It is just me, or has Apple screwed up the iSight in New Macs?

[TEG]

I went to CompUSA today and was playing around with the MacBooks and MBPs, when I noticed that photo booth was on the dock (as they keep the remotes in the back to prevent someone from stealing them) so I decided to play with it. Well imagine my horror to find that the image on screen was a mirror opposite to what I was expecting. I only noticed it because there was a banner on the wall behind me and I couldn't read it. To me this is the stupidest thing ever. The image on the screen should be the proper camera image, not a mirror image done so that your movement on screen matches your movement in life. When I move left, my image should move right, not left.

I do wonder if when viewing someone else through iChatAV if the image is corrected, or if it is still reversed. Can anyone shed some light on the subject? Or, does anyone know of a way to fix the iSight so it works correctly?

This has really changed my tune about an MBP, I'm now thinking I'm better off keeping my PowerBook, and maybe buying a mini or Pro down the road.

TEG

[WildCowboy]

I'm not a PhotoBooth user, but my understanding is that other iChat users see you normally. When you see yourself in PhotoBooth, it's supposed to be like looking in a mirror...it would be disorienting if you were looking at yourself on the screen and moved left, only to see yourself move to the right on the screen. I believe there is an option to auto-flip the images so they look normal once saved.

[mcarnes]

The horror.

[jamesW135]

Originally Posted by WildCowboy

I'm not a PhotoBooth user, but my understanding is that other iChat users see you normally. When you see yourself in PhotoBooth, it's supposed to be like looking in a mirror...it would be disorienting if you were looking at yourself on the screen and moved left, only to see yourself move to the right on the screen. I believe there is an option to auto-flip the images so they look normal once saved.

Yep You see yourself backwards but your iChat partner see's you normal. You get used to it.

[wyatt23]

from my experience with my old pc laptop, a few webcams, and digital cameras as webcams, the mirror view is standard practice. granted you can always go back and change it, apple is just following precedent. tho i think they one-up others in the special features department with iChat.

[pianoman]

i have no problems with my built-in iSight. if you can't handle the way it looks, don't use it but i think it's very nice and i can't believe they can fit it in on the top there! i was at a friend's house and he had his external iSight and I had mine built in and we couldn't believe how they managed to get it to fit in the tiny space above the screen! very cool

i hope you get used to it... it's a neat feature that many people can't use because of hardware and software limitations. apple has given you both that are quite simple to use.

[trudd]

This isn't limited to the new built-in iSights. iChat has been doing this since they first started supporting webcams, whether they were iSights or Sony Handycams.

[psychofreak]

Originally Posted by TEG

I I noticed that photo booth was on the dock (as they keep the remotes in the back to prevent someone from stealing them)

TEG

Just by the way...Photobooth is always in the dock, and the remote is only used for Front row, a completely different app.

My iSight image is normal, but flipped when in iMovie, which is annoying, but I don't really use it.

[ravenvii]

Originally Posted by mcarnes

The horror.

[TEG]

Originally Posted by psychofreak

Just by the way...Photobooth is always in the dock, and the remote is only used for Front row, a completely different app.

My iSight image is normal, but flipped when in iMovie, which is annoying, but I don't really use it.

It was just the first time I noticed it. Is there a way to show the image on screen correctly. It was disorienting me to have is reversed. I'm a video man, and it actually gave me a headache to have the mirror setup.

TEG

[ravenvii]

Originally Posted by TEG

It was just the first time I noticed it. Is there a way to show the image on screen correctly. It was disorienting me to have is reversed. I'm a video man, and it actually gave me a headache to have the mirror setup.

TEG

So you get headaches looking at mirrors?

I feel for ya, brother.

(to change it is in one of the menus. Look around a bit.)

[Makosuke]

I have never heard of somebody getting a headache from looking in the mirror in my life, but hey, I've got worse problems than that.

If you want the pics you take to be correct, there's a "Flip new photos" option right under the edit menu. The preview is still mirrored to reduce confusion, but the actual photos look like they're supposed to.

And when you do a movie recording in QuickTime Player, it is NOT mirrored--it works just like any other camera. It's just photobooth, because photobooth is mimicing a funhouse mirror and making it easier to frame still shots. Makes perfect sense, really.

[TEG]

Originally Posted by Raven VII

So you get headaches looking at mirrors?

I feel for ya, brother.

(to change it is in one of the menus. Look around a bit.)

Its not the mirror that is the problem, it is my mind expecting something and instead seeing something else.

TEG

[balamw]

So don't use Photobooth. As far as I can tell, it's the only app that uses the built in iSight that flips the video to replicate the mirror effect.

e.g. iMovie doesn't flip the video.

B

[topgunn]

Originally Posted by TEG

I only noticed it because there was a banner on the wall behind me and I couldn't read it.

Originally Posted by TEG

It was disorienting me to have is reversed. I'm a video man, and it actually gave me a headache to have the mirror setup.

So you were fine up until you saw the banner behind you and then it was disorienting and gave you a headache?

[trudd]

Many people here are far too picky to be functioning, contributing members of society.


(not in reference to OP, by the way)

[ehurtley]

Alright. Here's ya go:

Using a 'video recording' application, (iMovie, FCP, even QuickTime Pro,) the iSight is treated just like any other video input device. i.e. Video is not mirrored. So holding up a piece of paper, the text will be readable.

Using iChat, with any camera, will mirror the preview, but send 'normal' video out. This is done because for most people, the only time they see their self 'live' is in the mirror. So showing the preview mirrored gives the experience most people expect. But, again, the video it sends out is NOT mirrored. So the person you are chatting with would be able to read text you hold up to the camera, even though your picture shows it reversed.

Photo Booth, as some have said, is meant to be like a funhouse mirror. Therefore it mirrors, for the same reasons mentioned above. For both the 'preview', and the stored photos. You can change a setting in the Edit menu to 'Auto Flip New Photos', which makes the stored pictures 'normal', not mirrored. If you took pictures mirrored, and you want to flip them to 'normal', there is a 'Flip Photo' item in the Edit menu when you have a photo selected. (It can also be used to re-mirror a photo, if you so desire.)

[schmig]

Ok, I hear some of you guys validating mirroring in Photo booth. Hmmm?
Do the old school Photo booths out there provide a "Photo" that's a mirror image? So in the photo that pops out, the College name on my shirt is backwards? Hmm? I don't think so. OK, maybe the screen you're looking at should be mirrored, but not the recording(photo). Sorry, dudes and dudettes, I don't see a valid argument here. Mirrored photo should be an effect not the standard. OK, I know there is an option to Flip the photo. This is good, but it's at extra step for most people. Recording video in Photo booth... cool option, adding backdrop image or video even a cooler option. This feature is one of the main reasons I upgraded. OK, here's my beef. The video recording is mirrored . Drop an image(or video) in backdrop and it comes out not mirrored. College name on shirt is backwards, backdrop image with text is correct. Ok, I could fix some of this in preproduction, but this adds a lot of steps..
There is no easy way to flip video( not a menu option). There used to be an option in iMovie, but that has been removed in iMovie version 7.

Does anybody know a quick solution to set record in Photo booth to be normal(not mirrored) like it works in QuickTime? Easy way to flip video? Apple are you listening out there? Please add this option.

-s

[Makosuke]

Originally Posted by schmig

Does anybody know a quick solution to set record in Photo booth to be normal(not mirrored) like it works in QuickTime?

Edit Menu --> Auto Flip New Photos. If there's a checkmark there, it'll auto flip. If no, it won't. Select it to toggle, or use Command-Shift-F if you prefer.

That is what you're asking, right?

[eRondeau]

Originally Posted by Makosuke

Edit Menu --> Auto Flip New Photos. If there's a checkmark there, it'll auto flip. If no, it won't. Select it to toggle, or use Command-Shift-F if you prefer.

Thanks for clearing that up, Makosuke! Whew! I was so upset by this problem that I was on the verge of smashing my brand-new 24" 2.8GHz AL iMac with a hammer and buying a POS Dell instead.

[ehurtley]

Please note that "Auto Flip New Photos" (and "Flip Photo" for existing photos,) only does photos. Not videos. In Leopard, they added the ability to record video to Photo Booth, but recorded videos are reversed, even if you have "Auto Flip New Photos" selected.

If you want to record a non-mirrored video, use iMovie or QuickTime Pro.

Also, to mention it yet again, iChat shows you a mirrored video in your little preview window, but it sends out "normal" video.

I just recorded a quick video showing this. Here. (Warning, it's a 4 MB MPEG-4/AAC .mov file, courtesy Leopard's new chat recording.) You can see in this video both my local 'preview' window, where the video is reversed, and the remote view, where it is not. (Even though on the REMOTE computer, it's own preview is reversed, and it's own 'remote' view is normal.)

So, in short, in iChat, what you see is *NOT* what the other person sees.

[DCJ001]

Originally Posted by schmig

Ok, I hear some of you guys validating
Does anybody know a quick solution to set record in Photo booth to be normal(not mirrored) like it works in QuickTime? Easy way to flip video? Apple are you listening out there? Please add this option.

-s

For $9.95, iGlasses, from eCamm, can rotate or mirror image the flipped video to make it correct:

http://www.ecamm.com/mac/iglasses/

[schmig]

Originally Posted by DCJ001

For $9.95, iGlasses, from eCamm, can rotate or mirror image the flipped video to make it correct:

http://www.ecamm.com/mac/iglasses/

Thanks.

OK, I'll try this. I do use the background effect in Photobooth, so if iGlasses works with this, it will be great. I did find a solution. I use iMovieHD/editing/videofx/mirror Horizontal flip. An extra step, but it works. The new iMovie Leopard has removed all video fx. (major bummer). You can still download iMovieHD http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

Rock on!

-s

[ehurtley]

Originally Posted by schmig

Thanks.

OK, I'll try this. I do use the background effect in Photobooth, so if iGlasses works with this, it will be great. I did find a solution. I use iMovieHD/editing/videofx/mirror Horizontal flip. An extra step, but it works. The new iMovie Leopard has removed all video fx. (major bummer). You can still download iMovieHD http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

Rock on!

-s

To clarify, it's not "iMovie Leopard", it's "iMovie '08" (or iMovie version 7.) It is 100% separate from Leopard, as it runs just fine on Tiger. It's just that both Leopard and iMovie '08 are included on new Macs.

And iMovie '08 even requires a G5 or Intel Mac to run. If you install iLife '08 on a G4, it does not install iMovie '08. If you didn't already have iMovie HD '06, then you have to download it from your link.

[EraVugaris]

How can I flip the "MIRRORED" video I took with Photo Booth ? I really want to flip the image on this video to set it correctly . Is there a special software available to do this or something ?
thanks in advance .