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Where Could I get an external iSight camera?

I'd suggest you only buy if you need one. There are a lot of other options for macs out now.

I sold my iSight on ebay for 212.50 in December. It's nice making a profit on a 3-4 year old product.
 
They are not sold retail anymore so ebay is probably your only option.

It's not difficult to take the proper precautions to NOT get scammed...make sure the seller has good feedback, make sure you pay using paypal and that the seller you pay is a verified confirmed user (they tell you their history when making a payment). Request tracking information. If for any reason things go wrong you're protected through PayPal.

Though keep in mind you're going to pay an arm and a leg for the thing. As someone else mentioned, they sold it for over 200 dollars because they arent made anymore. I think they were 99-129 new...now they sell used for almost twice that. Not really worth it but some apple fanboys that don't have an isight built in need to get Apple branded products only and that's pretty much the only route to get one unless you know a private seller
 
hellodon said:
Not really worth it but some apple fanboys that don't have an isight built in need to get Apple branded products only and that's pretty much the only route to get one unless you know a private seller
Click to expand...

I'm a fanboy and I wouln't spend that much on an old camera just because it's made by apple. Get a cheap 640x480 webcam for less than $100. It's all you need for iChat/Skype. Spend the money you saved on more RAM or something.
 
if you really want one, but don't want to go thru ebay, you can try Amazon where they'll put you in touch with a 3rd party seller thru Amazon. Currently, prices range from $200 used to $500 brand new.

I'd personally use an Ecamm or a camcorder w/firewire.
 
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I'm actually selling one on ebay. PM me if you want to work something out.

Here's my question: I was expecting to get like $50 for it... but clearly i was msitaken. why are iSight's so expensive now? collector value?
 
latestmonkey said:
I'm actually selling one on ebay. PM me if you want to work something out.

Here's my question: I was expecting to get like $50 for it... but clearly i was msitaken. why are iSight's so expensive now? collector value?
Click to expand...

Made by Apple, not made anymore, good quality, and firewire.
 
latestmonkey said:
I'm actually selling one on ebay. PM me if you want to work something out.

Here's my question: I was expecting to get like $50 for it... but clearly i was msitaken. why are iSight's so expensive now? collector value?
Click to expand...

It can be confusing to track down a Mac compatible camera. Only a few companies such as Ecamm are advertising a USB webcam as officially Mac compatible. Also, Apple did a bit too well in their efforts to market FireWire. People are still chomping for FireWire, even though USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 are the same speed and produce the same results. ;)

Oh, and I should also mention, what I said above is not true for older systems like your Indigo iMac. Older Macs aren't equipped with USB 2.0, so FireWire is about 40x faster and much more appropriate for streaming video.
 
pastapasta said:
It can be confusing to track down a Mac compatible camera. Only a few companies such as Ecamm are advertising a USB webcam as officially Mac compatible. Also, Apple did a bit too well in their efforts to market FireWire. People are still chomping for FireWire, even though USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 are the same speed and produce the same results. ;)
Click to expand...

Not sure about for webcams but my firewire hard drive is much much faster than my usb 2.0 one.

By the way, I was looking at my isight -- it really is a beautiful piece of tech. really damn good looking. I'm shocked though that they're going for ~200 when the original price was like $100.
 
gauchogolfer said:
I just got a Logitech Quickcam 9000 for my Powerbook, and it works great for iChat/Skype video. No need to spend 4x the price to get an iSight.
Click to expand...

That's what I've been saying...
If you already have an iSight, great, good for you, congrats!
If not, save your money and get something cheaper like the eCamm or the camera above.
If you really want to drop $200 plus dollars on a web camera, I'll send you a brand new eCamm and a link to my PayPal account. Feel free to donate!
 
pastapasta said:
It can be confusing to track down a Mac compatible camera. Only a few companies such as Ecamm are advertising a USB webcam as officially Mac compatible. Also, Apple did a bit too well in their efforts to market FireWire. People are still chomping for FireWire, even though USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 are the same speed and produce the same results. ;)

Oh, and I should also mention, what I said above is not true for older systems like your Indigo iMac. Older Macs aren't equipped with USB 2.0, so FireWire is about 40x faster and much more appropriate for streaming video.
Click to expand...

It's not really usable unfortunately. The processor power of the G3s is too poor. I had to use third party software to get it to work on my computer as it was 500 MHz. When I got my new iMac I sold the iSight.
 
if you aren't willing to spend the money (and it is a lot of money for something that was selling for about $150 so long ago) and you don't care about the looks then you can buy an old firewire camcorder and get better quality and a lot more functionality.

or

assuming you are using 10.4.3 or later, you can use any UVC usb webcam perfectly with your mac. price ranges from less than $50-$100+

i personally have my eye on this:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?product=16425&category=218&subcategory=219

retail $99, but you can find it a lot cheaper. 1600X1200 video resolution! compare that to an old isight with only 640X480 resolution at more than twice the price USED.

just remember to check if the webcam is UVC.
 
manchot said:
if you aren't willing to spend the money (and it is a lot of money for something that was selling for about $150 so long ago) and you don't care about the looks then you can buy an old firewire camcorder and get better quality and a lot more functionality.

or

assuming you are using 10.4.3 or later, you can use any UVC usb webcam perfectly with your mac. price ranges from less than $50-$100+

i personally have my eye on this:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?product=16425&category=218&subcategory=219

retail $99, but you can find it a lot cheaper. 1600X1200 video resolution! compare that to an old isight with only 640X480 resolution at more than twice the price USED.

just remember to check if the webcam is UVC.
Click to expand...

Probably a better idea, but the system is still limited to 640X480.
 
Any (and I repeat ANY) USB 2.0 Camera that is VISTA COMPATIBLE {yeah I know, but its true).... Vista Compatible WebCams work Perfectly with 10.4.11 and Above [I have a Logitech 5000]. They have to meet a certain spec [don't remember the exact one, but thats why the "Vista" reference]

This camera also worked with 10.4.9, but 10.4.10 disabled the internal microphone (.11 fixed that)
 
I just bought a used iSight off of eBay for $169 (free shipping) and I'm quite happy with the purchase.

It was either:

  • Buy a used iSight, slightly over retail
    Or
  • Buy a new camcorder with FireWire (there are several for $199 - $250).

I didn't want a 'Windows' cam because there were too many mixed reviews from Apple users, and most of them are 'eyesores' in my opinion (plastic, annoying lights and what's up with all the two-tone crap in the PC world? Doesn't anyone admire 'solid' colors anymore?). The best cams cost upwards towards $130, so I didn't mind going the extra $$$ for quality hardware and aesthetics.

I settled on the iSight because, if I chose a camcorder; the tax, shipping, firewire cable and mini-tripod would have taken the price up towards $350+. I love my fiancé, but that doesn't warrant spending $350 on what would ultimately be just a webcam (I already have a very nice HD Camcorder, but it's not quite Mac friendly). Plus, desktop real estate is scarce and I don't think I have a free socket on my power strip either.

The quality is absolutely TOP NOTCH. Even in low light (read: really, no light, aside from what's emitted from my monitor), it still catches my face and upper body remarkably well, and, from about 5 feet away, the audio is brilliant (too brilliant -- it picks up hard drive activity and mouse clicks as if they were just inches away).
 
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