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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?

#311

Post by davio »

lmilcin wrote: post #41

If you are looking here to improve your webcam because you started to do remote work, don't. First try to improve lighting and audio. Any camera will look bad in bad lighting. It is always better to first improve your lighting before you invest in a new camera. Use high CRI lightbulbs and ensure even source color temperature in your room (ie. all lightbulbs should be emitting same color temperature). Audio is also ve…

Another cheap tip:

On your side monitor(s), set a couple of desktops with plain white, pink, and beige backgrounds. When you're on video, switch to the blank backgrounds to use as a soft fill light.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#312

Post by soylentcola »

wodenokoto wrote: post #37

Reading this article actually got me sold on the idea of a phone-holder+software in lieu of a good web cam. I, like many people have an old smartphone lying around. My Samsung S7 has better camera (front and back) and better mic than any webcam I’ve owned. Getting a nice holder and a reliable app that could spit webcam picture out of that phone would be great.

I have used phones with obs.ninja to stream the camera output to OBS over the local network and then send that to conference applications with OBS's virtual camera plugin.

It sounds janky (and it kinda is) but compared to some of the client/server app pairs I'd messed with earlier, it works more reliably. One plus is that I don't need to install anything on my phone since it just uses WebRTC in the browser to send the cam/mic feeds to OBS.

Of course, even once you get it set up on a tripod and pointed at your face, you will want to turn down screen brightness and keep it plugged in. It works and it works well, but your phone may get warm and drain some battery if you are using it for hours at a time. In the end I consider it a good backup option (used it when I forgot my webcam at another location) but I prefer the ease of a dedicated camera if I have the option.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#313

Post by Phelinofist »

macintux wrote: post #303

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.

Same here, working from home since February, had exactly one video call, everything else was audio only.

Company size: ~1.2k employees, ~500-600 of those are developers

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#314

Post by alisonkisk »

grenoire wrote: post #96
avian wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then they give the product a hilariously user-hostile product name, like “PQS GRT46782-WT” as an extra f-you to the user. That is also a strategy to prevent product comparisons and unbiased reviews. They quickly cycle through product names and sell a certain product no. only in a limited geographical area. Doesn't matter if a consumer org/magazine/someone on reddit/your friend/etc. does a review. The product will b…

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?

Meh. It's easy for a reviewer to research online to see comparable models.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#315

Post by kaielvin »

alteriority wrote: post #310

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.

There a significant added lag though, with audio and lips out of sync.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#316

Post by api »

gaudat wrote: post #118
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…

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…

Yep, that's what I did. The panel is the actual product. The housing is just stuff around the panel.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#317

Post by wruza »

gaudat wrote: post #118
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…

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…

For monitors it is more than that. For a pretty expensive 144hz/1440p/gsync category that I researched a couple of years ago there were three options: acer, asus and viewsonic (and unavailable aoc). It turned out that asus, despite being a “better, much more money” brand, did a worse job of mounting the panel, so it had statistically worse backlight bleeding at one edge.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#318

Post by soylentcola »

JansjoFromIkea wrote: post #234

One I've been using recently is a Kinect v2; the image is a decent 1080p but with OBS I'm able to give a way better green screen effect than the one built into Zoom. Has the added bonuses of being a 3D scanner, and semi-functional full body tracker for VR. Cost £70 including the PC cable, which seems to be the going rate. A Pi Zero with the high def camera module is probably a decent shout too, although I've not used…

Hmm...I only have a v1 from the days of playing around with interactive projection stuff. For a while it seemed like the v2 was expensive and/or hard to get with the cable. Also have an early Intel RealSense camera around somewhere but I don't know how well supported it would be. I know OBS has specific Kinect functionality built in so that sounds like it would be interesting to mess with.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#319

Post by MrApathy »

arendtio wrote: post #270
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…

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…

I think it's in part related to fractional scaling, which hasn't been sorted everywhere. Text at 4k on a 27 inch is too small to run at 100%, too much of a waste to run run at 200% (equivalent to 1920x1080). So you're running 150% or 175% and that can be an issue if you're running something that doesn't like fractional scaling.

27 inch is perfect for 1440p 100% or 200% (i.e., 5k), but it seems like no one other than Apple has that figured out.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#320

Post by shaicoleman »

knazarov wrote: post #70

There is actually a good webcam now. It's AverMedia PW513. It has a Sony Exmor 4K sensor, and generally favorable reviews.

Hardware looks good, but the software/firmware might not be great.

In this review, there are issues with the colours and the auto exposure.

https://youtu.be/wO-H3tChhQ4?t=210

Also it is unknown how well it works on Linux.

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