Need a crash course on webcams (FIREWIRE), FAST! (Purhased, performance update)

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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
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Hello,

Need some help, I need to know everything I need to know to buy and use a webcam. Things like, best quality, speed, reliability, software, price etc about webcams. Are they generally easy to setup? I'm planning on getting two to use between two computers.

Suggestions are GREATLY appreciated! (I've heard some webcams double as digital cameras as well?)

Anyways, in case you're wondering the reason is that my girlfriend and I are far apart at two different schools and we never get to see each other, I figured it'd be a great valentine's gift to get :) (which is also why I need to know ASAP! =D )

Thanks!

Edit: Just edited the title b/c I want to find out as much as possible about FireWire WebCams now that I know they exist, as far as I know there are 2: Orange Micro's iBOT and ADS's Pyro.
 
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damien6

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
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Hey, how's it going?

For webcam, I think Creative WebCam Go Plus is pretty good for its price range. It has USB connection while it's being used as a webcam but you could disconnect it and take up to 200 pics or so as a portable digi cam. It's not the greatest quality but it serves it's purpose. It supposely take voice dictations but I never had the need nor bother to read up on it further.


Here are some I took w/ it:
Pic

Two

I ready like it but I'll probably like my digital camcorder more once I get the firewire card installed in the new system though. It suppose to be able do still shots well as video.
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Hey Damien!

I'm doing alright! How's the family? That DigiCam's gonna be pretty fun to play with once you finish off the set of toys :)

Thanks for the suggestion, how big is that webcam? Actually, how big are webcams in general? Do they all come with mics or do you have to get a separate one?
 
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gamble11

Member
Oct 18, 1999
31
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I just installed a Logtitech QuickCam Web and the picture qualtity is fair I guess. But take it from me, READ THE MANUAL before beginning installation. I didn't, and plugged in the camera (USB) before installing the software. Long story short, I had to format my hard drive last night and reinstall Win 98 SE.

Gamble
 
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damien6

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,256
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Yeah, my sever is coming along as you can see in those pics. The baby's fine but the old lady and I are experiencing, lets just say, some technical difficulty. (long story) Anyway...


Well, this Creative is 5 1/2" in length, 3" wide and about an 1 1/2" thick but folds so it sits by itself if you place it on the top of your monitor. It fits in your hand comfortably and it comes w/ a softcover carrying case but I never use it though.


Most of these cams don't come w/ a mic but some of the higher price/newer ones I see lately do have a built in mic. I personally preferr separate mic that I can place somewhere close to me or built into a headset and I don't use the head set so much because sometimes you can't hear people coming up behind you or tries to talk to you. (kind of bad if you're making fun of them) I actually like the cheap mic that came w/my SB Live and I haven't had any problems with it.
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Ok, so far that's 2 for creative and 1 for logitech, does anybody know how the intel cam is?
For the creative webcam, how does the actually video look? Is it pretty choppy in realtime?

Sorry to hear Damien, I'm sure things will be alright though!

Do the mics plug into your sound card? I'm guessing the webcam doesn't have a separate card you have to plug in or anything, just the USB port?
 
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TungFree

Golden Member
Jan 7, 2001
1,619
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If u wish to have real time movements in the video u will need fireWire not USB though I heard USB 2.0 will be able to have real time motion wiothout knee Jurks and Firewire is coming out with the "B" version. I hate Mac but they use Firewire and so all serious video PPL by a Mac but there are PCI Firewire adapters and one MOBO a week ago came out with it for T-Bird on the MoBo but frankly I have not seen any video cameras for firewire though I saw a burner and hard drive (This may replace the SCSI platform very soon as it can have 69 periferals u can unplug as u do in USB without power off and it is 400bps speed and shall be more in the new version "B".

Tungfree
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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I'm not looking for real real-time movement, I guess I should be asking, is there a webcam that is smoother than the others available? I see some like the HomeConnect camera rated at 60FPS, and the Creative at 30FPS, is that because the quality is worse or it's just designed better? Out of curiousity, how much does FireWire equipment cost?
 
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Oracle

Member
Oct 11, 1999
94
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I'm using the intel easy pc usb which is the entry level model.It took less than 5 minutes to install and configure.Although it has many other features,i only use it for videoconferencing,and it's worked flawlessly.
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Oracle, thanks for the info, could you give me a bit more detail about the quality of the video conferencing? Sharpness, smoothness, etc.?
 
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Oracle

Member
Oct 11, 1999
94
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There is an advanced settings menu where you can adjust just about anything,gamma,saturation,etc.You can also set the video to fast for better frame rates or slow for better picture quality,on a slider bar.It also has a picture in picture feature so that you can see what you look like to the other party.This is great for adjusting the lighting in your room.
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Cool, is this part of the Intel packaged software or are you using some 3rd party webcam software?
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Just called a local Future Shop, the Creative Webcam Go Plus is going for $229 CDN, ouch, heh
 
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Oracle

Member
Oct 11, 1999
94
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I'm reading off the box here,because i'm not into any of the other features.INTEL CREATE AND SHARE Software contains:
Microsoft Windows Netmeeting
Intel Email Postcard
Intel Gallery
Intel Snapshot
Intel Scene Recorder
Intel Audio Recorder
Intel TWAIN Driver
PC Camera Games from Reality Fusion
Bonus Intel Tell Your Friends Email
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Ok, sounds like they just use Netmeeting then, I wonder what TWAIN is for, I thought that was just for scanners....
 
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andylawcc

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
18,183
3
81
my roomate has both the intel and Creative,
he said the intel is better,
personally I have the Creative and I like it so far. at least it looks 'cooler' :)


also, to Creative Web Cam users,
do you leave the setting as default or you did some tweaking?
and what about the Video Compression thing? which one should I choose?

thnx
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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Just a bit of clarification needed, I know damien has the creative go plus, but I just found out that Creative also has the Creative WebCam 3, which one were you other Creative owners talking about?

Edit: Geez, just found out there's the original WebCam Go and a WebCam Go Plus, is there actually any difference or is it like their SB Live! line of products?
 
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Cybordolphin

Platinum Member
Oct 25, 1999
2,813
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Too bad you missed the Kodak DC325 for $25 after rebates, etc.. It is a pretty good cam.

But the 3 com Homeconnect is supposed to be VERY good. Check that one out.
 
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JaiKnight

Senior member
Feb 6, 2000
958
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I read a site with consumer reviews on the 3com, they said that they were very dissappointed with it in comparison to the high review ratings it was getting. The creative didn't fair too well either, but that was mainly because of its GO (portable digicam) feature.

Does anybody know a site filled with consumer reviews on products? I KNOW there are some out there, and there's one that I used to use, I just can't for the life of me remember what it was called!
 
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