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Webcams aren't good enough

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Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#311
If you feed 4K at 60fps to your computer, that's another thing it has to digest on top of your running application, and 4K screen presentation downsized to 720p.

Besides, have you ever wanted to see every pimples on the face of your co-workers?

The image needs to be good enough to capture body language and minor frowny attitudes, but a stunning picture won't fix the fact that your product is late, your co-workers are slow, and it's Monday.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#312
post #311

If you feed 4K at 60fps to your computer, that's another thing it has to digest on top of your running application, and 4K screen presentation downsized to 720p. Besides, have you ever wanted to see every pimples on the face of your co-workers? The image needs to be good enough to capture body language and minor frowny attitudes, but a stunning picture won't fix the fact that your product is late, your co-workers are…

[deleted]

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to compare lumina too, but you don't support Linux so I'll have to accept a crap webcam over a non functioning one.

I can probably count the number of people on linux who will buy this webcam on my two hands.

I can understand the reason for believing there's no overlap, as Linux users tend to shy away from tracking-like features in general (which is the job of a camera!). But a few privacy features like a physical lens cap, and a hardware light that turns on if the camera is powered (not controlled by software) would really incentivize that market, I think.

Linux users still like quality hardware, and are willing to pay for it.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#314
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's very little clearance in that direction, and the clearance which there is is necessary for the screen / lens not to touch the keyboard / case and get scratched. So if you have a bump on the inner side, you also need to have a notch in the topcase. And unless you move the webcam something weird (an edge or below the screen), you need to have that notch through or below right below trackpad, which is less than…

I have an Apple studio display. That thing is pretty new, thick and has an A something chip running iOS inside. The camera quality is shit. Just garbage. I don’t understand how they manage to do it. I understand your comment about laptop screens and it makes sense however none of the third party external webcams and even a non space constrained Apple webcam performs ok. It’s weird.

The Apple Studio Display has a notoriously bad camera. https://www.theverge.com/23044788/apple-studio-display-webca...

It's suspected it's because they're using a wide angle and cropping it tight to do the Center Stage feature.

It's pretty astonishing just how much they managed to screw up that monitor's webcam, but it's known to be terrible.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#315
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, just turning on any bright lights will do wonders. Most people have very dim lighting.

> just turning on any bright lights Umm, it really depends where those lights are relative to the camera. None of us look our best when light brightly from directly overhead, or from one side, or - if you're really after that Dracula look - from directly underneath. The sun is a unique (free!) light source, particularly if you're able to get access through a North-facing window. It's quite costly (time and money) to…

if you don't have a window, you have a wall. do you have a desk lamp? point it at your wall. instant softbox

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#316
post #2

Webcams are good enough for their purpose which is video conferencing and calls. In the end your video is likely going to be encoded in like 360p low bitrate. I personally prefer not being in razor sharp detail on calls anyway. Anyway this is the one I've been using. https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webcam-Built-Stereo-Micropho... I like the integrated shutter better than the cover thing for the c920.

+1 to that. I don't want to be in ultra HD in meetings. I mean, I also don't want to look like a character from a 90s CD-ROM game -- but that's a matter of bandwidth, not the camera. In a way, 720p or below is a non-vain version of applying a filter, smoothing imperfections away.

I care a lot less about resolution, but more about the actual image quality. Noise, color/white balance, detail, etc.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laptop screens are much thinner than phones are thick so a phone actually has more space for the camera in the dimension that is most restricted.

> Laptop screens are much thinner Do they have to be?

Yes. Think about it.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can probably count the number of people on linux who will buy this webcam on my two hands.

webcams on linux with good driver support are not just for use by humans but in a myriad of industrial/embedded applications, for single image acquisition, etc. don't just think about people using linux desktop PCs in home offices, but all forms of other use of camera systems.

No post body was provided.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#319
post #171

I'm the cofounder at Lumina - we're building a modern webcam designed to solve some of these problems. There's really been a lack of innovation in the entire home office space, with the webcam being particularly bad. It sucks that a decade-old product (Logitech C920) is still the bestselling product today -- that would be like if Apple stopped releasing new phones after the iPhone 4S (launched 2012), and it remained…

You failed to mention that your webcam is a whopping 700 dollars .

This is wild. What, how is this justifiable, why would anyone pay that amount when you can get an old DSLR and produce amazing quality video with some tinkering, or get Logi Streamcam or similar for as good quality.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#320
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lighting and composition can do a lot to compensate for a weak camera, but read the post: this isn’t saying “Zoom video looks bad [potentially because of bad lighting and composition],” it’s saying “even high-end webcams are enormously worse than even old, low-end/front-facing cell phone cameras in the same conditions, and it’s not getting better.” So yes, all things being equal, better lighting helps. But this post…

> So yes, all things being equal, better lighting helps $63 on a C920, add one window (typically ships free with your house/apartment) plus access to one truly special light source which although it's 93 million miles away you were lucky enough to get a free lifetime subscription to when you arrived on this planet. Why spent time worrying about what a cell phone camera can achieve in poor or uneven lighting if a bog-…

$63 on a C920

Damn that's cheap, where's that price from?

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