ISight camera built in - good quality?

Hello, I am about to purchase the 24 inch cinema display for my new Harpertown 3.0 Ghz mac pro 2008. I already bought the Nvidia GT 120 and wanted to know is the isight camera thats built in a much better camera than say, rocketfish which is a 3rd party camera?
Problem is that when I am in ichat AV, i am told by the other end that my video is very choppy and losing frames, while in skype its somewhat better, though still choppy somewhat.
Is this a problem with my webcam or is this a problem with the computer? I haven't done a video chat on the 2008 harpertown, but when I had the Woodcrest 2.66 Quad-core mac pro before it, I was told that in ichat av the video was still choppy and losing frames.
I know I sort of mixed up my questions in here, but I really need to know how good or great is the isight camera and will it give me degraded performance in ichat av like the rocketfish?

If you are usung OS X 10.8.5 withyour MBA, a workaround is at
http://discussions.apple.com/thread/5306216?tstart=0

Similar Messages

  • Isight cam in Macbook pro

    all of the sudden my isight cam (built in) looks like it has a transparent "carpet" type structure in front of it, and image quality is awful and color rendering is yellow (even in daylight). I've been trying to find a setup utility to see if there's a setup related issue, but have not been able to find anything. Anyone familiar with this?

    Hello, Maris.
    Welcome to Apple Discussions.
    No separate "Setup" is required for your Mac's iSight. All installation and setup was accomplished when your Mac OS X software was installed.
    Try Apple's relevant suggestions from How to Troubleshoot iSight.
    Jim

  • Built in iSight camera quality

    I have found that when I turn the built in iSight camera on my MacBook Pro for video through Yahoo, AIM or even Photo Booth, the auto setting results in an image which is too dark. When I put my thumb over the camera and let go, the image looks good until the auto white balance "corrects" the image and I'm back to a dark image.
    Do I have a faulty camera, is it a faulty system, is there any adjustment I can make?
    TIA

    I find the internal iSight cameras, in both the MBPs and iMacs, have difficulty in many situations where lighting isn't perfect. So try increasing the available lighting, especially to your facial region. Additionally, try getting closer to your camera if you can. Sounds odd but I think part of the lighting calcluation is lighting from your display.

  • Mid 2009 13" MBP iSight camera bad picture quality in photo booth

    My daughter's stock mid 2009 13" MBP 2.26 ghz intel core two duo has a problem with the isight camera. The isight camera is built in to the screen. The isight camera works some of the time flawlessly and other times it comes out real grainy and with small colored pixels all over the screen like colored static (about 20% to 30% of the photo booth screen is affected but the rest of the screen outside of the photo booth app is unaffected). She only uses it in photo booth but we've tried the iChat app and the same thing happens there too, once she couldn't get the MBP to connect to the isight camera (it just showed a black photo booth screen), so she closed the lid of her MBP and reopened it and it worked. All of the software and firmware is up to date and we've tried resetting the PRAM and the SMC, it didn't do anything to fix the problem. It seems like there's a wire loose in the computer from the screen to the computer base, only because I can move the screen back and forth and the picture quality changes, the amount of static on the picture will move, go away or get worse. I had the screen changed in early 2010 (January or February) (the MBP was about 5 or 6 months old then) at the apple store under warranty due to dirt under the screen's glass (manufacturing defect). The photo booth picture static problem comes and goes, but here lately it comes more than it goes. The screen in general is in good shape and doesn't have any detectable problems with it, it has a good picture and no dead pixels, the problem seems to be only isolated to the isight camera. Can some one help with this problem? How long of a warranty is given on the warranty repairs (like the screen change they did in early 2010)? If apple does a repair on it and finds a wire that has rubbed the insulation off of it on a hinge causing a short and the isight problem, as a result of a sloppy repair from the first warranty repair, will they cover it under warranty again even if it's been over a year since they changed the screen? Also how honest will apple be if they do find out it is a problem caused from the first screen replacement, will they own up to their mistake? If I don't agree with apple's repair decision, can I get a second opinion from an outside source, third party, and if it's diagnosis different than apple's and can be proven, can I still get apple to do and pay for the repairs and labor if it turns out to be their fault from the first warranty screen replacement?
    The reason why I'm asking is, I took my wife's white macbook in about a year ago for the famous cracked top cover replacement (under warranty) and when I got the computer back, the isight camera didn't work, so I gave it back, they took it apart a look at it and said there was nothing wrong with it and gave it back, then the screen wouldn't come on so after 4 hours at the Apple store they decided to send it to Austin, TX. for repairs (I'm in Ft. Worth TX.). Apple in Austin said it needed a new main board. They said the old one had water damage to it. We never had water anywhere near the computer, not even in the same room. It was working fine when we took it in, we took it in just to get the plastic top case, that cracks all of the time, replaced under warranty. And then they wanted us to pay for an $800 main board because some how while they were doing the top cover replacement it got water damaged. I argued with them and they finally gave me a one-time offer of them paying for half of the repair and labor or if I disagreed or left the store I would have to pay the whole amount if I chose to have the repairs done. So I ended up having to pay $467 for a year old macbook main board that was water damaged in their possession during their repairs. I like Apple and their products but I am worried about giving my daughter's MBP over to them for repairs because of this incident, it's an honesty issue with how honest they will be with what they find because they won't give back the old parts for analysis by a third party to verify their diagnosis.
    Thanks for any info and advice anyone can give.

    Hi,
    As a personal note I find long posts like this hard to read if they are not broken up in to paragraphs.
    As I say it is  a personal thing.
    I can give you some information about the camera and laptops over the past few years.
    Basically in early Laptops of the MacBook Pro and MacBook range the cable did tend to fray at the point where it passed through the hinge.  It did take a well used laptop that had the lid open and closed frequently to cause this.  (your 2009 model might just be in that group - I have no firm dates or models I am afraid)
    Later models have this rerouted so that this does not happen.
    However the cable has then tended to get pulled from the camera end and become loose.
    This On Line Self fix site has pages about some models  (The one I have linked to may not be yours)
    I have linked in to later pictures in the sequence but there are navigation points to work back to the start.
    Note:- they use pretty specifc specialest tools as well in these pics.
    Doing this would certail Void any Warranty you have left.
    From Posts mainly in the iChat and the iSight areas I have gathered that it seems common for Apple to replace the Screen as a whole rather than fiddle with getting solely at the camera.
    Apple has this article on Trouble Shooting an iSight
    Basically it says try several apps then try logging in on another Mac User account to see if it is App based or User based or in fact System wide.
    If System wide then resetting the SMC/PMU is the only suggested fix.  (Which I did read you had done)
    In addition to that I would add that testing should be done in different lighting conditions.
    Lighting in the evening or dark that is good enough to read buy is not always good enough for the camera or is not illuminating the right areas.
    Some people have reported that Starting the computer in Safe Mode (then Rebooting afterwards) seems to help.  (it clears out some caches and starts up with reduced extensions)
    As to actual Repairs and any Warranty that may still be in place I cannot say.
    I can say that when people post about problems with repairs a certain stores someone else will tend to post that their experience was different.
    You seem to report two different experiences with the two computers yourself.
    10:24 PM      Thursday; July 14, 2011
    Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb( 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.7),
    "Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

  • In Mac OS X Lion, why are iSight Camera's lower quality than they where in Snow Leopard?

    Ever since I have gotten Mac OS X Lion on my MacBook Pro, MacBook, and same occurance with a friends MacBook Pro (all running iSight Cameras not the new FaceTime Cameras that are built into Mac's now) The quality of the iSight camera has decressed significantly in Photobooth, FaceTime, iChat video calls, and etc. What is the reason behind this?

    I'm having the same issue. I switched from Snow Leopard to Lion last week and noticed a decrease in quality of photos that the iSight takes. It is really noticable! Why would they bog down the resolution on the webcam? It makes no sense to me. I wanted to be sure it wasn't just my imagination and went to Photo Booth, took a new photo and compared it directly to one taken on Snow Leopard, and the new one looked horrible! I hope they will fix this soon!

  • MacBook Pro using WinXp and Built in iSight camera?

    Can't seem to find a thread on this question? Is it possible to use the built in iSight camera on a MacBook Pro while running Win Xp Home SP 2?
    Thanks
    Dennis Moore

    Hi Dennis Moore2,
    Does not look like it's working yet. Looks like a driver problem:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2502129&#2502129
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2160883&#2160883
    Good Luck,
    John

  • Built in iSight Camera dark

    My built in iSight camera stays dark even though every light in the room is on.Is there anything I can do to fix this?

    Hi, you can d/load iGlasses
    it just needs iGlasses. Apply easy preset settings and fun effects to your ... iGlasses also activates video conferencing on G3 computers which fall below ...
    www.ecamm.com/mac/iglasses/
    The iSight is not a high quality digital camera, it is mainly for iChat etc..L

  • Adding a good quality microphone & web cam

    Hi all, Happy Holidays
    I want to add a good quality microphone and an isight cam to my Macmini (early 2006 model)
    Any recommendations and which port do I use? Thanks Web dude

    Hello Web dude
    For my normal voice work, including speech recognition and iMovie voiceover work, I use Logitech USB Desktop Microphone. It works fine for me.
    About cameras: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5725045&#5725045
    Your system info shows Mac OS X (10.4.8). If you update to 10.4.9 or later, you can use the UVC cams mentioned without additional driver software. Depending on which processor is in your mini, I suggest you apply the current version for your Mac:
    Mac OS X 10.4.11 Combo Update (PPC) or
    Mac OS X 10.4.11 Combo Update (Intel))
    mini users sometimes use Firewire hubs or other extenders. If you do, and if you are still considering buying an external iSight, be aware of Possible hardware or software conflicts with (external) iSight.
    Have fun shopping,
    EZ Jim
    PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.1)  External iSight

  • Is there any way to change the settings for the built in isight camera?

    I'm sure someone else has probably already asked this, but is there any way to change the settings for the built in isight camera? The resolution is horrible.

    Welcome to  Discussions, Prissymissysays
    The last Apple-published resolution data I saw said that iSight's resolution is 640x480 VGA. I do not know of any way to change iSight's resolution, but that level is plenty of quality for my webcam needs.
    The software you use to operate your iSight controls it, so specific answers will depend on what software you are using when you need more resolution. Check Help in that application to see if it can change iSight's resolution.
    Some software, such as Apple's QuickTime 7 Pro allow you to change iSight's video quality and compression level with its QuickTime Player > Preferences > Recording > Quality: setting. You can add iGlasses software to manually override some iSight settings that are otherwise controlled automatically by the software using iSight. However, I do not think either of these options really changes iSight's resolution.
    Check whether your iSight's lens cover has fingerprints or smudges on it. Then check iSight's image quality of your face in full sunlight about two feet from the lens. Best image quality requires more light than what most people would consider normal room lighting.
    If you are still having problems, consider the applicable suggestions from How to Troubleshoot iSight.
    If you need better resolution than iSight can deliver for some special imaging requirement such as close-up or high-accuracy images, you may need to consider using a different camera that better meets your special needs.
    EZ Jim
    PowerBook 1.67 GHz   Mac OS X (10.4.10)    G5 DP 1.8  External iSight

  • IMovie '08: Built-in iSight camera not recognized in Yosemite

    On this page
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/TS2472
    iMovie '08: Built-in iSight camera not recognized
    it says:
    In Finder, navigate to /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/
    Select the file com.apple.mio.VDCAssistant.plist and delete.
    Restart your system.
    You should now be able to use your iSight camera with iMovie.
    However, in Yosemite, it only has this file name
    com.apple.cmio.VDCAssistant.plist
    and I don't want to delete it as instructed without someone who knows telling me it won't hurt my newly installed and thus far working well OS 10.10.1, with iMovie 7.1.4 on my iMac 24 inch, Early 2008, 2.8 GHz Intel Dore 2 Duo, 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2  SDRAM.  It worked with Leopard, and I don't recall having to use the above mentioned support page.

    Contact Apple. I believe you have a hardware issue there if it's not showing up in your System profiler.
    Dave M.
    MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
    Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

  • HT3964 my built-in isight camera will still not work on my macbook pro after completing smc reset.  The green light comes on but no video.

    my built-in isight camera will still not work on my macbook pro after completing smc reset.  The green light comes on but no video. 
    Any Suggestions?

    Restart the computer.

  • IMovie 6.0.3 does not recognize built in iSight Camera on new iMac

    New iMac, Intel, OS 10.5.4, QT 7.5.
    Built in Camera works with Photo Booth, the new iMovie 7.1.3 and iChat.
    iMovie HD 6.0.3 or 6.0.4 does not recognize the camera. Opening a new project results in a No Camera Connected error. I have tried selecting various options in the video format drop down when creating a new project. I have repaired permissions, tried it under various users, removed the imovie plist, reinstalled imovie (both 6.0.3 and 6.0.4) without success. All 10 of the new computers are exhibiting this problem.
    Any help would be appreciated.

    That is not an option that I can select on the imac's. On my iBook under 10.5.4 with iMovie HD 6.0.3 or 6.0.4 I can click on the triangle next to the camera icon and select the built in iSight camera. On the new iMacs that does not work. The built in iSight is not listed as an option.

  • After upgrading to Lion, my Macbook Air's built in iSight camera has disappeared.  I'm not sure how to get it recognized again.

    After upgrading to Lion, my Macbook Air's built in iSight camera has disappeared.  I'm not sure how to get it recognized again.  Help -Sami

    Well, if you did then you may be able to track it, if you did not it's not possible.

  • How can I use the built-in Isight camera with an external camera (usb/firewire) at the same time?

    How can I use the built-in Isight camera and an external video camera at the same time?
    I'm wanting to stream over Oovoo/Skype/etc. using 2 cameras.
    Thanks

    Simple question with a not so simple answer.
    (a) If you mean that you want to run multiple apps simultaneously using a different camera with each app, you may encounter computing power limitations.  Digital video is processor intensive.  The only way to know if your Mac can do this it to try it.  If the video does not work together but each app works when it it the only app running, you are likely overloading your Mac's ability to process and/or move all the required data in your data bus.  You can get a better indication of whether this is the case by watching your Activity Monitor utility while running the apps you want to use.
    (b) If you mean that you want to have more than one compatible camera connected to your Mac simultaneously for ease of changing between video sources, some, but not necessarily all, apps you are using to operate your camera(s) allow you to select between your cameras.
    How you select among connected cameras depends on which application you are using. Here is how camera selection works in a few examples:
    (1) For iChat, you can choose which iSight you use in the "Camera:" choices bar in iChat > Preferences... > Audio/Video that appears when more than one compatible camera is connected. Although your camera choices will be different, the choices bar will look something similar to the Preferences settings shown here:
    If you cannot see the "Camera" choices bar, your Mac is recognizing only one (or none) of your cameras. In that case, consider the suggestions fromhttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090 for iSight problems or refer to your other camera's documentation for help.
    This particular choices bar solution applies ONLY to iChat. Most other applications also have settings that allow you to choose which camera to use. However, they do not all work the same way.
    (2) For instance, iMovie HD's camera choice is NOT set via Preferences. When you have more than one compatible camera connected, iMovie6 HD uses a drop-down menu choice something like this (depending on which version of iMovie you use):
    Note: Because I had no built-in iSight connected when I made this example, and because my external iSight was not connected, the drop-down menu showed only "Time Lapse." Because your Mac has a built-in iSight, your built-in iSight would show in the drop-down menu even when no other camera is connected. Connecting an additional Mac compatible webcam should allow you to choose either camera.
    Other iMovie versions work slightly differently.
    iMovie 9 (from iLife '11) uses a different camera choice button shown in this article:
      http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mov39f84285.html
    iMovie 8 (from iLife '09) is slightly different as explained in this article:
      http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/8.0/en/10172.html
    In general, you can use your Mac's help for the application in use to find out how to select among more than one connected camera.
    (3) Photo Booth in Snow Leopard 10.6.x and later uses the Photo Booth > Camera menu command to select which camera to use.
    Note for readers with older Mac OS X: The previous version of Photo Booth that came with Tiger (10.4.x) is such a simple, basic app that it offers no menu selectable choice. Unless your built-in iSight is already occupied as the camera being used by some open application before you launch Photo Booth, Photo Booth will use ONLY your built-in iSight.
    However, you can use the trick from ¶ 4 of http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302781 to let Photo Booth use an external camera.
    (If you have an external Firewire camera connected, it may be used in preference to any USB webcam. If that is a problem for you, merely disconnect the problem Firewire device.)
    (4) For FaceTime, launch the app and click the Video menu item.
    If your Mac recognizes more than one connected compatible camera, a "Camera" section listing the cameras from which you can choose will appear there. Clicking on the desired camera name will let you select the one you want as shown in this image from my Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display:
    If your Mac recognizes only one compatible camera, the "Camera" section will not appear in the Video menu, but FaceTime will automatically use the connected camera that is recognized by OS X.
    (5) I do not use Skype oir Oovoo.  For those or other apps, see Help for each app for info on how to select your desired camera.
    Message was edited by: EZ Jim

  • Built in iSight camera no longer showing up or recognized by iMac

    Hello there - I have a white 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with a built in iSight camera, and the camera is no longer showing up, or is not recognized by the computer any longer. Very strange! The little green LED by the camera is not lit any longer, and the camera is not recognized any longer by Photo Booth, iChat AV, or any of the other apps that would use the camera. This is a real pain, because I am leaving for France in a couple days and am taking my MacBook Pro with me, and am hoping that I can use iChat AV to talk to my kids at home on the iMac. I do have an extra iSight camera that I have hooked up to the iMac and can use in a pinch, but I really want to use the built in camera on the iMac. Any hints / ideas / suggestions on what to do for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

    No, unfortunately that did not help. I did the following...
    1. See if the issue is application-specific. - Nope. Camera is not recognized in any of the apps that it should be recognized in, I tested iChat AV, PhotoBooth, ImageCapture, and iMovie.
    2. See if the issue is user-specific. - There's only one user account on this Mac, so I couldn't do that.
    3. Find out if the computer recognizes the iSight. I went into System Profiler and checked the USB profiler, and the camera does not show up.
    4. Reset SMC or PMU. These just looked like different ways of restarting, which I did multiple times.
    I have also run my Software Updates (on OS 10.5, which I did with a clean install from an OS 10.5 DVD by the way) and still no camera. This problem started happening with the original OS 10.4 (which it came with) and I was hoping a clean install of the OS would help, but no.
    I'm wondering if resetting the PRAM might help, but I can't remember those keys you hold down while restarting (was it Apple-Option-P-R ?) or if that is just reaching waaaaay back to the pre OSX days.
    Here's the kicker though - if I plug in a FireWire iSight camera, all is well. I'm really hoping that the camera isn't jsut dead, but it's starting to look that way. Would Disk First Aid or maybe DiskWarrior help?

Maybe you are looking for