# Web/iChat Camera for Mac Mini (or any other Mac)



## simon (Nov 2, 2002)

My daughter has accepted a position in a hospital in Grand Prairie Alberta and I helped her buy a new MacBook (with the built in iSight Camera) to help her keep in touch with friends and family back home in Ontario. 

My Dad (her grandfather) wants to learn how to use iChat with the video but he doesn't have a camera for his Mac Mini. So ... 

I was thinking about the original iSight (now discontinued) but at $250+ (for eBay) it's beyond what he wants to spend. Is there a cheap (but not "cheap") USB or firewire camera that works well with iChat on the Mac?

Suggestions are appreciated.


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

Grab the info/driver here:
http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/

and choose any supported camera from the long list. I have a Logitech notebook webcam that works great with my powerbook.


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## reddrag0n (Jul 19, 2006)

retrocactus is correct. macam has support for USB and firewire cams not normal to mac. To get them to work in iChat like you want, you need a program called iChatUSBCam

I myself have a Logitech Quickcam Chat and it works fine. A little slow, but the picture quality is good. I am going to try the PS2 Eyetoy to see how good that works.


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## retrocactus (Jun 17, 2003)

Right...I forgot that maccam doesn't work out of the box with iChat...I've been using Skype for all my video chats since it's cross platform.


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## Abysmal (Mar 14, 2005)

Look here and craigslist.com.. iSights go for $100 to $150.. ebay is too much.. also you could look for a Macally IceCam.. 

Abysmal


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Saw this over at Futureshop:
http://ehmac.pricecanada.com/detail.php?product_id=465355

Not sure how good it is.



> Webcam with 1.3M high image resolution, plus USB2.0 high speed data transfer rate. Multimedia functions like built-in audio and mic and face tracking functions are all well equipped. Easy set-up for beginner users with drivers and applications.
> 
> WebID:	10078537
> Mfr. Part Number:	RF-NBCAM
> ...


Dave


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Here's more info that I saw on an eBay page:



> Rocketfish Notebook Web Camera Model: RF-NBCAM
> 
> Make video calls in VGA resolution clarity on this Web camera featuring intelligent face tracking to keep you centered in the frame.
> VGA sensor captures digital video up to 640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps captures still images at 1280 x 960 pixels
> ...


Dave


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## crawford (Oct 8, 2005)

Hopefully Apple will soon announce their intentions regarding a new iSight. Unless they just integrate it into their cinema displays, which won't really help the OP or other Mac Mini users very much.


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## Calgary Guru (Apr 25, 2006)

I'll suggest another option... Any camcorder with a firewire port... either a working one or even one with a dead tape drive... all that has to work is the electronic bits. In fact, with a WORKING unit, you need to leave the tape out of it or it'll go to sleep.

I've used my CANON OPTURA 20 this way and it works like a charm. Perhaps you can find something like this to use?


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

Calgary Guru said:


> I'll suggest another option... Any camcorder with a firewire port...


And, may I remind everyone you don't need to use any drivers or programs to make it work. Plugging in a DV camcorder is as good as plugging in the iSight. :clap:


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## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

I just picked up (today) an EyeToy usb camera for the PS2 from The Source. The camera is hard to find but they had a couple for $29. I had seen on the SourceForge site that the camera was supported using their drivers so I thought I'd try it.

For $29 + $10US for the iChat enablers, it works quite well. When chatting from my iBook with EyeToy to my PowerBook with iSight over the net (ie. not Bonjour) the picture is comperable but there is more lag with the EyeToy. For the price it is just fine though. The bonus for us is that the camera works on our PS2 with video enabled games.


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## martialartskid85 (Aug 1, 2007)

*hey*

how would i get this camera to work with all the other apps like yahoo and ichat and other chats i got it but am really stupid with mac and dont understand how to work it with them it works on my desktop but not with other apps thanks for taking the time to explain it to a retard lol


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