Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

vsevolod.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

741–750 of 794 posts

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#741

Post by devy »

I am going tangential a little bit from what the original post here, but I think the answer is you can.

GoPro Hero Action Cams can be used as a good webcam[1], for instances.

They are definitely NOT cheap though - running $250 - $500 new depending on the models and about $100+ for used models on flea bay.

The latest GoPro models like Hero8 Black or Hero9 Black that doesn't have HDMI output ports but instead having USB-C output ports actually make it easier to connect to computer as a premium webcam because not only those new models don't require a HDMI video capture device to convert signals but also the USB connection is slow charging the GoPro battery! All you need to get it to work is the GoPro camera with latest firmware, the bundled USB-C to USB-A cable and a desktop app (for macOS the app is about 10MB and super easy to use.) Let me tell you the video quality so much better! (1080p instead of 720p on MacBook Pro and the camera sensor is obviously different too).

https://gopro.com/en/us/news/how-to-use-gopro-for-webcam

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#742

Post by yarcob »

cactus2093 wrote: post #739
yarcob wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a trick how to get beautiful studio-like lighting for less than 50€: - buy two large sheets of white styrofoam (1m x 0.5m or bigger) - buy two cheap bright floodlights (the brighter the better) - get some mounting materials (eg. wood and screws, or cardboard and duct tape) - Place the two styrofoam plates right and left behind your laptop. - point the floodlights at the styrofoam, carefully positioning them so…

This is funny advice. Are we still talking about working from home here? Who wants to stare at huge styrofoam panels all day? Much better alternative - if you have a window, set up your desk so you face towards it. It’s an automatic soft box and you get to look out the window.

If you just want decent video quality for a zoom meeting where everyone shows up in their pyjamas then I agree -- setting up lighting like I described is wasted effort.

But for example, if you are a teacher, or an instructor, or if you have a video meeting with important customers, you may want to put some more effort into presenting yourself. And the best bang for the buck is improving lighting.

Sitting in front of a window is a nice solution for an overcast day, but it doesn't work after sunset (currently around 4PM where I live) or on a sunny day with hard light. Unlike styrofoam boards, it's also hard to control the light because you can't move the window.

I'm not suggesting everyone should do what I said. I was just sharing a possible solution if you want to make good looking video.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#743

Post by yarcob »

aembleton wrote: post #284
yarcob wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4x 5W LED isn't really a lot of light, especially if you are diffusing it. If your webcam can work with that, it's not that bad :) Edit: I just read your comment again and realized that you are putting the light really close to your face. I guess that's a way to get away with low power lights.

My whole office only has a single 5W LED lamp! I thought that was enough.

I recently installed 5x20W LED lights in my windowless office kitchen for a ficus I got from a friend.

And it's so much nicer now! It's amazing what light can do to a room.

I think most homes should have an order of magnitude more light.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#744

Post by joshvm »

dekhn wrote: post #389
ramraj07 wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can https://www.e-consystems.com/13mp-autofocus-usb-camera.asp I bought one of these for using with my lab microscope since the alternatives from thorlabs was 10x more expensive for no reason. It worked fine for a year then it stopped working. Maybe I spillled something on it? Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

thorlabs cameras, and scientific cameras in general, have very different response functions. useful if you want to make quantitative measurements, accurately represent a B&W scene, etc. I use a BlackFly (FLIR) camera on my scope, but have been looking to do something similar to you, since the camera API is not V4L2, but rather a custom framegrabber SDK.

Thorlabs don't make their own cameras by the way, they're white-label IDS Imaging products (at least they used to be).

Most of these [machine vision] cameras will communicate using genicam, so you can use libraries like Aravis and maybe there's a way of getting that to talk to V4L.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#745

Post by KorematsuFred »

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…

They all cater a different need. I donated few laptops to a school in India. These were some of the cheapest models Lenovo had to offer. Lenovo Dell etc. cater to a much wider range of market that apple does not even bother to target. You are basically comparing Tesla with Camry and upset that Camry is not as good.

On other hand Lenovo X1 carbon is a pretty solid high end laptop along with LG gram. Former specifically is far more customizable, repairable, upgradable and also around 30% cheap while being more powerful.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#746

Post by leadingthenet »

lrvick wrote: post #688
leadingthenet wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple

Apple is quality in terms of UX and marketing. The qualities I value however are freedom, security, and privacy. In that lens, the quality of Apple is very poor.

I’m sorry, but every time I hear variations on “Apple’s greatest quality is marketing”, I know to discard that opinion immediately.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#747

Post by novok »

wyclif wrote: post #724
novok wrote: post #580

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally wouldn't want to start in this market, because by the time anything could reasonably ship the COVID vaccine has been distributed enough and most people won't care that much anymore.

I don't think WFH and remote work are going away though, even if COVID does.

I think the demand for it will tamper down quite a bit although, and there are still many traditional places that aren't tech that are itching to get people back into offices.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#748

Post by murkt »

ComodoHacker wrote: post #495
murkt wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you buy a webcam with 1080p only (I promise it's good though!) for $250-$300?

With all features described, yes, I would. And please, can I add another one for $50? I can easily connect it to my decent-hardware-but-shitty-camera midrange smartphone and use instead of built-in camera.

Well, Android site says that it supports UVC cameras over USB, so presumably you get this feature for free!

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#749

Post by jobigoud »

dheera wrote: post #568
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #329

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…

Pro tip: If you want a good webcam, don't search for a webcam, search for USB machine vision cameras and find a good lens to go with it. The Sony Exmor or Starvis series of sensors are great. Or use a Pi HQ camera which is an IMX477 (an excellent sensor at its price point) and turn it into a USB webcam with a Pi Zero: https://github.com/geerlingguy/pi-webcam#readme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fcbP7lEdzY

Finally someone suggesting machine vision cameras! These are awesome devices for many applications and they have become way more accessible in the past few years, both in terms of price and by moving to USB3 instead of GigE interface.

They are still targetting industrial and medical applications in their marketing but it's such an untapped potential. Many manufacturers, huge choice of models.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#750

Post by jobigoud »

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…

Have you considered machine vision camera in your investigation?
Post reply on HN