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Webcams aren't good enough

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521–530 of 610 posts

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#521
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sucks most is that Logitech, which used to be a proud name (back when "Feels good / Feels better") has gone totally to shit. Even their mice are designed to fail in a year. (Spill on the desk, the mouse that only got damp on the bottom is dead, dead, dead. That can't be accidental.) A full article on what went wrong at Logitech corporate could be enlightening, if not helpful.

Their mice still have the same terrible button that they had 17 years ago when I bought an original MX 518 as far as I can tell. Ive fixed the button so many times on every mouse from them since them. I even made the mistake of buying the re-released mx-518 a year ago thinking that since they put this new fancy sensor in maybe they fixed the button finally. It took 4 months for me to get a double click problem from i…

One of the reasons their buttons suck is: effectively running the microswiches out of spec. D2f-01f requires min 5V with micro loads[0]. There would be a tiny spark during switching and over time that would prevent a perfect contact, the higher voltage helps penetrate through. Omron has factories in different countries, e.g. Japan and China - with the China switches "known to be not as good as the original ones". Of course the mice feature the China versions too.

In other words - your best bet is still replacing the switches to ensure longer life... I wonder if Logitech would ever consider stepping the voltage via capacitor charge pump to prevent double clicks.

[0]: https://omronfs.omron.com/en_US/ecb/products/pdf/en-d2f.pdf

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#522
post #195
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't use a sony A6**; they overheat. Use a fujifilm or an A7 series.

The other guy said literally the opposite. Maybe you two fight it out, and report the outcome?

Anecdotally, my A6300 rarely overheats, but it has indeed happened.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#523
post #87
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great, because I never want to use my phone while in a meeting What the actual fuck are they thinking just use a decent cam in the laptop But yea, mic audio is always trash too

Internal cams in laptops are considered commodities by the laptop manufacturers: they need to put any HD webcam in their product or no customer will buy it, but nobody picks a laptop model just because it has an excellent webcam.

who would they know, no manufacturer recently actually released something with an excellent webcam

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#524
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sucks most is that Logitech, which used to be a proud name (back when "Feels good / Feels better") has gone totally to shit. Even their mice are designed to fail in a year. (Spill on the desk, the mouse that only got damp on the bottom is dead, dead, dead. That can't be accidental.) A full article on what went wrong at Logitech corporate could be enlightening, if not helpful.

Maybe I'm lucky, but I've got half a dozen Logitech wireless mice/keyboard-and-trackpad media keyboards in regular use, plus the MX Ergo trackball, plus a couple of G Pro keyboards, and I haven't been able to kill any of them even through pretty rough use on the mice particularly (they tend to get bounced around in the living room when the dog jumps on the couch, etc.). "Can't be accidental" reads as conspiracy-huffi…

No need for conspiracy - their mouse buttons are run out of spec which guarantees the infamous double-click. This is an issue on pretty much all their (esp. wireless) mice.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#525
post #497

Alternative: Elgato camlink hdmi capture interface with a used Sony A6000 system camera is one way to het better quality. Its about sensor size and optics. A mirrorless system camera has for example APS-C sensor which captures much more light than a typical web cam sensor. Gphoto2 camera to webcam capture tool if you are runnning Linux. Then you can turn system cameras into webcam given the right camera model.

From a quick look that is about 500€? (100 for the capture and about 400 for the cam on ebay). Also, you probably still want a stand, battery, lighting, microphone...

That is at least 5 times as expensive as a webcam. Is it at least 5 times as good? If you already have a system camera, that might be a good alternative, but otherwise?

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#526

There’s a bunch of advice on improving video calls here: https://www.benkuhn.net/vc/ It touches on webcams. Some other important things for video calls apart from webcam picture quality are: - latency. This matters everywhere (webcam, webcam driver, codecs, network, graphics pipeline, monitor software, physically switching the pixels) but I would expect webcams to introduce higher latency due to generally not being g…

Yes, if you do a lot of business communication, this stuff is important. I talk to way too many people that should know better that clearly don't have a clue about any of this and that end up looking and sounding pretty poorly

It's pretty simple. Most bluetooth headsets are not great, including the expensive ones that Apple sells you. And even if they are good, the bluetooth audio compression is pretty bad. So, you are unlikely to sound very clear. So, avoid that and use wired headsets or even your laptop's build in microphone instead. For optimal results, invest in a good microphone. There's a reason professional podcast hosts sound so good: they use proper microphones. You can sound that good as well. A simple, wired clip on microphone doesn't cost a fortune.

Audio filtering is pretty aggressive these days and that can cause additional issues. For example eliminating feedback and echoes is something that a lot of software tries that can result in your audio cutting out and getting distorted. Solution: wear headphones to listen to the sound. This prevents feedback from having to be filtered out. Also, being in a quiet environment helps.

As the article notes, many webcams are not great in terms of hardware. In practical terms this means low resolution sensors that will have a lot of noise. The darker it gets, the worse it gets. So be in a well lit room and pay some attention to the light situation. A simple desk light turned the right way can do wonders at night. Professional youtubers tend to invest in special lights for a reason: it makes things look good.

Obviously, you need a stable network connection. Doing multiple video calls on a domestic wifi that has multiple family members doing whatever in a room that is around 10 meters from the base station is probably going to result in a pretty bad connection. A few meters can make all the difference. And if you are upload constrained (like many DSL connections are), there are going to be issues. If it's really bad, turn off your video. You'll sound better that way and people will be able to understand you at least.

Finally, pay attention to where the camera is pointing. If you are a sales person that spends a lot of money on their outfit, do you really want the lasting impression to make to be your nostrils filmed from below? Also, clean the room you are in and don't have a backdrop of your domestic crap, laundry, and worse. It just does not look professional to do that. It's not hard but you need to pay some attention. If it's really bad, you can use a fake backdrop or blur it. But be aware that that can look a bit glitchy on the other side. Better to just be in a nice looking place. Also nice for yourself BTW.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#527
post #510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost all laptops have a camera already, crappy as they may be, they still work. I don’t think laptop users are a big market for webcams? Isn’t it more for desktops where you have the luxury of space and bulk?

The latest Gaming Laptops no longer have webcams ... It's a growing trend ... if you're a gamer who spent 2000$ on a laptop and also want to do some remote work/interviews you need an external webcam...

if you are a gamer, you don't use a laptop. Gaming laptops are great portable desktops effectively. They have little autonomous time gaming or heavy compilations. So they have to be plugged in - they still are not great as a desktop gaming station, though.

I personally use a 'gaming' laptop as the default work computer (it's over 3.7kg w/o the charger which is another 600g)

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#528
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…

[deleted]

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. It's a little strange to complain about a lack of progress in webcams the past decade, and then ship similar quality hardware to decade old webcams. Why does everyone focus on a small form factor for webcams? Look at the size of microphones being sold today. The Blue Yeti is one of the most popular microphones and it's almost 30cm (12") in height. You might say, if you don't mind a large form factor, then go…

> I watched one of the Lumina videos, and they were complaining the $2,000 Sony camera took forever to setup and configure for their demo Is that even a real problem? I started using my fuji mirrorless camera as a webcam during the pandemic and it was almost trivial to setup. All I needed to do was download some official software, plug the camera in and switch it on for it to start working as a webcam.

Same here: Used my Sony A7III with USB and their software as an excellent webcam and since I bought the new Sony A7IV, all my client always ask in video calls, what Webcam that is. At my new employer I had several coworkers asking me how the heck I did the insane background blur. (They didn't know it was a mirrorless)

If you have an old DSLR or a modern camera, you can use a 20USD Chinese HDMI Capture stick and get the best webcam on the planet.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#530
Even worse (for me), is the fact that there aren't any decent and affordable microscope/desktop cameras for home/semiprofessional use. Unless you shell out a few thousand dollars, you get the same crappy camera modules that webcams use.
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