By Harry Zink
OWC NOTE: Harry is a graphics and visual systems consultant for the entertainment industry. He loves proving 'it can't be done' statements wrong - so of it involves a Mac, Harry's your man. If it involves Windows, you're on your own. Harry lives with his dog, Vladi, in Los Angeles, CA. You can reach him at hzink@fizbin.com . Harry posted this independent review of the iSight to Ric Ford's MacInTouch on 6/26/03, and we would like to thank Harry for allowing us to post it here! |
I have to agree with those of your readers (and you know who you are) that are impressed by the aesthetics and engineering that went into the iSight digital video conferencing camera. Not only is it a gorgeous design, but if you look at it, the new G5, the Aluminium PowerBooks, and Panther's brushed metal looks (finally!) you get a pretty good idea of things to come down the hardware pipe in the next 6 months - but, I digress!
Here's a few of my initial impressions, findings and suggestions regarding the iSight in combination with iChat A/V:
- Packaging is typical Apple during the Jobs era - beautiful, and neat. The kind of thing you don't want to stash away, but show off instead.
- The inclusion of a transport tube to protect the camera is sweet, and definitely encourages taking the camera with you.
- The use of a standard firewire cable is ingenious, just as it was for the original iPod. Of course, the next version of the iSight will most likely switch to some proprietary connector for no particular reason :-)
- While it does include three different stands to accommodate iMac/G4, eMac, and PowerBooks, it is dismaying to see that Apple has chosen to popularize the classic, but ineffective 'top of monitor' position for the 'cam. This continues the usual 'I'm looking down' experience, and makes a videoconference far less personal. What's the point of having video, if no one looks in each other's eyes? A far better position is either at the side of screen, or the very bottom, with the iChat window pulled close to the side, or right above the 'cam. That way, when focusing on the iChat window, you give the uncanny impression of looking the other person in the eyes.
- Also, disappointing to see that the best Apple could come up with to attach the stands to the receiving Macs was 'glue' (sticky backing'. I'm sure there's more ingenious methods that aren't as permanent. The alien invented velcro comes to mind, as one alternative.
- It appears to be a true auto-focus camera, as while on, it frequently emits a soft 'click' which might be the lens adjusting itself, or just the aperture setting itself to adjust to changing light conditions. Either way, it's certainly more than just a 'pinhole box with a CCD', as most other cameras are engineered, and there's quite a bit of smarts within the camera itself.
- Image and sound are actually quite excellent - just stay away from full screen mode (no real point in that), as long as the room is well-lit.
- The greenish or yellowish tint some people are complaining about comes from the light from their displays or LCD screens. I have a blueish tint on my face for that very reason (standard Mac desktop background). EIther adjust your desktop accordingly, or live with it.
- Essentially, get yourself a nice desklamp with diffuse shade (IKEA comes to mind) for under $10, and set it next to your display, and you and your picture will look just great.
- There are comments and complaints about the iSight getting 'darn hot', which I can't corroborate. It gets warm, but certainly not 'hot' (albeit, it *is* a hot little toy!)
- When viewing yourself using iChat/iSight, the software reverses the image to make one look at oneself the 'proper' way, i.e. the way we are accustomed to seeing ourselves in a mirror. No worries, though - the person on the other end sees the images the proper way (i.e. text is legible). This is just done to make our interaction identical to us looking out a window. Certainly gives the whole experience a decent 'through the looking glass' feel. very neat, and (in my opinion) done right!
- NOTE: The iSight *must* be plugged into a dedicated FireWire port directly on a Mac, and will not work properly when attached to any sort of hub, or external device (even if powered). This was caused a whole lot of consternation until we figured that little bit out. This should be addressed in some way in the next 60 days.
- iSight and iChat A/V work just perfectly on a Pismo upgraded with a G4/500 (NewerTech Rules!). G3 Pismos don't cut it for video, though. Whole new experience grabbing the Pismo, heading out to some internet access point, and video conferencing away. Draws a crowd, too :-)
- People need to consider, above all, that iChat A/V is **BETA** software, and thus far from finished. If something doesn't work, well, report it. There's a link under the iChat menu for that purpose. USE IT! (that's where I'm sending this report as well).
- iSight is *not* recognized by iMovie, or other products looking for FireWire cameras, that's because it is NOT a FireWire *DV* camera, or *video recording* device. This is normal. Driver's to recognize it as such will need to be written. Maybe they will be part of Panther, but I see very little reason for that functionality. That's what I have a DV camera for.
- iSight *is* recognized by Yahoo Messenger's WebCam functionality. Image is nice, reduced to 320x240, and subsequently very slow in the fps domain. Still, it works. I'm certain that now that the genie is out of the bottle, other products will start supporting iSight (webcam programs come to mind - haven't tried it with any of them yet).
- While not tested (though there's been varying degrees of success from other users), there's no reason why iChat A/V should not work with other USB cams. Again, the above mentioned comment about this being **BETA** software comes to mind. If you want USB functionality, let Apple know - particularly if Apple intends to charge $29.95 for the software, it certainly should support more than just one Apple branded camera! Again, I'm sure hacks to enable this functionality should surface within the next 2 weeks.
- I understand that iChat is currently in Beta, and thus not included with the iSight, but, seriously, once it reaches final status, Apple really should bundle it with iSight at no additional charge, and only charge for those users wanting to use the product with other cameras (or, just buy Panther). Announcing a charge of $30 for iChat, in addition to the $150 for the iSight is simply asinine - and Apple keeps marring perfectly good product introductions with these kind of marketing faux-pas continuously.
Overall, I'm very impressed by the product, and the promise that it shows. It might be the reason to convince my family in Europe to finally get a Mac, so they can stay in touch with me (seeing as how they are notoriously bad about using another technical innovation, e-mail, maybe something more - or less - complex will entice them :-). It certainly shows lots of promise, and most of all , indicates much of where Apple is heading (I expect future displays to have iSight mounts built-in -- albeit in the improper placement, the top (see earlier comment). Apple would be better to provide attachment rails on the to, bottom and sides - and include the iSight mounts with the displays (thus encouraging display consumers to 'want' to purchase an iSight (but that's for the 'missed Apple marketing opportunities' thread.)
Harry Zink
Fizbin Consultants
fizbin@mac.com
(yes, we need a database of iSight enabled iChat names)
|