Why can’t you buy a good webcam? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#301

Post by ghaff » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:23 PM UTC

ThePadawan wrote: post #132

mvdwoord wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconded, to a degree. It seems most people's workspaces are just very dimly lit. Of course, modern hypersensitive sensors from DSLRs are immune to this. I use a relatively simple and old Logitech (C720 I believe) as webcam, and when I am in calls, I point my desk light straight at my face from just atop the webcam. This alone increases the image quality by an order of magnitude. If I would do more videoconferencing…

Oh lightning is definitely the largest real-life factor. I definitely cut my colleagues some slack here since many literally had to set up a home office out of nowhere. Some had to go to the basement (and CFL lights + webcams = blergh), others just had to cram themselves into whatever corner of the house (thus also badly lit).

Yeah, and I certainly don't want to hassle anyone who hasn't set up a perfect video studio for calls in their house. On the other hand, after 9 months I do sometimes feel a bit of frustration for the folks who are still perfectly backlit from a window rather than hanging some fabric over it.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#302

Post by ghaff » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:25 PM UTC

napolux wrote: post #3

I use https://www.elgato.com/epoccam on my iPhone and for a few dollar is far superior than every webcam I've tried in my life.

Their key light is also a good way to improve lighting.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#303

Post by macintux » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:25 PM UTC

At my workplace, I’ve had effectively zero video calls since the pandemic began. We’re just using audio (occasionally someone will leave their camera on, but it’s uncommon).

Are video calls in other companies mandatory? More common than audio-only calls? Even at my previous job at a small tech startup, where the entire company was remote from day one, video chats were rare.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#304

Post by gambiting » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:26 PM UTC

pembrook wrote: post #242

gambiting wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just completely don't understand your point. There's no misleading advertising here - the resolution is exactly as promised ,at the size promised....what's the problem? If the resolution isn't high enough for you....then buy one where it is? There are 5K monitors out there, maybe even 8K? Or just get a 4K one but in a smaller size? I'm so confused by your comment.

> There are 5K monitors out there, maybe even 8K? Or just get a 4K one but in a smaller size? The whole point of this thread is people complaining that, outside of LG's fragile Apple collab, there aren't any 5k options widely available. Go on amazon and search for 5k 27. There's the Apple collab LG UltraFine, and then nothing. Ditto for 22" 4k, which would provide the same DPI as your laptop screen for that given siz…

Wasn't the problem that 5K displays(or maybe it's just this specific one?) are notoriously difficult to make it work on windows? Last time I looked into getting one I found out that it just wouldn't work without getting a thunderbolt card for my AMD based system, or a DP 1.4 compatible gpu.

On the other hand, HDMI 2.1 can now support 8K@60hz, so maybe this is not an issue anymore.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#305

Post by post_break » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:27 PM UTC

a2tech wrote: post #299

arendtio wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think the LG monitors outside of the Apple collaboration are not good? Recently, I bought two 27GN950, which is a 27" 4k@144Hz gaming monitor with good colors. So far the worst part is the fan and in the long run the absence of HDMI 2.1 might be disappointing, but overall I have the impression of a good product. Yes, it doesn't have the same PPI as smartphones, but I am not sure if we are going to see that…

The monitor has a fan? That would be a huge negative to me

Like Apples monitor that also has a fan?

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#306

Post by soylentcola » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:28 PM UTC

Mediary wrote: post #267

Honestly, the Logitech c920 is still the 'good enough' option. It's cheap and produces a decent image. However, the raw video can sometimes be a bit unflattering. I would recommend using OBS as an intermediary between the webcam and other applications like Zoom or Skype. OBS has a virtual camera feature so that the output looks like just another webcam. The reason you would do this is because OBS has powerful video f…

This is what I do for both work-related (and as of this year, recreational) video conferences. At the start of the pandemic, I only had an older webcam which maxed out at 1280x720, didn't have much in the way of onboard hardware processing capability, and looked generally cruddy. Set up OBS initially so I could use the basic color correction and then moved on to playing around with chromakey backgrounds (sure beats the software chroma in Zoom and Webex).

Once C920 came back in stock (at non-scalper prices) I did pick one up and it was a modest improvement. Overall performance is just better across the board. Only real annoyance is how I have to reconfigure the video options every time I start OBS since the cam likes to revert back to auto white balance/focus/exposure. Still, it takes less than a minute to set it back to where I want it.

For lighting, I have a couple of those clamp-on utility lights that are sold at just about any hardware store. Each one has a sheet of kitchen parchment paper clipped to the housing to act as a basic diffuser. Between whatever desk lamp or sunlight I have coming in, the two clamp lights let me set up a reasonable 3-point lighting and avoid any weird shadows.

For audio, I have an old Tascam USB audio interface with 1/4" and XLR inputs along with headphone monitor out. Hooked up an old Shure vocal mic on a stand and I get quality and a pickup pattern I just couldn't touch with a headset or desktop condenser mic.

A lot of this was only affordable because I had some of the stuff (mic, USB interface) laying around already, but that was sort of the takeaway. Make use of the best stuff you already own, consider what hacky solutions you might use to fill in some gaps, and only then spend more money on a better camera, lights, etc.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#307

Post by mschuster91 » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

PeterisP wrote: post #159

grenoire wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The geo-locking of model numbers is one of the vilest practices I've seen. I don't see it going away for any reason, it'll only be possible to combat by intl. legislation... but how do you even legislate that?

I don't see it going away as there are valid reasons for doing so for small but important market differences. If you're making some device (for example, washing machine) which has a power cord and a knob for some mode selection with writing on it, then for the exact same internals you need different models where the power cords are different (USA, UK, Germany and Japan each require different plugs) and the writing on…

> then for the exact same internals you need different models where the power cords are different

The IEC 60320 connectors were specified for exactly that reason. Honestly, I don't get why these were not made mandatory for all kinds of appliances. There are even locking variants available if vibration is of concern.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#308

Post by jerf » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

adrian_b wrote: post #212

Aldipower wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fell into this trap. Now I own a very bad Dell monitor. :(

Dell sells some good monitors. Unfortunately, you must select carefully any monitor that you purchase, and the cheapest models are unlikely to be good choices. I am using 2 good Dell 4k monitors. One is 1-year old (U2720Q), but the other (UP2414Q) is more than 5-year old and it works as well as in the first day.

I don't buy a lot of computers, so this can change at any time without me noticing, but: I think there's basically two Dells. There's the Dell that sells the cheapest equipment you can buy. This Dell sucks as much as anyone else. Don't expect miracles. Then there's the Dell that sells upscale gear. This is usually pretty good, or at least has the ability to be pretty good. I have appreciated the ready access to service manuals and such, too.

I say this because it's unwise to hear that Dell has pretty good gear, then go to their site and buy the cheap stuff. It isn't necessarily any worse cheap stuff than anybody else, but it's not what people mean when they say Dell can have pretty good gear.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#309

Post by pembrook » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

rzwitserloot wrote: post #290

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…

> The lazy conglomerates who sell these peripherals often don’t actually produce the parts in them > Combine this with the fact that most home users don’t care about good quality or even know what it is, and you have the current situation. It sounds apt. But... There is an absolutely thriving market for keyboards and mice. For both, conglomerates like logitech and microsoft are selling both what you describe as 'crap…

Keyboards are MUCH easier to produce than LCD displays or cameras.

The problem is that there's only so many companies that truly design and manufacture photographic sensors, lenses and LCD panels. And all the downstream "brands" that assemble this technology into cheap plastic cases to sell to consumers can only do so much to differentiate. Add neon lights for gamers. Make it look dull for business users. Etc. They also sell TVs and have thousands of other SKUs, so they really don't care about any individual product.

Apple is both incentivized (due to their ongoing customer relationships) and able to break out of this mold because they:

a) Produce a tighter number of SKUs

and

b) Do enough volume to control and change what the original equipment manufacturers are producing

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#310

Post by alteriority » Tue, Dec 22, 2020, 2:31 PM UTC

My solution: Download DroidCam, use your phone's camera as a webcam. Night and day difference versus awful built-in laptop cameras, only takes a few minutes to pair the first time.

Granted, the positioning is a bit annoying. If I did it more often, I'd get a tripod.