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anyone waiting for iSight refreshment?
- Thread starter Zmmyt
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I wouldn't mind a new one, on the other hand... what are they going to do to it to make it newer other than a case change?
I think the mic quality and video quality are more than acceptable (especially after seeing what a generic one can do).
Maybe something fancy like hardware H.264 encoding to feed it right to your system? I dunno. My guess if it's "refreshed" it will just be new mounts or new LCDs with them built in.
I think the mic quality and video quality are more than acceptable (especially after seeing what a generic one can do).
Maybe something fancy like hardware H.264 encoding to feed it right to your system? I dunno. My guess if it's "refreshed" it will just be new mounts or new LCDs with them built in.
re:waiting for a new iSight?
yeah, I am. For no real substantive reason than my own wishful thinking. I had been checking out macmall recently, and they had a "call us for expected ship date" for an isight. I thought, "for an isight???" "surely those things are not backordered; surely the channel is not THAT tight on those things!", I thought; then the next couple of days later it went to "usually ships next day" or something; so I don't know; I keep thinking they are going to refresh them before the holidays;
Tymmz said:
yeah, I am. For no real substantive reason than my own wishful thinking. I had been checking out macmall recently, and they had a "call us for expected ship date" for an isight. I thought, "for an isight???" "surely those things are not backordered; surely the channel is not THAT tight on those things!", I thought; then the next couple of days later it went to "usually ships next day" or something; so I don't know; I keep thinking they are going to refresh them before the holidays;
I already have an iSight, but I got it two years ago when I got my PowerBook... so I would love a new one. I have only two requests:
- higher resolution
- better low light performance
- higher resolution
- better low light performance
The Apple store says its shipping iSight cameras in the next few weeks. Could this be the new ones?
Forced Perfect said:
Getting the lead out would be a good start, both the metal and the time it takes to bring it to market. Hopefully, the new EU laws will make us all healthier.
iSight is quite good compared to the competition, even at the lower resolutions some software forces out of it. I've not used the microphone as I use a USB headset but for the high price, iSight is well-equipped to include one. The other FireWire webcams don't have one and the more expensive Logitech devices aren't compatible.
Noticed a change in Apple store shipping times the other day, down from 2-3 weeks, to 5-7 days - but no change to the details.
So far the 'new' iSight looks to be the same spec's as the old one.
So far the 'new' iSight looks to be the same spec's as the old one.
Resolution upgrade would be one thing. It's 640*480px, right? That's one fourth of the resolution on Logitech-cameras at the same price. (1,3mpx)
I had a vid-chat lately with a friend who has one of the new Macbooks. When fullscreened, you could clearly see the low resolution. And my display is only 1024x768.
Ideally, a 2,3mpx 1920x1200 would be released. That would match the biggest iMac pixel-to-pixel. Of course, 1,3mpx 1440x900, matching the 17" iMac and 15" Macbook Pro, would be more realistic.
Ps. Add to that the fact that the old version is not legal to sell in the EU anymore.
Pps. A VGA-version selling for half the price or less wouldn't be that bad either. $59 iSight Classic, anyone?
Can't recall the still shot resolution of the iSight, but almost all webcams are still 640x480 video res. The Logitech cameras generally use 1.3MP for still images and 640x480 for video.
Also, remember the higher the res, the greater potential need for increased bandwidth.
yeah, i mean, live streaming of 1920x1200 video?? that'd take like a whole T5!
I think everyone has pretty much mentioned my thoughts on that.
I know at least with digital video cameras they usually have up to, say, 5 mega pixel sensors, but they'll only be using something like 700k of them for video. The extra is used for photographs only. I guess it would be kind of cool for a camera to have twice the video resolution and somehow scale it down to get a sharper picture. But that would be at the cost of light sensitivity.
The second one is don't forget that video sucks bandwidth. Sending even high quality 640x480 @ 30 FPS is a lot. Good thing H.264 breaks that down by a lot.
you know, youre absolutely right about the logitechs. so I'll eat my words.
about bandwidth 1920x1200 would require approx. 12mbps actual speed up and down @ 24fps and 15mbps @ 30fps, so I realize it's a hefty load. I only have 6mbps up/down myself, and wouldn't want to pay the extra $40 or so for a 20mbps line which you would probably need to get a stable connection.
1440x900 would require a "mere" 7mbps actual speed @ 24fps, 9mbps @ 30fps, which isn't too far into the future for a lot of us.
I realize now that it would be an expensive camera, though.
I wouldn't hold my breath for a new iSight.....
Although I think a price drop should be in order someday soon....but again, breath...not holding.
I got my iSight a while ago and it's great....(although the sticky surface isn't sticking as well anymore, and it falls off in the middle of the night..
)But, ya Skype is AMAZING !! the video quality is as good or better than AIM....
Video connecting with my friends on XP is super easy, never had a single issue (unlike aim/ichat)
And calling my parents' home phone in their kitchen in Nova Scotia Canada with my Mac, mega long distance, and not using a single minute or long D charge on my cell phone is absolutely incredible....
I've been told that that feature in Skype will not be free come 07. If that's true I will cry.....