Hi all

Would someone be able to tell me if the popular webcams that are available at Futureshop or Bestbuy etc. will work with a Mac? I shall not be using iChat, I shall be using Skype and Yahoo Messenger

I cannot afford to buy an iSight, hence this cheapening out. However, just out of curiosity, would an iSight work on Skype or Yahoo Messenger etc.? Also, would an iSight work on a Windows PC too or is it only for a Mac?

Thanks and cheers

If it were me, I'd buy a used iSight before anything else. The QuickCam Messenger works quite well, relatively speaking, for the price, but anything by Logitech is that middle-of-the-road stuff that they're famous for. It'll work fine, just not amazingly.

The iSight works with everything, Yahoo included. I've used the iSight on a Windows machine and it picks up with no problems and no driver download, without the audio. I have not discovered any way to make the microphone on it work on the PC but someone else may have an answer for you on this one, since I didn't really try very hard.

Hope that helps.

Head to compusmart and get yourself a Macally icecam!
I think its about $30 and the drivers for iChat Usb Cam are like $8

I have a Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 (paid $70 almost 2 years ago). It is not natively supported by Logitech, but 3rd party drivers are available (http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/). The picture quality is quite a bit better than the Messenger and cheaper Logitech cams, but not as good as the iSight. You get what you pay for...

The iSight is not supported under Windows.

Buy the iSight... it is money well spent.

I can't tell you how many times people call in to Carbon, who have just bought a logitech cam for 40-70$ and will bring it back to Future shop becuase they expected it to be the same frame count and as clear as the iSight...

Remember for most web cams it is USB 1.1, the iSight is Firewire thus a large bandwidth to produce from.

I agree with the advice to buy the iSight, but it's a lot of money for what is essentially a toy for some (most?) people. Some of the higher end Logitech cams are 640x480 @ 30fps, so the picture should at least be comparable.

A really cheap solution is to use a fireware camcorder if you already have one lurking about the house.

Cheers - Terry

Thanks everyone for your inputs.

The QuickcamPro 4000 is no longer available, only the 5000 is available and according to the Macam website, this is not supported in MacOSX.

I have to check out the Macally Icecam. I was in a Compusmart yesterday and I did not see this camera, they only had the Logitechs, various flavours of them.

I do not have a camcorder at home, all I have is a digital camera that has firewire. Would that suffice?

Used iSight, now that's a nice idea. Question: Why would anyone want to sell an iSight?

Another question on iSight: I have a Mac Mini which has no line in or mic in. If I plug the iSight, would the iSight's mic work on the Mini or do I have to ump through some hoops to get it to do that?

Last question on iSight, I promise : If the mic on the iSight will not work on a Windows PC, would I still be able to use an external mic for audio?

Thanks again

Cheers

Don't expect miracles from the Macally Icecam. AFAIK, the resolution is 320x200 or 352x240. Not great by any stretch...

I doubt it, but it's worth a shot. Does it get detected by the Mac when you plug it in?

'cause they're really expensive for a part-time use device? Used ones are out there.

Sound goes over the Firewire connection as it does with a camcorder.

The iSight video doesn't work on Windows either...

Thanks Mikef.

Well, the digital camera does get recognised by the Mac, iPhoto automatically opens, but it does not seem to work as a webcam though Guess I have no option but to shell out some money!

Re. iSight video not working in Windows, some people say it does, that only audio does not work, some say that nothing will work. Well, I just realised that I do not have a firewire port in my PC, so the question is moot anyway!

Cheers