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Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

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Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#181

Post by fsh »

pembrook wrote: post #103
muro wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dell sells good monitors.

Dell used to have good offerings, but all they seem to push now is the same 27” not-quite-4K 3,840 x 2,160 panels everybody else does. Now even the 22" inch LG ultrafine that used to be 4069 x 2304 is bigger at 24" and a worse 3,840 x 2,160. The only good option for mac is the 27 ultrafine 5k. 27 4k a bad size & resolution for the current computer market. Windows scaling looks like crap, and MacOS has to do more reso…

In my experience, the High-DPI support of Windows 10 is excellent. I am using a 27" 3840x2160 screen set to 150% next to an old 24" 1920x1200 screen at 100%. Pretty much all modern applications seamlessly adapt to the pixel density of the screen they are currently running on without any interpolation.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#182

Post by bserge »

salutonmundo wrote: post #55

> you also can buy a great XLR microphone for $100, but then you’ll need an external sound card with phantom power supply. this is only true if you buy a condenser microphone. a dynamic microphone will work reasonably fine with your onboard soundcard if you have an xlr-->1/8" trs cable.

But with a dynamic mic, you will likely need a preamp - the inbuilt ones on laptops and most devices aren't enough.

You can get battery powered condenser mics, though, and output unbalanced XLR to 3.5mm, works fine.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#183

Post by goldcd »

murkt wrote: post #156
diarrhea wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree somewhat. Coming from a photography background, we should distinguish quantity and quality . Quantity of light you can make up with higher gain (ISO) and higher available dynamic range also helps, as you mentioned. Quality of light is determined entirely outside the camera, and better gear does not help much if at all. For photography, the quality matters countless times more than quantity, usually. I woul…

I agree that we should distinguish quantity and quality. If we don't have enough light in a scene, we need to raise ISO for a given camera and that can easily make scene look bad. For other camera with bigger and less noisier sensor, brighter lens there can be enough light and it can look very good. I can imagine that there are cases, where increasing amount of light will only improve picture for a cheap camera. If t…

I'd agree. I recently picked up a Logitech Brio (employer was paying) and quite happy with it. Main advantage to me is that it can produce a decent picture without me having to faff around with lighting. Of course if I did sort out lighting, it would be better - but (to me) I'd prefer to just swap out the camera than assemble more clutter around me.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#184

Post by iamacyborg »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #174
iamacyborg wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly the implementation of USB-C on models like the U3419W isn’t to standard and causes known issues when used with Apple laptops.

I’m guessing this is why the cursor seems to visibly ghost when hooked up to my MBP.

I've not seen that, the bug I'm referring to is to do with putting the mac to sleep when it's connected to the screen.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#185

Post by Ballas »

fluffy87 wrote: post #112
mattowen_uk wrote: post #20

I've also investigated this quite deeply. As I'm sure most of us know, the main problems with 'webcams', either the built-in ones or USB ones that you perch on top of your monitor, are the lens size, and the CCD/CMOS image sensor size. Manufacturers spouting specs like '4k' are deliberately misleading the public if the sensor and/or the lens aren't also upgraded. The only cost-viable methods to get 'broadcast quality…

I hooked a gopro this way. Their new drivers support using them as Webcams on macos and windows. Beer Webcam I’ve ever had.

> Beer Webcam I’ve ever had. Sounds like you have had quite a couple...

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#186

Post by pembrook »

Hamuko wrote: post #162
gaudat wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tip: try to find out what panel the monitor you are buying has. Then look the panel up in a database like panelook.com. This way you can get the specifications without any marketing bullshit. It also works the other way round. Find a panel that is good enough for your eyes, then see if there's a mass marketed display with that panel. If you are adventurous, you can grab "DIY" or "assembled" monitors with the panels o…

Isn't there a chance that the assembled Chinese monitors actually use second grade panels that the big makers wouldn't accept? I remember getting a 27-inch 1440p display from a Chinese manufacturer for really cheap back in high school. It should've been the exact same panel as was in Apple's iMacs. However, the were some quality issues with it long term and it's definitely suffering from burn-in that I don't think th…

Actually iMacs and their display counterparts in the LG ultrafine series are known to suffer from burn-in.

Google iMac or LG ultrafine “image retention” or “ghosting.” I have no idea what percent of displays are affected, but there’s enough threads about it on Reddit and macrumors to make me think it’s pretty common.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#187

Post by gambiting »

muro wrote: post #75
pembrook wrote: post #40

The reason you can’t buy a good webcam is the same reason you can’t buy a high quality monitor outside of LG’s unreliable apple collab. The lazy conglomerates who sell these peripherals often don’t actually produce the parts in them. They simply rebrand commodity cameras and IPS panels in a crap plastic housing and slap their logo on it. Then they give the product a hilariously user-hostile product name, like “PQS GR…

Dell sells good monitors.

Yeah, no. I have a 25" UltraSharp from them and it has a "fun" bug where it advertises to the system that it refreshes at 59.95hz but in fact refreshes at exactly 60hz, which leads to the monitor(!!!) Freezing for a frame every 20 seconds or so, it's absolutely infuriating in games and movies, and I only found out how to fix it by modifying windows drivers and forcing it to refresh at solid 60hz despite what the monitor advertises. But of course you can't do that with something like a PS4 connected to it. Would never buy another dell, thanks.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#188

Post by remlov »

Hamuko wrote: post #162
gaudat wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tip: try to find out what panel the monitor you are buying has. Then look the panel up in a database like panelook.com. This way you can get the specifications without any marketing bullshit. It also works the other way round. Find a panel that is good enough for your eyes, then see if there's a mass marketed display with that panel. If you are adventurous, you can grab "DIY" or "assembled" monitors with the panels o…

Isn't there a chance that the assembled Chinese monitors actually use second grade panels that the big makers wouldn't accept? I remember getting a 27-inch 1440p display from a Chinese manufacturer for really cheap back in high school. It should've been the exact same panel as was in Apple's iMacs. However, the were some quality issues with it long term and it's definitely suffering from burn-in that I don't think th…

FWIW Planar makes 27" monitors that use the same 5K and 2K panels used in the iMacs, down to the bonded glass surface. The Planar IX2790 and PXL2790MW respectively. I have the PXL2790MW and if you look closely you can see the glass peephole for the nonexistent iSight Camera. Not sure if it's B grade panels that Apple rejected but it's flawless, maybe I just got lucky.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#189

Post by raegis »

arvinsim wrote: post #127
mattowen_uk wrote: post #20

I've also investigated this quite deeply. As I'm sure most of us know, the main problems with 'webcams', either the built-in ones or USB ones that you perch on top of your monitor, are the lens size, and the CCD/CMOS image sensor size. Manufacturers spouting specs like '4k' are deliberately misleading the public if the sensor and/or the lens aren't also upgraded. The only cost-viable methods to get 'broadcast quality…

I tried to use the Elgato Camlink with my Macbook and Sony ala6400. But everytime I use it, the fans would ramp to a noisy level. Turns out that processing is still being done by the Macbook.

I have the Elgato 4K and the Sony a6400 and my computer (NUC8 running Debian) does not overheat.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#190

Post by formerly_proven »

muro wrote: post #75
pembrook wrote: post #40

The reason you can’t buy a good webcam is the same reason you can’t buy a high quality monitor outside of LG’s unreliable apple collab. The lazy conglomerates who sell these peripherals often don’t actually produce the parts in them. They simply rebrand commodity cameras and IPS panels in a crap plastic housing and slap their logo on it. Then they give the product a hilariously user-hostile product name, like “PQS GR…

Dell sells good monitors.

I was surprised to find out the Ultrasharp series includes monitors with 6-bit IPS panels. Rather noticeable, even in desktop use. Previous to that I often told people to "just buy an Ultrasharp of a size you like".
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