iSight has cataracts!

No, seriously, you probably just need better lighting. If you've ever been in a TV studio, you'd know why -- video cameras need a lot of light to produce good pictures.

But yeah, I've also heard that the iSight can do a lot better under manual control, which some other chat programs offer.

tooki

[krove]

Yeah...the problem is just the default settings in iChat AV for iSight. Other programs (like EvoCam) allow for manual adjustment of settings (like brightness, color hue, warmth, etc) that turn an ugly picture in iChat AV into something that is stunning (even under the exact same lighting conditions). I made a comparison of the two:

iChat AV (no ability to adjust):
http://homepage.mac.com/krove/.Pictu...ght_before.png

EvoCam (manually adjusted):
http://homepage.mac.com/krove/.Pictu...ight_after.png

Same exact lighting conditions. Submit feedback for iChat AV to allow for manual adjustment of the video (or at least better default settings).

[Axo1ot1]

I'm thinking this problem has got to be limited to some iSights, because under good lighting conditions I have not seen this with a few different ones. It definitely wants light, but if you provide it sufficiently there shouldn't be a problem.

Some pointers:

- If you are in a room with an overhead dome light dont sit in such a way that you (the subject) are in between the camera and the light. If this is the case you will certainly have a rough time of getting your face lit well.

- Rather than pointing lights at your face (which has limited effect and can be irritating) point the light against a wall at an angle that optimises the ammount of light reflected off the wall at you. Reflected light is good because it is directional and uniform. There are no 'hot spots.' This will light the room better in general.

- Lights tend to be up high. Your iSight will work best when it too is high up. Don't put it on your desk. Put it on top of your display.

- Having things like TVs that generate a lot of light in the frame should be avoided as the camera will get confused and tend to incorrectly adjust the brightness levels.

[MilkmanDan]

So I've noticed that natural light helps a lot. I mean, a lot. Love the iSight. Chated with a guy in Australia. It worked out well. (also, don't be like me and have a blue shirt on)

Anyways. Its quite hot also.... no big deal.

I mean, the smirfs were cool, and the blue man group sounds good and all, I just don't want to look like them.

[dfiler]

The auto-white-balance of iChat AV could use some work... good thing its a beta.

I suspect that either it'll actually work well in the release version or iChat AV will allow you to configure the settings manually.