My mother has an iMac that she loves. I have a MacBook Pro and wanted to communicate with my mom using iChat since I have poor cell reception in my home. At first, I looked into getting her an iSight camera off of eBay. For anyone that has tried looking for a cheap used iSight has quickly found themselves looking for an alternative camera because those iSights are very expensive. They are still selling near retail price. Apple has since discontinued them which left little alternatives to purchasing a new computer.
My first option was to use an older Sony DV Camcorder. At first, it seemed like a good idea, however it just wouldn’t work due to the size and the type of setup required in order to get it to work. Who wants to have a tripod on their desk next to the computer? When iChatting with them, you’ll never really see the person on the other end look into the camera. They would always be looking elsewhere (like at the monitor for example).
Then I stumbled upon a blogpost that mentioned any UVC compatible webcam would work with iChat if the Mac had OS Tiger 10.4.8 or later installed. Since manufactures don’t really show that specification on the box or website, you have to hunt it out or look for reviews by people that have tried it out. I finally found the Logitech QuickCam Deluxe for Notebooks Webcam from buy.com that was free after rebate. I choose this model for a few reasons. First, it would end up being free after rebate, you can’t go wrong with free. Next, it had a built in microphone which was nice in case it didn’t work with the Mac and could be used as a webcam for a windows based computer without the need for an additional microphone. Lastly, it was small and UVC compliant, so it should fit nicely on my mother’s iMac.
When my mom tried it out, iChat recognized it immediately and set the camera to the default capture device. The microphone also worked right out of the box. I set my mom up with an AOL instant message account and we were chatting away within minutes.
I’ll have to admit that the quality isn’t as nice as the iSight built into my Macbook Pro, but it was decent and very usable. The manual focus lens on the Logitech is easy to turn and makes the picture as clear as possible with the given built-in lens. Overall, I’m impressed with the quality and ease of setup. The camera was relatively cheap (free) so I can’t complain.
Pros: Easy to setup (with a mac). Clip to attach webcam is a nice addition for an older iMac G4. Built in microphone a plus. Inexpensive.
Cons: Some distortion in low light conditions.
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