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Webcams aren't good enough

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Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#241

Post by yunohn »

logifail wrote: post #136
joe-collins wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My current apartment has no south windows. The previous unit had none east. Before that, no north. Before that, no south or north windows. "Just" fixing some problems can be a luxury.

> "Just" fixing some problems can be a luxury It really needn't be. (Proper) photographers have been dealing with these very same issues for longer than we've all been worrying about how we look on Zoom. Window Light: The Biggest, Bestest Softbox You Already Own : "Let’s say your windows are west-facing and you want to shoot in the afternoon. And you’re really terrified of hard light. Keep thinking of your window as…

I’m confused why you’re harping on about windows - which cannot be guaranteed in direction, location, size, or number in any house unless you build it yourself. Further, outside of the equatorial region, sunlight is also not guaranteed throughout the day during the year.

Clearly, your solution is neither “easy” nor optimal. Glad that it works for you, but it’s not for everyone.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#243

Post by zeristor »

Placement, I perch my C920 on top of the 4k 32” monitor, ergonomically at eye height, but that means it’s far too high for a webcam.

I’ve been thinking of having a little sling to hold an iPhone in the right place but of course that obscures the screen.

Perhaps several cameras that could simulate the image from a camera in the centre of a screen is one option, a bit daft, but how else.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#244

Post by gonehome »

standardUser wrote: post #3

I had a Logitech C920 that died a couple years ago and when I went to find a better replacement I ended up buying a... Logitech C920. I couldn't find anything that seemed significantly better that wasn't a lot more money. I regret the purchase, but I'm glad I didn't just spend 3 times as much on a still-not-that-great webcam. I was thinking of finding a second-hand digital camera on eBay, but maybe instead I'll see i…

Yeah it’s wild how much of a vacuum exists in this market and how bad it is.

I have the same webcam I also bought the lg meetup for a larger room and it sucks - it especially sucks considering the price.

The Opal is a weak attempt to improve this, but includes a mic I don’t want (lots of decent separate mics exist). The mirrorless setup looks great, but with latency, capture cards, over heating, external battery packs, required camera arms etc. just a huge pain.

I wish apple would just make a good one again since nobody else seems capable of it.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#245

Post by vorpalhex »

clan wrote: post #174
quartz wrote: post #167

I upgraded my video and audio setup during the pandemic since I figured even at up to $1k it was cheaper than the office space it was replacing. After about a month of research I was surprised to find how difficult it was to evaluate options and how few of those options were plug-and-play. I had assumed the explosion in livestreaming over the last few years would mean best practices would be easy to find and great hi…

Seen a lot of "meh" videos. But Julie Schiro has made a few actually good videos https://m.youtube.com/c/JulieSchiro/videos Personally I just wish that people would invest in a cheap $20 or so lavalier microphone.

Note that going that cheap on a lavalier only works if it is hard wired. If you are going wireless you are easily busting $150.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#246

Post by brightball »

rlei wrote: 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…

I like the camera. Any chance of the AI software becoming available on Linux?

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#247

Post by mbreese »

andrepew wrote: post #210
chrisweekly wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the business model / viability of dedicated webcams. Software like Elgato Epoccam or OBS is free or cheap, and the % of people who would benefit from a decent webcam and who don't own a modern smartphone is literally 0.

People who have video calls throughout the day constantly. I don't want to have to mess around setting up my phone on a stand and getting it connected every time I need to do a meeting.

I also dual call into many meetings. For these, I use my phone to see how my screen sharing is working. I have to do a lot of screen sharing presentations to present data (tables, figures, etc). With this use-case, it’s very helpful to have a second login to be able to see what everyone else is.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#248

Post by extra88 »

qwerty456127 wrote: post #218
jmu1234567890 wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lid is too thin

iMac?

That's fair, the current iMac is only 1.15cm thick but that's much thicker than an iPhone

They did put a much better camera in the Studio Display but it's significantly thicker than the iMac; I don't know how thick it is without stand/mounting hardware but the VESA mount version is 3.1cm thick so the Display itself much be at least 2cm.

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#249

Post by nojito »

jkestner wrote: post #178
nojito wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's simple math. To hold the camera housing of an iPhone camera the thickness has to go up which means the entire top lid needs to become thicker. This will easily double the weight of the laptop.

That’s not what they did on the actual iPhone.

an iPhone is much much smaller than a macbook lid is it not?

Re: Webcams aren't good enough

#250

Post by extra88 »

DHPersonal wrote: post #197
vehemenz wrote: post #50

Camo is fine, but is there a third party app that I can just buy without a subscription?

You can buy a Camo lifetime license for $80 USD.

Is that a lifetime of upgrades or is it merely a perpetual license that doesn't stop working simply because your subscription ran out?
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