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Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

vsevolod.net

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Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#511

The real reason is buried in the article: You can’t buy a good webcam because the number of people willing to pay a lot of money for a high end webcam is very small. At the lower end, people are satisfied with their built in laptop parts or a cheap webcam that sits on top of their monitor. At the high end, people go down the rabbit hole of buying a do-everything mirrorless camera that they can use for so much more th…

Wait can you really use a Canon R5 as a webcam? Could be a business expense.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#512
post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did somebody say iSight 2?

iSight was such a beautiful-looking product! It's rather mind-blowing that back then its 640×480-pixel VGA resolution was considered good.

It wasnt just good, it was almost broadcast quality :) This was still a time of CIF 352x288/QVGA 320x240 webcams with interpolated 640x480 modes. "High-End" Logitech QuickCam Pro 3000 produced something like this https://secure40.securewebsession.com/mikeshardware.site.apl...

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#513
post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just not sure I buy this... The number of people willing to pay significant money for a high end webcam was very small. Now my parents and their friends are talking about better lighting and camera angles. It seems like this industry is unusually ripe for a "better webcam" that "just works"

I worked as a freelance DOP and worked with cameras + lenses that coat more than a decent car. And while there is certainly room for improvement with typical webcams: the problem is in many cases not the camera, but the conditions under which it operates. Low light, shooting against the light, smeared laptop lenses, weird angles (not eye level), weird perspective framing, bad combination of light and framerates, mixe…

I have been bemused and disappointed that with all the high-end talent in Hollywood, there has been such a long-term tolerance for the trope of crappy sound and badly-lit faces that we continue to see on remote feeds from the "homes of the stars." I have come to believe that directors think the audience wants to see the talent are "roughing it".

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#514

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.

You can check the refresh rate as follows. Open System Preferences, then click on Displays. There's a radio button, titled "Scaled". Option-click that radio button, and you'll see a pull-down menu, titled "Refresh Rate". It should be 60 Hz or higher.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#515

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Sounds like for some reason the monitor is running at 30Hz. You can confirm that using an app like EasyRes.

System Preferences can also show this, check my other comment in this thread.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#516
post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with Asus installing alarms in their monitors? I learned the hard way being woken up in the middle of the night by a loud siren I couldnt locate the source as I wouldn't have expected it will come from a frikin monitor! There is no way to turn that off apart from physically powering it off and it happens totally random.

Oh, that’s amazing. I got curious and found this comment on youtube, sharing in case it may help or diagnose: Battle Angel Sorry, not sure why I didn't share previously. So, I believe this is caused by using a non-HDMI cable with the audio out turned on. Either turn the audio in the display off completely in the settings, or use a new HDMI cable. The alarm is a result of the display trying to send an audio signal thr…

This is so great! I've been looking for a solution to no avail but I have not seen that one. Yes I use DP cable. I'll try that. Thank you so much!

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#517
The same way there is a protuberance to fit large lenses on the back of phones, there should be one on top of laptop monitors. The exterior of the laptop wouldn't change but we would be able to get a smartphone-like camera in a laptop. Add in features such as an led strip to improve lighting, market the product to people who use their laptop mostly for video conferencing and that surely would be a hit.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#518
post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually did run my Fuji camera as a webcam for a Q&A at work. 35mm f/1.4 with a ring light left me looking downright pretty if I do say so myself. https://imgur.com/7CxnRLK

That's quite a difference, indeed.

The real limitation: Fuji’s software for Mac is not amazing. It works, but it’s not entirely reliable.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#519

The real reason is buried in the article: You can’t buy a good webcam because the number of people willing to pay a lot of money for a high end webcam is very small. At the lower end, people are satisfied with their built in laptop parts or a cheap webcam that sits on top of their monitor. At the high end, people go down the rabbit hole of buying a do-everything mirrorless camera that they can use for so much more th…

I think there is a market for consumers who want a better webcam though. Especially in a post-covid world with more remote workers. I know several people who are unhappy with their laptop webcams for web conferences, but discover that external webcams aren't much better. And these people don't want an expensive mirrorless camera, they just want a webcam with comparable quality to a smartphone camera.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#520
post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked as a freelance DOP and worked with cameras + lenses that coat more than a decent car. And while there is certainly room for improvement with typical webcams: the problem is in many cases not the camera, but the conditions under which it operates. Low light, shooting against the light, smeared laptop lenses, weird angles (not eye level), weird perspective framing, bad combination of light and framerates, mixe…

I have been bemused and disappointed that with all the high-end talent in Hollywood, there has been such a long-term tolerance for the trope of crappy sound and badly-lit faces that we continue to see on remote feeds from the "homes of the stars." I have come to believe that directors think the audience wants to see the talent are "roughing it".

Actors aren't camera people, or sound or lighting techs. People who do that stuff make good money doing it because it's actually quite difficult to do well.
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