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Why webcams aren’t good enough

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Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#41

Post by Mauricebranagh »

coldtea wrote: post #12
nbzso wrote: post #8

Is it possible to tag promotional blog posts? This must be titled: Why using our software is better than buying a web cam.

If it would be possible, of all promotional posts, this would be the one that least needed such a tag. It mentions the product just one time, in passing at the end, and is several pages of well written, well researched, general observations, plus a writeup of the results of actual testing of several cameras.

You can also use logi capture with the non high end logitech cameras (which is mentioned in article) by editing the LogiCapture.exe.config file.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LogitechG/comments/fox6wy/logitech_...

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#42

Post by llampx »

corysama wrote: post #15

Different article from a month ago “Why can’t you buy a good web cam?” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25504771 Lots of points. Big one being that the market is bifurcated into: 1. People who just want the minimum as cheap as possible. 2. People willing to pay enough to buy a mirrorless photo camera and plug it in as a web cam when they need it.

I daresay that Group #2 comes out of necessity, since none of the webcams, even expensive ones, offer excellent image quality.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#44

Post by TeMPOraL »

corysama wrote: post #15

Different article from a month ago “Why can’t you buy a good web cam?” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25504771 Lots of points. Big one being that the market is bifurcated into: 1. People who just want the minimum as cheap as possible. 2. People willing to pay enough to buy a mirrorless photo camera and plug it in as a web cam when they need it.

I see this pattern everywhere - the market bifurcating into a) race-to-the-bottom garbage products that are barely crossing the legal threshold of fit for purpose, and are essentially a huge waste of natural resources, and b) quality goods sold to specialists or companies, usually severely overpriced (to cover low volume of sales, and/or just because the market will bear it).

Does it have a name in economics? Are there good ways of preventing this from happening?

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#45

Post by tchocky »

I started to use my Canon EOS 80D DSLR as a webcam. Canon finally release drivers in November. The image quality amazing. It's also a bit overkill though to use a (back then) 1400€ camera to act as a webcam (also hard to compare with default webcams at that price point), but as long as I'm not using it otherwise, I think it's ok :)

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#46

Post by sebmellen »

janandonly wrote: post #16

Although this blog is written by someone with a financial incentive, it seems well thought out. The comparison is reasonable in that it compares “the best” webcam (a Logitec c930, according to https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-webcams/ ) with an iPhone using their software. I don't care if this is an “advertorial” or not, I'm going to test this software because my webcam sucks as well.

If you have a mirrorless or DSLR camera lying around, try this first: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161. It might end up saving you money!

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#47

Post by llampx »

josephg wrote: post #33
llampx wrote: post #23

I also noticed fairly early on, that phone cameras were improving by leaps and bounds, while laptop webcams and USB webcams seemed to be at a standstill, image-quality wise. I don't know why that is, but even Apple would seemingly rather shave 50 cents off the BOM by speccing a 720p Facetime camera in their $3000 Macbook Pros, and trying to make up the difference with software, like with the new M1 Macs that have bet…

> even Apple would seemingly rather shave 50 cents off the BOM by speccing a 720p Facetime camera in their $3000 Macbook Pros The reason I've heard is that the macbook display assembly simply doesn't have the depth to house a decent camera. The camera bump in phones exists for a reason - and phones are already way fatter than macbook displays. I have no idea if thats true though.

I also thought about this but then look at the iPad and iPhone Facetime cameras. They offer much better image quality than Macbook webcams. There are a few ways to offer "rear camera" quality on Macbooks, like having a little bump sticking out from the back. I don't think that's what people are asking for though. They just want a webcam that's as good as the webcam in their phone.

Also this doesn't answer the question of why USB webcams are so terrible. They have tons of room.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#48

Post by sebmellen »

tchocky wrote: post #45

I started to use my Canon EOS 80D DSLR as a webcam. Canon finally release drivers in November. The image quality amazing. It's also a bit overkill though to use a (back then) 1400€ camera to act as a webcam (also hard to compare with default webcams at that price point), but as long as I'm not using it otherwise, I think it's ok :)

Agreed! DSLRs are great for this kind of stuff. I posted two links to guides on how to do this for Mac and Linux here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161, if someone has a guide for Windows I'd love to see it.

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#49

Post by llampx »

timvdalen wrote: post #25

When I wasn't able to purchase a webcam (for a reasonable amount) at the beginning of the lockdown, I started using my Pixel 3 with DroidCam[1]. My video quality is consistently the best in all the meetings I'm in, so I can really recommend using your phone. I stream the video over adb myself, to make sure I don't drain the battery too much and to keep everything wired. [1]: https://www.dev47apps.com/

Couldn't you also just join the meeting from your phone? Or once from your phone and once from your PC?

Re: Why webcams aren’t good enough

#50

Post by llampx »

joking wrote: post #34
nbzso wrote: post #8

Is it possible to tag promotional blog posts? This must be titled: Why using our software is better than buying a web cam.

I would be satisfied if someone explains to me why such software is a subscription instead of a one time buy.

VC's like recurring revenue..?
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