ISight Cam - - Problem and question (and an OS X Question)

I just recieved my Certified Reconditioned iMac G5 (17" 1.9 GHz). I am having one problem with my iSight camera that I noticed only on the third day of using it.
When I open an app like Photobooth, the picture from the camera is nice and colorful and bright, but if you watch it, it will grow darker and slightly blue-tinted. Is this an issue, from power or hardware???
Also, I would like to know if I could record videos without having to buy Quicktime Pro.
also, my mac came with OS 10.4.2, how do I upgrade it to 10.4.6?

The changing of the picture from the camera is most likely just the camera auto-adjusting to try and get the best possible image from the current light conditions. Most digital camera types have automatic modes that try to do things like that, and often they don't seem to be doing a very good job of it. Software intelligence isn't always the smartest thing in the world ...
As for upgrading 10.0.4.6, just run software update. You'll find it among the system preferences. (And you can always use Spotlight to search for it. Spotlight's smarter than the iSight fortunately

Similar Messages

ISight camera lag on photobooth and video chat

Ever since I updated my computer with the new safari and just a general software update 2 days ago, my camera has been lagging with video chat, and photobooth.
I just got this computer in January and it has never had any problems with the webcam, or excessive lagging. Like if I move on photobooth it'll show the action 2 seconds later.
Any way I can fix this without going to the apple store?

Here are my best suggestions for your camera problem:
• If Apple's http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090
   suggestions do not help you, (the "reset" suggested there
   often restores normal function,) continue with the following.
• Use Disk Utility to repair permissions and then
   download and apply the 10.7.2 Combo Update:
     http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1459
• Repair permissions again immediately following the system restart
   that completes the Combo update.
The Combo version of updates can sometimes correct
strange problems like yours.

Isight camera problems

I recently opened up Skype and my iSight camera displayed my picture with a strange IR or thermal type of image of me. I have gone through some basic trouble shooting steps such as opening other programs to see if the behavior exist, and also checking the system profiler. The system profiler shows that the iSight camera is recognized and the image behavior does exists in other programs. I have no idea why this has happened since my iSight camera was working perfectly the other day. Since there could be several different issues causing my iSight camera to malfunction, I am a little hesitant in trying to replace the iSight cable since I am not sure if I have exhausted all trouble shooting ideas. My specific model is the A1260 early 2008. Thank you for any help that you guys can provide.

Welcome to Discussions, Cooper707
(1) If you are using the latest version of Skype, and if restarting your Mac does not correct the problem, you should first try to eliminate possible add-on software interference as Ralph suggested.
If you have never installed or used iGlasses, perhaps you have tried either
http://b-l-a-c-k-o-p.com/skype-video-effects-mac.html
- or -
http://allocinit.com/index.php?title=CamTwist
Both of them claim to be able to add effects to Skype. Perhaps one is causing your problem.
(2) If you can eliminate third party software add-ons, consider any of the following you have not tried:
http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/EZJim/EZJimpage4.html
(3) Be sure to test more than one user account. I also suggest that you try to get the Apple apps that use iSight working first. By troubleshooting with the Apple apps, you eliminate third-party unknowns as a possible cause.
(4) Perhaps you can find Skype Help that will give you other ideas:
https://support.skype.com/
EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz w/Mac OS X (10.6.2) MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.2)
LED Cinema Display G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11) iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9) External iSight

Inbuilt isight camera problem

Hi,
Bought myself a new iMac 2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo on Thursday. Tonight I sat down and thought I'd see what this iSight thing is all about. Then I realised that the green indicator light is on permanently and i think it should only be on when the inbuilt iSight camera is being used. Just tried to take a snapshot for iChat but was unable to do so. I looked under iChat preferences and it says "There is no camera attached to this compter". Similarly iMovie HD says "no camera attached". I went to System Profiler and under USB I can see no listing for iSight.
Would be grateful for any suggested solutions.
iMac 2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)
iMac 450 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Hi, well after rebooting, unplugging resetting the smc or whatever it is called i made no progress so i reinstalled the Mac OS software. At least the built-in iSight camera is now recognised in system profiler, and the green light isn't on permanently. I have managed to get the camera working for no more than four minutes at a stetch. Then it freezes and on restarting delivers green or black images. I am unplugging and rebooting each time this happens. Currently it is not working at all.
Judging from what I can see all over these support forums the built-in iSight camera is next to useless and a source or irritation to most iMac owners. It also sounds like Apple haven't responded well to user requests for help. Well, in the morning I will phone the Apple Support people and see if they have any solutions. Otherwise it looks like I will have to get an external camera. I am assuming an external camera can be used with my iMac. Any suggestions for cameras would be greatly appreciated. I'm certainly not going to put up with this in-built camera hassle beyond this weekend.

External iSight camera problem solved!

Hi all,
Hope this will help some of you.
My iSight camera works fine with G5 PPC but on my new Intel Mac Pro - nothing, not seen in System Profiler or Skype - I don't use iChat . I tried everything suggested here to no avail, until while looking on Amazon for something else I found a company selling 9 Pin to 6 Pin FW leads, who stated that often FW800/400 adaptors with FW400 leads do no work. They quote "Ours are guaranteed to work". I bought one plugged it in and success iSight now seen in both System Profiler and Skype.
It is supplied by Neet and its description is "Firewire 800 to 400 cable -(2M)- 9 Pin to 6 Pin - IEEE1394b(for Mac & PC) 2M FLX Pro lead. Cost £7.95 + £2.75 special P&P.
Many thanks to all on these forums for so much help
John Caswell

John Caswell wrote:
Hi all,
Hope this will help some of you.
My iSight camera works fine with G5 PPC but on my new Intel Mac Pro - nothing, not seen in System Profiler or Skype - I don't use iChat . I tried everything suggested here to no avail, until while looking on Amazon for something else I found a company selling 9 Pin to 6 Pin FW leads, who stated that often FW800/400 adaptors with FW400 leads do no work. They quote "Ours are guaranteed to work". I bought one plugged it in and success iSight now seen in both System Profiler and Skype.
It is supplied by Neet and its description is "Firewire 800 to 400 cable -(2M)- 9 Pin to 6 Pin - IEEE1394b(for Mac & PC) 2M FLX Pro lead. Cost £7.95 + £2.75 special P&P.
Many thanks to all on these forums for so much help
John Caswell
You're welcome, John.
Cheers for your solution for using your old external (Firewire) iSight with a new Mac.
I have gathered my personal experience and the successes of others who post here. To your recent success story, I add the options I know for ways to connect your FW400 external iSight to a FW800 Mac port:
• This Firewire 400-800 cable can work: http://store.apple.com/us/product/TP320LL/A
(I use this one.)
• Some report that this low-priced alternative cable works:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189097"
• To use your FW400 6pin-6pin cable, you can use a 6pin-9pin adapter like one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/ydsbb6m (I use this one.)
http://tinyurl.com/cgll7o
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw_adapter.html
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.5); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.5)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1

ISight camera problem

My partners iSight camera on her iMac (2009) isn't working when apps like Skype and Photo Booth are launched. What could be possible causes and where within your system do you check or alter the settings for your camera?
Thanks

Hi, initially I would go the reset SMC route (pertinent to the specific model)
Then -> go into About this Mac -> More Info -> Then look under Hardware -> USB -> that should show you if the iSight is recognized! if not ~ Call AppleHelp (AppleCare?) or visit your local Apple Approved Service Agent...Hope this helps...L

N82 camera problem: black image and flashing blitz...

Hello, today my n82 phone crashed with this issue, i reinstalled the firmwire reseted it and the problem wasn't solved, u know if i can resolve the problem myself or i really must go to guaranty?

If you have dropped your N82 this issue is most likely hardware related necessitating a visit to a Nokia Care facility unfortunately.
Happy to have helped forum in a small way with a Support Ratio = 37.0

Built in isight camera problem

I use isight with skype and until today with no problems. The image is out of focus and I assume that the problem arose since the latest software update. I tried ichat with the same result. I would appreciate any suggestions to resolve the problem.

You're welcome, dp0941
Note: In all cases below, I am discussing your iSight's focus of your image. If your problem is that the image from your video contacts is soft, you have a different problem.
If you have tried all the suggestions offered above, I can think of two remaining possibilities.
(1) First possibility: Your iSight's focus of your image looks good to you in Skype's and iChat's video previews before you connect with anyone, but it looks soft when you connect with a contact.
If this is the case, you both should Check your Broadband Speed. At least one of you may need more available bandwidth.
Also, if you are running more than one application when using video, you should quit all applications and launch ONLY your video chat application. Then start video and see if your results are better.
After you have found and corrected your problem, you can try launching another app after you have established your video connection to see if video degrades. If necessary, you can adjust your chat technique based on what you find.
(2) Another possibility: Your iSight video is soft even in video preview windows.
You can test to try to determine whether your Mac may have a problem.
First, make sure you have plenty of light. Best quality video requires more light than normal room lighting.
When you are ready to test, quit all applications. iSight can only be operated by software applications, but high-quality video is processor intensive. Therefore, to remove as many variables as possible, you should launch only the application you are using for the test.
Make a high-contrast focus target as suggested in the focus test section of How to test your iSight to ensure it is functional.
The actual testing method described in this link is for External iSights. External iSight has an auto-focus mechanism, while built-in iSight is a fixed-focus camera. Therefore, you will need to test differently. Here are the steps I suggest:(a) Mount or position the test target so that it holds very still in the field of view of your iSight at a distance of about one foot.
Carefully inspect the image in your video preview window and note how soft the focus appears.
(I would make video snapshots of the images at each test distance for comparison purposes, but you may be able to find your answers without the snapshots.)
(b) Move the test target out to about one-and-a-half feet from your iSight and repeat the careful image inspection.
(c) Repeat the process at two, two-and-a-half, and three feet.
(d) Repeat all the above with both iChat and Skype to see whether the problem is application dependent.
(e) If you have not already tested to determine whether the problem is user dependent, repeat the tests in a different user account.You should be able to find the optimum focus distance for your iSight with this test. To send the best picture to your video contacts, position yourself at approximately the optimum distance while you video chatting.
If all test results are similar and/or all are too soft, your Mac likely has a problem. In that case, unless you get better suggestions here, I think you should contact your Apple-Authorized Service Provider for a professional check.
Jim
Mac OS X (10.4.9) G5 DP 1.8 External iSight

ISight Camera / Firewire Problems

Hello Everyone,
Over the past couple months I have been having trouble with my isight camera to shoot clear and smooth video in either photobooth or imovie. Many times the video I record comes back extremely choppy, or no sound is recorded (sometimes both). Ive tried to instead import videos via firewire with my camcorder, but the exact same thing happens. Is this a software problem or a hardware problem? (please note I have approx 99gbs of hard disk free and 300mb of ram free while recording).

Create a new user an try recording there. If the problem persists then we can eliminate something in your user causing problems. If the problem is solved then something in your user is causing issues. Let me know how that test goes.

ISight Camera not functioning correctly

I tried to use my iSight camera on iChat recently using an AIM account.
I try to have a video conference and I get the following message.
"There was a communication error during your chat."
My friend accepts but gets a message saying "invite or request timed out"
I use a router, I'm not sure what kind since my landlord has it.
I can use the iSight camera with Photo Booth and some chartrooms online work, java and flash chat rooms. For other chat rooms it doesn't work. Doesn't work on AIM chat for example.
I changed the firewall, security settings and all that on the iChat preferences, sharing and security, based on what other forums suggested.
I need some help, please.

Hello swisswiz
Because your iSight works with some apps, your problem is likely not with iSight. To eliminate iSight as a possible contributer to your problem, you can try the suggestions in Apple's How to Troubleshoot iSight. If iMovie, Photo Booth and iChat > Video > Video Preview work for you, the problem is not iSight related.
For iChat video, first thing you should do is to check your Mac's System Preference... > QuickTime > Streaming setting to be sure your "Streaming Speed" is set to the approximate speed that your ISP provides. Do NOT leave it set to Automatic. Ask you landlord about your service if you do not know.
ONLY if your landlord uses Comcast Internet Service or has a T1 or faster internet service, you should also set your iChat > Preferences.... > Audio/Video > Bandwidth Limit to 500 kbps. Test iChat again. If the problem remains, try 200 kbps and even 100 kbps.
If you still have the problem, both you and your contact should try video chat with more than one other person to try to determine which end of the connection is the problem system. If your chat contact can video with everyone but you, but you cannot video with anyone, the problem is at your end.
If you can text chat but not audio or video, perhaps your landlord-supplied internet service does not meet Mac OS X 10.5: iChat System Requirementsminimum bandwidth (speed) requirements. You can test this by using http://www.speedtest.net/ when no other applications are running. Both you and your chat friend must have broadband in order for video to work.
If you can rule out possible bandwidth issues, ask your landlord to reboot his modem and router. Then test again. Whenever I have problem with video, the first thing I try is to reboot my modem, router, and Mac. That usually restores video capability.
If you still have problems, your landlord may be blocking at least some of the ports iChat needs. If so, ask him if he will change that. An easy way to test whether your landlord's system is the problem is for you to try video from a different location. If you cannot try from a friend's broadband internet outside your landlord's network, try from a computer store, library, internet cafe, etc. that offers broadband connections.
If none of these help you, when you post back, tell us what OS and chat app is used by your problem video contact.
Also confirm that you have tried the above suggestions and post back any salient details you learned when you tested including, uplink and downlink speeds, which tested contacts worked and which did not, and whether the problem was EXACTLY the same when you tried video using a different ISP than your home location.
Someone will likely be able to offer specific suggestions based on the details in your response.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight

Is it possible to get an iSight camera to work with Yahoo Messenger?

Totally new to PC here. Been a Macuser all my computer life, but needed a second computer for work. Not thrilled, but there it is.
So, I'm wondering if the isight camera is PC compatible, and if so, how and what drivers do I install? Or do I just go out and by a PC camera?
ML
gateway gt5436e Other OS running windows vista

Hello maurice493windows ML
Until Tony gets back with you, here is some info you can consider.
iSight does not need an installer CD because it was sold by Apple for use with Macs. All software for iSight is built into Mac OS X, so no separate installer CD was provided.
Apple's Boot Camp software that comes with the iNtel Macs has drivers for XP, but I am uncertain whether you have one of the iNtel Macs. If you do have access to an iNtel Mac and the software that came with it, you can extract the driver using the info Tony provided in this response to "Lennysapple" here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4207189&#4207189
This apparently will work with a PC running Windows XP, but I have not yet seen reports of it working properly with Windows Vista. You may, as Tony suggests, need to experiment to find out.
<hr width="75%">
I do not recommend iSight on a PC. If you have too much difficulty, a USB webcam that is compatible with YM for your PC may be a quicker and easier choice. Many of the PC compatible USB webcams are cheap, and they were designed to work with PCs.
This Google Search returned links, such as this one, which contains the following statement that may indicate more problems for you:
... Apple specific hardware will not work, such as the iSight, Bluetooth, etc. due to the fact that they're written for 32-bit Windows XP SP2.
I do not know whether that is still true, but it does support my suggestion that it may be easier to buy a PC compatible USB webcam.
Jim
Mac OS X (10.4.9) G5 DP 1.8 External iSight

Will isight cam work on Skype?

Hi all..
I am totally out of my depth here as i normally only use my Mac for music. My question is will an isight cam work with Skype, and what else do i need to set up a chat.
I have a ibook G4 with a 400 firewire port, 1 Ghz of memory, and would dearly love to chat to my niece.
Sorry for asking total beginner questions but we all start somewhere. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Yes. But, apparently, from reviewing the other comments posted, you do not want to upgrade to 10.5 for now. In Skype, open preferences and select iSight for audio and video. Sometimes there is reverb if the volume is too high using iSight audio - it is best to use headphones with microphone rather than iSight for the microphone (it works, but, best to have some distance from the computer speakers).

IChat 5.0.1 will not recognise my ISight camera

Can anyone help? For some reason IChat will not recognise my ISight camera. Photo Booth and IMovie recognise the camera fine and it appears in the System Profiler under USB. Any suggestions

Hi,
I see I asked a silly question that you had already posted info about.
Sorry about that.
If a PRAM rest has not done it and it works elsewhere (other apps) does it work in other Mac User Accounts ?
If iChat works in another Mac User Account then deleting a .plist or two for iChat should sort it.
If it does not work and you have not got the Disk handy the next option would be to Run the COMBO Installer of the Last Update to the OS that you did.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/ (List)
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/macosxv1062updatecomb o.html (Specific)
Keep this download as you will need it if you have to do the Reinstall.
8:11 PM Thursday; March 25, 2010
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

Web cam does not override iSight camera. Any suggestions how to do so?

I bought a Logitech webcam but cannot get it to work. The iSight camera comes on instead and overrides the web cam. Any way to fix this?

If your Logitech webcam is Mac-compatible, it should be menu-selectable in the app you are using. Different camera apps work differently. Your Mac's Help in each application should give you more info on how each particular app works, but here are a few examples:
• Messages:
• Photo Booth:
• FaceTime:
• Skype:
• QuickTimeX:
If your camera recognizes only one camera, apps may not display even the inbuilt camera in the menu.
Different iMovie versions support different cameras in different ways. Search your iMovie > Help for info on your version.

Make iSight camera take a snapshot of the user when keywords are typed

I work in an APR and we have a lot of trouble with people trying to look at adult content on our customer machines. Obviously we have blocked these types of sites, but we cannot keep tabs on all the proxies. We have also deleted Photo Booth off of the machines otherwise the machines are 3 people deep on weekends and we cant demo stuff to customers. does anyone know of any free apps that will take a snapshot of the user when they type in a keyword such as "Adult Games" or "Meatspin", save that file and the word they typed on the HD somewhere? Or, some way of making Automator do that? Don't forget that we do not have photo booth on the machines. And it would be nice if the App/automator didn't make the iSight camera light come on, and also notified us when a keyword has been entered.
Dan
Apple Premium Reseller, UK
Message was edited by: Nedanator

Oops
Step 4 should say save it an an application (not a script)
See also Neoporcupine's comments about Terminal being open

ISight Cam - - Problem and question (and an OS X Question)

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