3 green dots on my image from the built in camera is this normal?

Question

Whenever I use skype for video calling, Ichat, or photo both there are 3 green dots on my image. They're just anoying and can be seen by the people I'm video chatting with. Is this normal? I can see that beside the camera there are dots one on each side. Are they BOTH suppose to light up green when the camera is in use? Mine, only the right one lights up when in use. Is this something that I should be worried about? Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi,
If you have one of the very newest Macs and the Manual refers to the Internal Camera as  "Face Time" one then it could be capable of HD in some apps.
I have a USB External camera in use with my G4 Computer
In this pic I tilted it to capture an Overhead light as well as the top of my head.
The Pic was taken about 7.45 in the evening  (I am about 100 miles west of London so it is still quite light outside).
As you can see the Lens cannot cope with the Brightness of the overhead bulb (it is only 50watts) and visual distortions appear as well.
Not only are there the larger flare effects but between the red and blue arrows there are also radiating white lines towards my head.
Your Screen will reflect what is in the room.
How glossy it is will effect the amount you notice.
With a darker background you are likely to notice that you can see your own reflection.
Tilting the screen will move your reflection up or down and possibly at some angles you will not be able to see yourself (you would "drop off" the bottom as you close the lid on a laptop for instance)
If I place a light behind my screen so my face is lit up when it is darker here then it reflects off my glasses and people cannot see my eyes.
I can imagine the case if you wear glasses and have the screen at a certain angle then the green Indicator light is being reflected back to the Camera and is showing up in the pic.
This would certainly "Drop Off" the bottom when you tilt the Screen further.
There may be something that has roundish surface that is behind you that is reflecting the green of the indicator light.
This is a pic of an Effect called Frosted Glass
It is supposed to look like the sort of glass your get in a bathroom.
I post it so you know the type of glass I mean.
My front door, which  is close to my computer,  has this type of glass but also with a wood effect pattern to it.
this has many ridges and grooves.
At times this produces prism type effects on the walls (I have my computer positioned so they don't get on the screen)
I can imagine that a similar effect may happen from a light that has a galss shade or one of those with coloured glass beads making up the shade is scattering green light in this case all round the room and you just happen to see three of them in the video feed picture.
My thought in the earlier post was an effect from the bevelled edge of a mirror that might be scattering light.
Other causes
You mention a light sensor.
My MacBook Pro has one somewhere that controls when the Keyboard backlight needs to light up.
I am not sure where it is on mine.
It may be that it has been repositioned on newer computers to the top of the screen.
It may also be something to do with the camera as it maybe HD, to actually indicate there is not enough light to do a HD pic.
However I can't see any indication of this in the Specs sheet for a MacBook Pro.
8:41 PM      Tuesday; July 12, 2011
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