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Webcam for a Mac mini?

M

MaxMike

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 6, 2009
487
36
I just got a Mac mini and I really love OS X. One thing that I really want to get though is a webcam. I really liked having it on my HP laptop. I don't need the most expensive cam ever, but I don't want something that is gonna look really bad (while my friend's MacBook Pro has good iSight video quality). I would most likely only be using it for iChat and ooVoo. I was thinking about this one since reviews say that people are using it with their own Mac minis: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001D8AGA2. Or does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks!
 
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I've used the xbox 360 camera with my macbook. (You don't get sound from it, you would have to get a mic also because I don't think a mini has a built in one.) You are probably better off with a dedicated computer one, but if you happen to have one laying around it will work.
 
Find a iSight off of ebay or craigslist.... they work great with Mini's (I have one for mine) and the match everything!
 
I only have experience with the above-linked Logitech Pro Mac and the similar-looking Logitech 9000, and can tell you why the Pro Mac is so expensive. Unlike most similar cameras, it has autofocus and auto-light adjustment (also maybe auto-white balance, though I'm not sure) that are controlled in hardware by the camera itself, rather than in a driver.

This is important for Mac users since they're generally using the "universal" support, not a camera-specific driver. What that means is that the auto features on most cameras (certainly the Logitech 9000 and the new HD Microsoft camera that looks like a classic iSight--I tried both) don't work at all on the Mac. Which means, in the case of cameras I personally have experience with, that they're useless in bright sunlight, since their default light level is set for a dark room with artificial lighting--it will be totally washed out in bright light. The autofocus is, similarly, set for something at about arms length, and other distances will be out of focus. Bottom line being that you're paying for features that won't work for you.

That said, the Pro Mac is very expensive, and since a $30 camera doesn't have any of those fancier features anyway, it's probably just fine. The one question is whether it will do light level adjustment on its own (or even if it CAN do that--I think some don't), but if you never use it at midday with the blinds open in a bright room, it's probably not an issue.
 
Makosuke said:
but if you never use it at midday with the blinds open in a bright room, it's probably not an issue.
Click to expand...

No, I usually wouldn't use it during the day at all. It would be most likely be around 9-11pm in an upstairs room with a moderately bright ceiling light, or my basement which has large track lighting to the side about 10 feet away. Or sooner or later when I would finally get my own room in my house, the mini would be moved to there. Is the Logitech an older model? Because if it is decently recent, then I guess I would just get that.
 
MaxMike said:
Is the Logitech an older model? Because if it is decently recent, then I guess I would just get that.
Click to expand...
Depends on your standards; Amazon says it was first listed about a year and a half ago, which is relatively recent by webcam standards (I think it's the newest camera in Logitech's lineup).

The somewhat cheaper MS Lifecam HD is newer, but like I said the majority of its features don't work on a Mac, and to my semi-trained eyes the video quality was disappointing anyway--the Logitech definitely produces a better image.
 
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