Xiaomi has had this product for years and it's 299rmb.
Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
111–120 of 120 posts
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#112I could never recommend this. I own a C1 and it's completely ruined by terrible software. On MacOS (various versions, on M1 and now M3), it stops randomly, needs regular reconnecting. I'm on an old version of the app because the new version doesn't even work at all (hard freeze after an hour). Countless examples from forums and elsewhere of the same issues. Shame, because the hardware is cool.
And it doesn't even work with FaceTime! Unless you close the software and use it as a regular webcam. It also has very breathy focus. I don't recommend it. I in fact tried to return this one but they just refunded me and said keep it.
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are. Our marketing campaigns are most successful via SMS because consumers haven't yet filtered out sms as potential spam yet and actually read and click. If
Wow here in Europe it's the opposite. Every sms I get is either spam, 2FA or some provider notification. I literally get no personal messages via SMS anymore and I haven't for years.
I live in Asia and its the same.
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#114Good heavens that's an irritating website design.
That is the single worst site I've seen since winamp.com which told me, with 100% lossless fidelity, that the new version of the app was going to be a giant dumpster full of burning dumpsters full of toxic waste.
It alone is enough to ensure that I'd not give the company $1 let alone $179. Yuck.
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've actually been looking for a good webcam (with a big DSLR-like sensor) for the last few years, and this seems like the perfect product. Too bad it waited so long to come out... Most laptop webcams are terrible. Heck, most desktop ones are too. Even the high-megapixel ones have an image quality comparable to 10 years ago, and the average smartphone will blow them out of the water (hence Apple adding the iPhone as…
You can get a mirrorless camera and set it to webcam mode (1) or get an HDMI (2) or SDI (3)capture card that will show up a USB webcam interface on your computer and use a camera with the appropriate output format. (1) https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/app/webcam/en/download/ (2) https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/cam-link-4k (3) https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebprese...
How do you mount it to the top of your monitor? Also seems like a lot of hassle and expense compared to a webcam...
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#116This is not a "mirrorless camera sensor", at least how it's meant to be interpreted. While technically mirrorless like all webcams, the sensor is under a quarter of the area of the smallest Sony mirrorless intechangeable-lens cameras.
Came to say basically the same thing. Not to mention they also refer to their F1.8 "Glass" when their own technical specs list the lens elements as plastic. It's basically a $10 sensor, a $5 mic, $5 of miscellaneous plastic and circuitry, and yet they want $175 for what? I might have given all their typical startup BS and hyperbole a pass if it was like $79 or something reasonable, but at $175 it just seems like a sc…
They want some of that sweet Apple tax. Er, I mean, marketing faff and charging extra for it. Just look at their website.
Some people will pay, just for the illusion.
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#117Am I missing something or is "smallest webcam" a provably false statement? My laptop has an integrated camera that fits in the bezel, I own several Raspberry Pi cameras that are much smaller than this, and the word "tad" is doing a lot in the phrase "just a tad taller than a gummy bear". Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly care seeing as the camera is suitably small and the other webcams are not fit for the same…
Part of me wishes they used the traditional American relative measurement unit: the football field.
It’s 0.0319 football fields tall.
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#11870 degree field of view, equivalent to perhaps 28mm, gives you prominent nose and mouse-face shaped bone structure to look pro, you want maybe 35 degree field of view, equivalent to 70mm or more see: https://s.studiobinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Focal-... there's a reason studio newscasters have flat faces, while the people they interview via webex or zoom look like giant nosed clowns, it's the focal length i…
Former film student here, this is all correct but I wanted to rephrase part of it- Most of the time, you don't need to worry about focal length ( especially because it's so complicated when you're trying to talk about different sensor sizes) The real measurement here is distance from the camera . The further you are physically from the camera, the flatter things look. Now, when you're further away, you obviously need…
Yes! As a film student you'll recognize, "zoom with your feet". Or maybe by film you meant moving pictures, or "movies" for short (ahem).
So, to underline the "position yourself farther from it" part of my post where to go from a wide 4K to a cropped 4K the important part was moving back, and underline the distance from the camera part of your post, readers may enjoy this movie on the "dolly zoom":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tod2qZnKZEQ
The face distortion bit starts about 1m15s in.
TL;DR: To fix your face, zoom out with your feet! Then zoom in with your lens, or crop back in, to frame.
(All that said, if you're shooting faces, aka a portrait, consider a "portrait lens", and for this you're back in focal length talk. Pick 85mm focal length or longer, though I'm partial to 105mm up to 135mm myself.)
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#119The mute button is a good thing. I've got it on my USB mic.
Except for that I don't get what problem this is going to solve to justify the price. All laptops have a builtin camera. Any good or bad one would do for a business call, especially between established partners that don't even need a video feed and possibly spend the call on a shared desktop. With friends, same thing. For anything else, turn on the light and it will be fine. If you have to make a call in low light conditions, that's OK: a good camera might help.
Re: Opal Tadpole – A webcam for laptops
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can get a mirrorless camera and set it to webcam mode (1) or get an HDMI (2) or SDI (3)capture card that will show up a USB webcam interface on your computer and use a camera with the appropriate output format. (1) https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/app/webcam/en/download/ (2) https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/cam-link-4k (3) https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebprese...
How do you mount it to the top of your monitor? Also seems like a lot of hassle and expense compared to a webcam...
Not one size fits all, I'd probably look around B&H camera rig section.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Camcorder-Mounts/ci/13931...