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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?

#331

Post by altcognito »

SergeAx wrote: post #225

When this pandemic fuss was at the beginning in January, I've decided to buy a webcam just in case I got sick and have to work from home. It was Logitech C310 HD[0] for like $40 including delivery. When we became full WFH in april, people in working chats started asking me what kind of that super nice camera do I have. Our company is issuing MacBooks for workers. Turned out that internal webcam of MacBook is so crapp…

Im seconding that Logitech has a pretty darn good lineup. I have a c910 and it is quite good, even in fairly low light. I would complain more that webcams don’t generally give you fine grain control over exposure, sharpness and resolution. Logitech did, until they decided to update their software to be more “friendly”. The camera is still solid, but it’s frustrating to see companies do this to themselves.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#332

Post by whichdan »

pembrook wrote: post #291
manderley wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are tons of expensive monitors available that cater to the professional market. The whole premise is not based in reality. Apple simply has the highest mindshare among average products.

There’s literally no good monitors with the proper resolution for MacOS outside of the fragile LG ultrafine line. It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at the problem, nobody is making 27” 5k displays right now.

I never thought I'd want a 16:10 monitor until I had to deal with all of my apps getting resized every time I unplug my MBP

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#333

Post by Matt3o12_ »

mschuster91 wrote: post #307
PeterisP wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> 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.

I'm not sure what you mean by the second sentence but you can't use most appliances made for Europe in America and vice versa. Most electronic appliances depend on the input voltage and supplying 240V can easily cause a fire. That is true for almost all electronic appliances (water heater, fan, washing machine, etc) but not true most "computer related devices" such as a monitor, PSU, charger. Since those devices already operate on a much lower DC Voltage, they often have transformers (not sure if that's the right word), that can scale down the current from either 120 or 240. [0]

That being said, a mandatory IEC connector (and it's variances) would help a lot to cut down unnecessary e-waste. Instead of throwing away a device because the cable is damaged, you can easily order a replacement that is around $2 and high quality, instead of relying third party cords that might have bad wiring from a non reputable brand. The reason they are not mandatory, though, is that most companies like to have their own connectors so that you either overpay for it or just buy a new device.

[0]: You should still always read the specs on the input current for the device though. It is dangerous to rely on the fact that similar devices can operate at 120V/240V because yours might not. You can usually see the specs on the website/packaging or usually near the input plug.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#334

Post by underseacables »

heipei wrote: post #140
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…

That's exactly what I have been telling folks about Apple vs. other laptops. Apple only has a handful of laptop models for sale and they don't even change that much across generations. Furthermore they seem to exhibit hardly any manufacturing variations within each generation. That means that if there is a problem (and yes, there were a few big ones), everyone is affected the same, everyone is screaming about it, the…

You think that’s bad, just wait till Apple starts selling cars.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#335

Post by rimliu »

bambax wrote: post #287
marcosscriven wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you recommend a good brand? I tried buying something from Amazon UK but contrary to reviews it turned out to be awful.

Good brands are expensive but I have had some luck with Neewer, a cheap Chinese brand. Stands are usually flimsy but if you can you should buy wall mounting arms for either your walls or your ceiling; it also preserves floor space.

Godox is very good price-performance wise. I am not sure under what brand they sell their video lights in US. I know that their strobes are sold as Flashpoint.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#336

Post by wongarsu »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #323
itsoktocry wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can see a huge difference compared to my Dell Latitude laptop display. And outside of a few occupations that might actually require pixel-perfect colour, what does this matter? Is this like the audiophile world, where people argue about seemingly subjective things that no else cares about? The customer interprets colours differently than you, the customer sees colours differently than you, and the customer is usi…

I enjoy having a high quality display for all kinds of reasons. Better comfort while programming, accurate colour representation while looking at photos, having a good sense of what things might look like for others (accurate colour means you might be the middle ground of your users experiences, inaccurate colour means you can’t be sure at all), and otherwise, if I’m going to spend a lot on something I’ll own for hal…

> accurate colour means you might be the middle ground of your users experiences, inaccurate colour means you can’t be sure at all

Having a setup with multiple cheap monitors is imho really underrated for design and development. Moving something between screens and seeing clear contrast disappear, or see pleasing color choices turn ugly can be eye opening.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#337

Post by PragmaticPulp »

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…

This is the best advice. A high end mirror less camera will help a bit with its higher dynamic range, but simply optimizing your lighting will do wonders for any camera setup. All of the people showing beautiful mirrorless webcam shots have already optimized their lighting, so start there first.

Also, don’t be the person with the overly-complicated webcam setup who ends up delaying every other meeting while they fiddle with cables, tripods, camera batteries, overheating cameras, cameras going into standby and so on. Having crisp images doesn’t matter if your always late or frazzled because you had to tend to your perfect webcam setup.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#338

Post by ct0 »

Ballas wrote: post #185
fluffy87 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

these are trying times, ive had a couple web cans myself

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#339

Post by [deleted] »

whatever1 wrote: post #295
remlov wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is hit or miss. I own two, the one is flawless (apart from the retention which is the norm apparently in LG displays). The other I have exchanged it 2 times and still have issues with many many dead pixels. So in my case 3/4 were bad apples.

[deleted]

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#340

Post by dannyw »

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…

Samsung Odyssey G7 and Samsung Odyssey G9 would like to have a word with you.
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