Comparing focus of new iMac's internal iSight video

I have a new iMac. When I view iSight's live feed in, say, Photo Booth or iMovie, it seems like the focus is not very sharp.
I've tried the suggestions in Apple's tech note on iSight.
Here are a few shots (posted to Picasa) I took. This is with artificial light, as it is late at night:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lagouyn/UntitledAlbum?feat=directlink
Daytime/natural light results are, to me, similarly blurry.
Maybe I'm expecting too much? Could I ask new iMac users to check out the photos above and compare with your iSight video quality.
Could you also post examples of your built-in iSight image quality? (To capture an image, I used utilities/Grab and did Capture>Selection, then saved to disk and uploaded to Picasa.
Thanks very much.
-Allan

One added thought, -Allan, if you do not already know about the following.
(If you are an imaging pro who could be teaching me about this, please excuse my attempt to help.)
I can see that image quality for your viewers is important to you.
For uploads of images whose quality is particularly important to you, you may want consider using PNG format, TIFF format, or some other low/no compression image file format rather than the JPEG image format that you chose for your upload in this topic.
You noted the "dithered/pixelated quality" of the gif format sample image I had uploaded in another thread. While highly compressed GIF images certainly suffer more quality loss than moderately compressed JPGs, PNG or TIFF can reduce compression loss even further.
JPEG can offer control over how much compression you apply when saving your image. However, other file formats like PNG or TIFF can further reduce quality loss by not applying as much compression for those image where you consider quality to be critical in your viewed images.
Jim
G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.6) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11) iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9) External iSight

Similar Messages

Brand New iMac 24" internal or external hard drive upgrade to 1TB?

I just purchased a brand new iMac 24" MB325LL with a 320GB hard drive. I currently have 432GB of data on my PC and I would like to upgrade the hard drive to 1TB. I have 2 options and I need your advice:
Option #1 » Cost:CDN*$255*
Buy a Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB from DirectCanada.com for CDN$155 (tax+shipping included). Get it installed by a certified Apple technician for CDN$100 in Toronto. I doubt I can get it installed for a lower fee.
Option #2 » Cost:CDN*$317*
Buy a LaCie D2 1TB external hard drive with Firewire 800 for CDN$317 (tax+shipping included) either from a U.S. retailer (e.g. iUnitek) or a Canadian one. Prices at Canadian online retailers start from CDN$266 + CDN$37 (13% tax) + CDN$18 (shipping) = CDN$321, which is just CDN$4 more than in the States, taking into account the exchange rate.
So, there you. From the financial point of view, the incentive is to get an internal hard drive, which I don't mind at all. I'd like to install Vista on a 30-40GB partition, if that makes a difference. If I were to get an external hard drive, I would keep all of my data (e.g. music, movies, documents, music, etc) on it and reserve the internal 320GB hard drive for system files and OS.
What would justify paying a premium for an external hard drive other than portability? If I were to get one, I would need to be able to access it not only from my iMac's Vista partition, but also from my HP Vista laptop. Same applies to the internal hard drive. If I were to get a Samsung F1, I would still need to access my mac files from Vista's partition (when I boot into Vista) as well as from my HP Vista laptop (over wi-fi). FYI: I have no use for Time Machine, since I've never deleted a file which I needed to recover..well, maybe once or twice. What I DO need is a utility to synchronize files across machines. Hence, I will need some kind of program to automatically sync my iMac files with my HP laptop files. Currently, I utilize SyncBackSE to sync files between my HP laptop and my PC over Wi-Fi every morning at 6am. Works like a charm.
That's my dilemma in a nutshell. Any comments, suggestions and words of wisdom are welcome.
P.S. I'm also planning on upgrading RAM to 4GB. Newegg.ca is running a promotion (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227251): $72 CDN minus $20 USD mail-in rebate. It's not related to my question in any way, but some Canadians might find this info relevant.

Well, I don't have the budget for both and as I've already pointed out, Time Machine does not address my needs. It's a great backup solution, but what I need is a synchronization solution. I need to have the same versions of basic files, such as music, photos, documents, and other miscellaneous stuff on my iMac and my HP Vista laptop. Even if I were to get a MacBook in the future, I would still need the same set-up. That way, if something happens to either my iMac or my MacBook, I would always be able to simply copy-paste files from one machine to another. That's, sort of, my version of a perfect backup solution...unless, there's an option to load up files from a Time Machine backup onto a separate one (e.g. MacBook). In the end, Time Machine only partially addresses my need in keeping 2 machines backed up in a sense that it only backs up one of them. My solution kills 2 birds with one stone. I would have 2 syncronized computers (e.g. iMac + HP Laptop, iMac + MacBook) AND both computers would serve as mutual backup sources, since whatever happens to one of them, I would always be able to copy data from the other.
The problem arises when I factor in the sheer number of gigabytes required on the portable computer to mirror everything from the iMac, whether be it a Windows laptop or a MacBook. I would always have more data on my iMac than the available space on a smaller hard drive. I now have 432GB of stuff and I can presume that this number will only grow. Hence, at any given time I would be able to synchronize only the most essential files to the laptop. Ideally, I would need a NAS which would collect = synchronize data from both machines. That way, whenever files get modified, changes would automatically be transferred to the NAS and routed further down the chain to the iMac. It would work both ways, obviously. In that scenario, I don't need to worry about any of the computers, since whichever one fails on me, I would always have a copy of the entire collection of files. Now, that I doubt Time Machine can accomplish.

My new iMac's internal microphone is not being recognized by other applications (such as Skype or rosetta stone)?

I just bought a new iMac. I'm having trouble with the internal microphone. I went to systems preferences> sound, and checked the input levels. The computer shows recieved sound from internal microphone and a USB connected microphone. However, no one on Skype can hear me, and microphone isn't recognized while using rosetta stone. Does anyone know what could be the problem with my internal mic?

I did get an answer to my problem. It was specifically with skype and Rossetta Stone. I had to re-install the apps and then do the general upgrade. It fixed the problem. Works fine now.

Is the new iMac really faster for video coding?

I recently bought the new Imac 27 inches, 3.2 GHz. I mainly need this speed to edit and to code my bluray movies from African safaries journeys
Until last year use an 2008 iMac. Editing was fine but coding was very long (up to 6 hours for 40' with the best performace parameters und 2 passes)- I use Adobe Première.
With my new Imac editing is more convenient but coding ist not much shorter (up to 5 hours 30' for 40' with the same parameters). I was exepecting a much shorter coding time.What the purpose of nice marketing specs like high speed und turbo boost if they cannot really be applied in specific applications like video coding.
Or am I mistaken?
Regards
Patrice

Hi Patrice,
Within Apple’s slim new 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs are NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, based on our new Kepler-class architecture, which helps make them up to 60 percent faster than last year’s models. This follows news in June that Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display uses Kepler GeForce GPUs.
The new 27-inch iMac offers the GeForce GTX 660M as its base GPU, with even faster GeForce GTX 675MX or GeForce GTX 680MX GPUs available. The 21.5-inch model comes with the GeForce GT 640M GPU, with an available upgrade to the GeForce GT 650M GPU.
http://blogs.nvidia.com/2012/10/big-imac-news-less-heft-more-kepler/
So, any Apps that use the GPU to assist GPU should be much faster.
Though I don't see it listed here, it may be too new, I suspect it may be supported...
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html

New iMac owner - trouble viewing videos

Hi - I am a brand new iMac owner. Running OS 10.8.5 Mountain Lion I believe. What exact plug ins do I need to view videos? Nothing works through safari onn youtube or any other hosted video site that I've tried. Thanks

Well, as a matter of fact there is no need to have Adobe Flash Player installed to watch videos on YouTube.
Of course you can install it, but you can live without it and be able to watch YouTube videos altogether.
Open Safari, go to Safari's preferences, Advanced. Check "Show Develop menu in menu bar"
Now you have a new tag in the menu bar named Develop. From there you can select a new User Agent, for example "Safari iOS 6.1 - iPad". This, let YouTube's server believe that you are running Safari on an iPad and streaming the video on your Mac.

New iMac G5 (w/ iSight) Having Airport (1st Gen) Issues

My school just got our first iMac G5. The computer sees the internet, connected via a 1st Generation Airport Base Station. Everything works fine - signal is strong, all the other computers work fine with it, but this new computer isn't getting any internet.
Network settings does say "You are connected to the internet via Airport" and all the other settings match the other computers exactly.
Any ideas?

Hi,
Check the Airport pull-down menu and choose the network you're trying to connect to. You might have to introduce a password for it. This might work instantly.
Check the network pane of the system preferences app. Choose Airport form the pull-down menu and verify that you have all the information filled. Then click Apply.
Hope this helps,
Gonçalo

Brand New iMac...No Video

OK, I know my Macs (been a user since 1995). I'm completely baffled on this one.
I'm setting up my in-laws' new 24-inch iMac. I was trying to show them about video Podcasts in iTunes. I can not get the video to play at all. Audio plays fine...no video.
I set it in the preferences to play in a separate window. I tried various different video podcasts. Nothing. I feel like an idiot here. I migrated them from an old G4 iMac and everything else has gone great. This is just not working!!! Any suggestions???
Interesting thing is I tried a 30-second preview of a TV show and that played video fine. It's just the video podcasts that are not working. Thanks for any thoughts.

Yes, since Friday works for me, the temporary playback of video podcasts are no longer. Did it with iTunes for Mac and Windows probiert. Presumably, Apple has this possibility of playing for video podcasts, as amended. We must now watch the videos now completely download. This is a step backwards, I think!

New iMac 27 for Film/Video Post Production

Hi - I'm not sure if this is the proper place to ask this, but I'm looking for some advice. I edit with FCP7, migrating to FCPX, also using Adobe After Effects, Motion5 and DaVinci Resolve for color grading. Currently, as a secondary system in a home office, I have a MacPro 3.1(Early 2008) with 2x3GHz QuadCore, 26G RAM and Nvidia 120 and 285 to run DaVinci Resolve. I want to upgrade this system and, if possible shrink the foot print. Will a 27" iMac with i7 and enough RAM provide me with enough speed to edit/grade/composite/animate with 1920x1080 ProRes422HQ(and sometimes 2K) material? I'm more concerned with the ability to grade/composite higher resolution footage.
Thanks for any input/feedback.
Chris

Christopher,
Good idea to get a BluRay Burner. I have one. Some thing else to think about. The new 27" iMac has 2 Thunderboldt ports & 4 USB 3 ports. If the BlueRay burner is Firewire only, there is a firewire to thunderboldt
cable. You might like out and find one with a USB 3 port. Mine was FW 800 so that was not a problem.
Do research for the BluRay Burner, for what it, export outs with.
Good luck.

YouTube Problems on new iMac [Can't Watch Videos]

Hello,
I bought a 27" i5 iMac, the one who has the thunderbolt feature.
The problem is that I can't watch many YouTube videos and I don't know why.
Can anyone help me?
BTW, does Adobe Flash Player comes included on the computer or I have to install it?
P.S.: I bought the iMac but I know nothing about the Macintosh OS so if anyone could give me some tips/tricks and apps/programs to install I would appreciate!
Thank you

Make sure you only download it from the Adobe flash download page.

Bought new iMac 20" Faded Screen

I just picked up the new 20" iMac today, to replace my old Core Duo 20" iMac, and when I got everything booted and got to the Desktop I noticed the icons appeared to be faded. I did a side by side comparison with my old iMac and the icons on my old iMac were very Bright in color compared to my new iMac, anyone else having this issue, btw I tried messing with the brightness..
Message was edited by: johnyq
Message was edited by: johnyq

True. The old G5 17" iMac I had bought my folks 2 years ago was awfully bright out of the box, too. But, that isn't exactly the problem here. What you're probably experiencing is the result of the LCD film type Apple has decided to use on their new 20" iMac. If you look at the specs, it only has a viewing angle of 160 degrees which is even worse than the previous 20" model which had a 170 degree viewing angle.
I live in Boon De'Ville (aka: Myrtle Beach), South Carolina and we don't have an Apple Store, so I can't support my opinion yet. But if Apple is using TN film in their new line of iMac LCDs as oppose to IPS film like their Cinema Displays, then you among many others are in a world of disappointment as I once was/am.
If you're a designer or photographer, you'll notice the following…
Looking at your iMac head on, does your display appear darker at top, and washed out at the bottom? Use a solid color for your desktop image. Does it look like a gradient? If so, then most likely the LCD is a TN film-based matrix.
Because of the cheap parts, TN LCDs are produced alot these days. They are total crap and they are everywhere, like Circuit City, Best Buy, Costco, etc. It would be very hard to find an IPS or PVA LCD monitor, unless you go to a specialized tech store.
People need to be educated about this issue. It's serious. Coming from a much older LG (a beautiful IPS LCD), I never expected LCD displays to head in the wrong direction.
According to the specs, I'm guessing the new 24" iMac does not have this fault, since TN film can not display a 178 degree viewing angle. So, I am guessing the 24" iMac uses the same IPS film as their Cinema Display.
My suggestion would be, go to the Apple Store and see for yourself. Kneel down in front of it as if you were viewing it from your desk chair, so you can get a good idea.
For more info on LCD types, do a Google search. This topic is all over. Also check this link out: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/whichscreen1.htm

New iMac Frame Loose

I'm working on my folks brand new iMac G5 with iSight built in. I was having trouble ejecting a CD and noticed that the white plastic "frame" around the monitor is loose. It doesn't appear to snap back into place.
I contacted tech support via the new chat feature and they said bring it to an Apple store. Well, all Apple stores are closed tomorrow and I planned on bringing their machine to them of Thanksgiving.
Any thoughts? Has anyone cracked the case and knows how to put it back solidly?
-Kirk

This has bad news written all over it, i would wait if i were you and take it to an apple store. If this is broke so soon, i would not stand for it. Im sure apple will be happy to help you out with this..
~Ryan

Running HDMI from a new iMAC - T'Bolt/Mini Display Port

I'm considering the brand new iMAC (27" i7 4Gb video card) for video editing. Can I feed a Sony full HD (1080p) TV via HDMI directly from a thunderbolt port or do I have to use a dual-link DVI cable/adaptor.
The Tech Spec talks of a Mini Display port output and 2 thunderbolt ports but does not show the mini display port in the picture. Is there a seperate mini display port or are they talking about a thunderbolt port being used as a mini display port?

Hi w andersen,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
If your TV is not recognized by your iMac when you connect it, I recommend the troubleshooting tips found in this article:
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1573
Start with these steps:
Confirm display adapters are fully seated in their respective connections and that they are supported models and for the computer and display. Refer to these articles to assist you with adapter compatibility and further configuration information:
Monitor and Display Adapter Table
About Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters
Apple Mini DisplayPort adapters: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Thunderbolt ports and displays: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Reset the system
You can reset the Mac's parameter RAM and SMC.
Best,
Jeremy

New-imac-early-adopters-boot-camp

Just got this from a google alert.
Anyone knows if paralels is also not comparable with the new imacs?
http://bgr.com/2012/12/19/new-imac-early-adopters-boot-camp-259318/

It is because of the 3TB drive. Since BC needs to create a FAT volume for Windows to install to it can't do that on that large a drive, 2TB limit.
There was a post the other day how to get around this and use BC to install Windows. It has to do with Partitioning the drive to a smaller size from a Boot disc/USB thumb.

Moving Old iMac info over to New iMac

I have backup from my old iMac and would like to put that into my New iMac. The WD external hard drive does show up on the new iMac's desk top. Now what?
Thank you for help.

If you made the backup by drag-copying files, drag them to the desired locations on the new iMac's internal drive.
If the backup was made by Time Machine or is a bootable clone, choose Utilities from the Finder's Go menu, double-click the Migration Assistant, and transfer the data from it. Migrating a home folder will create a new user account on the computer; alternatively, you can restore home folder items from a bootable clone as if they were drag-copied to the external drive.
If it's another type of backup, check the documentation for the product which made it.
(122844)

FCP on new iMac or keep present PowerMac?

Perhaps this sounds like a silly question, but then again, perhaps not...
I currently have:
- Dual 2.0 GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5;
- 2GB 400 MHz DDR SDRAM;
- 2 250GB Serial ATA 7200 rpm hard drive;
- AGP 8X Pro graphics slot;
- ATI Radeon 9600 with 128MB DDR SDRAM;
- 3 PCI-X slots (one 64-bit 133 MHz, two 64-bit 100 MHz); and
- 8X SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±R/CD-RW);
- Firewire 800 & 400
- USB 2
I also have an external HD and a DVI 19" monitor
Question: Would the new iMac be faster then my PowerMac?
I use the computer for normal everyday applications, but I also use the following programs often:
- Final Cut Pro HD (4.5)
- DVD STudio Pro 3
My thinking is, I can sell my MAC and have plenty of money to purchase a new iMac. If I sold my monitor with it, I would be even better off.
What do you guys think?
Would the new iMac be faster?
Would the new iMac be better for video editing?
Looking forward to your thoughts...

Hi Singit
Its hard to make a call as i don't know if you are an up and coming post house or a bed room industry..or whether you work on DV.Digibeta or HD..whether you are loaded or scrapping by making a living
Well..in this ever changing world it is tempting to upgrade, switch machines/models (whihc is what the corporation want), but reading your specs I would say that your MAc isd pretty spec happy. I must admit that I don't know what the exact up grading capabilities of the new imac is or how the new intel processors will work..but my advice is don't bother. The G5 will be much better regards upgrading (adding capture cards such as decklink..adding extra ram)..it sounds like you've already spent a decent amount of money on your machine and if it ain't broke don't fix it. The money a new Imac would cost..you could get a HD and SDI Decklink capture card (£260 in the UK), more drives..hire in a digi machine..buy a DV camera or a good DSLR. I run a small but busy post production house in the UK and I WOULD NOT use imacs full stop. I have a G4 Imac at home and the problem with it is that its a self contained unit. If the screen goes I've had it and also its about as upgradable as an Ibook
So thats my thoughts for what its worth
Andrew

Comparing focus of new iMac's internal iSight video

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for