Firewire webcam recommendations?

Question

Using a USB webcam on a G3 iBook with a slow USB 1.1 provides no good quality.
But firewire webcams on a Clamshell seem do be a little bit tricky.
I own a unibrain fire-i, a pyro webcam and a AME CF-2000 which show up on my G4 in iMovie, but refuse to work on the Clamshell iBook (both running OSX 10.4.11)
The alternative is to buy the ioexperts webcam driver for 19,95$
http://www.ioxperts.com/products/webcamx.html
But i have to buy a separate license for each camera because it is linked to the firewire ID.
First question: which Firewire webcam works on a Clamshell without expensive third-party drivers ? I havn't tried the iSight camera yet.
Second question: Do you know a freeware application that can be used with a firewire webcam for recording ?
Third question: A 466Mhz Clamshell seems to be underpowered if you want to use iChat. Perhaps an additional webcam driver for 9,95$ is required
http://www.ecamm.com/mac/iusbcam/
Please share your experience.

Answer 1

Complex questions, bund!
First question:
If you have a Firewire DV camcorder, it should work without any additional drivers (as long as your Mac meets the minimum system requirements for the software application that you want to use with your video camera.)
System requirements can be different between apps, so you must examine each app individually.
For instance, regardless of your driver, your iMovie must be at _least version 4_ (or later): http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3095 in order to use the Firewire camera as a video source for recording directly to your Mac.
Minimum system requirements of the app apply, too. 
For instance, iMovie 4 has its own that your minimum system requirements http://support.apple.com/kb/TA27598 which your system must meet in order to allow this to work properly. Therefore, even if you have a fast enough processor, you cannot use a Firewire DV camcorder as your video recording source for iMovie unless you have a late enough version of the iMovie app. Conversely, even if you have a useable iMovie version, you cannot record video if your Mac does not meet all minimum requirements of http://support.apple.com/kb/TA27598
iChat has different requirements: According to http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1772 , an iNdigo clamshell iBook has only a 366 MHz G3 processor. If that is true, although a Firewire camera may work with the iBook and some apps, this 366 MHz G3 processor does NOT meet the minimum system requirements (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1771) minimum (600 MHZ G3) for OS X 10.4.11's iChat video chat *regardless of which driver you might use*.
Failure to meet these minimum system requirements may be what is causing your problem. You need to check the system requirements for every app you want to use. They are not all the same.
Second question:
I use QuickTime Pro and iMovie, neither of which is free.
This search shows many video capture apps, some free. I have tested a couple of the freeware/shareware apps with varying results, but I prefer the Apple apps that I use.
Of course, which you use will depend on your needs and the system requirements of the individual apps.
Third question:
ecamm's "iUSBCam" http://www.ecamm.com/mac/iusbcam/ can let cameras work with processors below Apple's minimum system requirement thresholds for iChat. However, as stated in the iUSBCam faq page:
... it will be slow. Try the demo to see if performance is acceptable before purchasing.
iUSBCam has no effect on apps other than iChat, so it will not help you with video recording or other functions.
EZ 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