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Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

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Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#751

Post by m01 »

Matt3o12_ wrote: post #333
mschuster91 wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> then for the exact same internals you need different models where the power cords are different The IEC 60320 connectors were specified for exactly that reason. Honestly, I don't get why these were not made mandatory for all kinds of appliances. There are even locking variants available if vibration is of concern.

> The IEC 60320 connectors were specified for exactly that reason. Honestly, I don't get why these were not made mandatory for all kinds of appliances. There are even locking variants available if vibration is of concern. I'm not sure what you mean by the second sentence but you can't use most appliances made for Europe in America and vice versa. Most electronic appliances depend on the input voltage and supplying 24…

I wonder if there are regulatory reasons that prevent IEC connectors being used in e.g. washing machines. I guess getting a water ingress protection IP rating might be harder if you have an IEC connector. The lack of an IP rating might prevent you from then installing the appliance in, say, a bathroom (depends presumably on country-specific regulation). This in turn might limit your sales.

Even if that's the case, the appliances should be easy to repair for a competent person and if necessary allow the cable be replaced.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#753

Post by ptx »

yarcob wrote: post #122
lmilcin wrote: post #41

If you are looking here to improve your webcam because you started to do remote work, don't. First try to improve lighting and audio. Any camera will look bad in bad lighting. It is always better to first improve your lighting before you invest in a new camera. Use high CRI lightbulbs and ensure even source color temperature in your room (ie. all lightbulbs should be emitting same color temperature). Audio is also ve…

Here's a trick how to get beautiful studio-like lighting for less than 50€: - buy two large sheets of white styrofoam (1m x 0.5m or bigger) - buy two cheap bright floodlights (the brighter the better) - get some mounting materials (eg. wood and screws, or cardboard and duct tape) - Place the two styrofoam plates right and left behind your laptop. - point the floodlights at the styrofoam, carefully positioning them so…

> Now you'll look amazing even with the cheapest, crappiest webcam.

I just bought the cheapest, crappiest webcam - a Trust Exis Webcam[1] - and I can assure you that nothing could ever look amazing viewed through that 480p blurry POS no matter what you do.

If you want cheap and crappy, I strongly recommend going for something slightly less cheap and crappy than this one.

[1] https://www.trust.com/en/product/17003-exis-webcam-black-sil...

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#754

Post by Throwaway1771 »

underseacables wrote: post #334
heipei wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly what I have been telling folks about Apple vs. other laptops. Apple only has a handful of laptop models for sale and they don't even change that much across generations. Furthermore they seem to exhibit hardly any manufacturing variations within each generation. That means that if there is a problem (and yes, there were a few big ones), everyone is affected the same, everyone is screaming about it, the…

You think that’s bad, just wait till Apple starts selling cars.

And scooters.

and revamping the US highway system with assisted driving beacons/lines etc - because they're the only ones with enough money to do so.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#755

Post by msilb »

adrian_b wrote: post #212
Aldipower wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fell into this trap. Now I own a very bad Dell monitor. :(

Dell sells some good monitors. Unfortunately, you must select carefully any monitor that you purchase, and the cheapest models are unlikely to be good choices. I am using 2 good Dell 4k monitors. One is 1-year old (U2720Q), but the other (UP2414Q) is more than 5-year old and it works as well as in the first day.

Purchased U2720Q after reading through a number of rave reviews and can definitely vouch for it. Excellent 4K image quality and works well with MacBook. It's only the monitor though, so no webcam or audio speakers.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#756

Post by tripzilch »

> [to use blah mic] you’ll need an external sound card with phantom power supply. A decent one can easily cost you $200

I got a decent one for $40. The more expensive ones generally have more in/outputs and such, they're not better in sound quality.

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#757

Post by tomaskafka »

To everyone who says 'good webcam must be expensive' and 'you need light first'.

No, and no. I am testing Reincubate Camo with my iPhone XS, and the image (together with computed portrait blur) is absolutely awesome, and several times better than any webcam tests I see. However, the set up is tedious.

First kickstarter to take an upper midrange smartphone sensor (I have no idea how can Logitech sell atrocities like Brio and call them premium webcams.

And I am baffled by everyone who insist that hack from a DSLR, Elgato, and a bag of cables to keep it powered is that only possible solution. To me, this feels like the famous Dropbox comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#758

Post by tomaskafka »

mattowen_uk wrote: post #20

I've also investigated this quite deeply. As I'm sure most of us know, the main problems with 'webcams', either the built-in ones or USB ones that you perch on top of your monitor, are the lens size, and the CCD/CMOS image sensor size. Manufacturers spouting specs like '4k' are deliberately misleading the public if the sensor and/or the lens aren't also upgraded. The only cost-viable methods to get 'broadcast quality…

> The only cost-viable methods to get 'broadcast quality' imagery for streaming/recording right now is to buy a second hand DLSR or mirrorless camera

Erm, no. Camo Studio with iPhone XS I am now using has DSLR-awesome picture, above any webcam on the market. And iPhone's BPM for camera sensor and ISP is probably in 10s of dollars. I want to buy this from kickstarter yesterday :).

Re: Why can’t you buy a good webcam?

#759

Post by chaz6 »

dmitri1981 wrote: post #150
jcims wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want something with some depth of field.

Given my limited understanding of photography that is not really possible with small sensor sizes. Phones can achieve that using computational photography, but I don't think it's possible using optics on webcams.

Mobile phone cameras do this with a ToF (time of flight) sensor and a software trick. I have yet to find a webcam that can do this.
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