Hello,
I have a mid-2013 Macbook Air. I have an important/significant Zoom interview in the coming weeks. Do you guys feel that the built-in webcam and microphone will provide good enough AV quality that it won't be a distraction? Good lighting will not a an issue. The alternative would be to purchase a Logitech C930 for about $150 (the only one readily available during these times). Worth the extra cost, or low return for investment? Attention to detail and professional polish are things that I personally value, but I don't want to be stupid with my money either.
Thanks for your thought!
I have been dabbling with this recently. Here are my thoughts from my experience:
1. Audio is actually more important. No point in looking good if the audio is bad, especially in a discussion meeting. First easiest thing to do, use a headset. The earbuds that come free with your phone is a good start. It will definitely give better audio than the laptop's microphone (which on the MBA, I believe it's located on its side, not an ideal position). So prioritize good audio first imo. If you want to get something better, a USB headset will work great as well.
2. Light up your room properly. No matter what webcam/camera you use, the quality is going to look horrible if you have poor lighting. Don't sit behind a window with sun shining through. Make sure light is shining on your face, not on your screen. The better the lighting, the better the frame rate of your video will be. Most people think their rooms have enough lighting. Believe me, it's NOT. Again, it's not about lighting the computer, it's lighting your face. If it's hard to light up your face, you can invest in a ring light.
Those two things imo are the most important. Even regular webcams on your Macbook Air will be good enough if there's enough light. With most zoom meetings, you will be looking at a small rectangle view of the person anyway, so even 720p is more than enough. I don't use a Macbook, by I intentionally even set my computer to stream video at 480p instead of HD to save on bandwidth. Smoother video is a LOT better than high-res but choppy video.
3. Now for the big set up. Like previous poster said, yes, you can use your phone as a webcam. And you will want to use the rear facing camera as it most likely have a better sensor than the front facing one. I've tried multiple methods. Here are my findings.
- Go with wired USB if you can. There are apps that can set up your phone as a webcam via wifi, but there will be lag and the quality will not be as smooth. Direct USB connectivity is the best way. But not all apps support this.
- Your phone WILL heat up as it is basically on camera mode all the time. This can be concerning as heat and battery doesn't go hand in hand.
In short, although a phone is a good option in a pinch, imo it's not ideal.
4. Use your standalone camera/DSLR/mirrorless/Gopro/etc. This is more complicated, but imo it's the best way if you have a spare camera handy.
- Some modern DSLR/mirrorless have the option to be controlled by software from your computer. Check to see if your camera support this. This is the easiest way.
- If not. check to see if your camera has HDMI out. If it does, make sure it's a clean HDMI (eg. the output video is just the video, no camera UI).
- If your camera can output clean HDMI, the universal solution is to use an HDMI to USB capture device. There are plenty of inexpensive ones nowadays. Connect your camera, and use a free software called OBS.
https://obsproject.com
OBS will create a virtual camera input and you can just select it within Zoom.
My current Zoom setup is with a Sony RX100M3 on gorillapod behind my monitor, connected via HDMI to a USB capture card, and I use a headset. Works wonderfully.
