Re: webcams
On Friday, 5 November 2021 01:20:57 AEDT Andrew Pam via luv-main wrote: > On 4/11/21 10:23 pm, Russell Coker via luv-main wrote: > > Is there anything obviously wrong with the 1080p one from Kogan for$19? > > At that price, I'd be surprised if it actually has a 1920x1080 sensor! > Many cheap webcams list the displayed image size, not necessarily the > actual raw capture resolution. The image is upscaled by the firmware or > the driver, which is a terrible marketing cheat. That sucks. On Friday, 5 November 2021 00:20:26 AEDT Irving Tjiptowarsono via luv-main wrote: > I have had this link for a while now, perhaps it could be useful: > https://reincubate.com/support/how-to/why-are-webcams-bad/ Seems like we can expect them to be bad. So I guess it's a market for lemons so I should just buy something cheap as I'll get something nasty even if I pay more. > I'm considering turning an old phone into a webcam, or using this as an > excuse to grab the raspberry pi high quality camera module (already have > most of the other bits)... If using a phone as a webcam then I might as well just run Zoom or the web interface for Jitsi/BBB on the phone. For making YouTube videos and for shorter video conferences I've got a USB-C microphone that I could attach to a phone and I've got a phone tripod somewhere. For the day long training sessions I've still got a problem as a phone battery won't last that long and the USB-C microphone precludes USB-C charging. > Some people at pyconf au suggested getting a ring light to help with > image quality. Might be worth a try. I guess so. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Bloghttp://doc.coker.com.au/ ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
Re: webcams
On Thu, Nov 04, 2021 at 10:23:21PM +1100, Russell Coker via luv-main wrote: > > I would go look at a few device reviews to get a feel for the current > > options in the $100-200 range. > > I think that $100-$200 for a webcam is unreasonably expensive given that high > end phones (which have lots of things in addition to such a camera) cost less > than $1000. If you have a phone you don't need to use at the same time DroidCam works well under Linux K ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
Re: webcams
On Fri, Nov 05, 2021 at 12:20:26AM +1100, Irving Tjiptowarsono wrote: > I'm considering turning an old phone into a webcam, or using this as an > excuse to grab the raspberry pi high quality camera module (already have > most of the other bits)... Dunno what kind of rpi you have, but I watched this a few weeks ago...might be useful for you: "Raspberry Pi Zero is a PRO HQ webcam for less than $100!" - Jeff Geerling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fcbP7lEdzY craig -- craig sanders ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
Re: webcams
On 4/11/21 10:23 pm, Russell Coker via luv-main wrote: Is there anything obviously wrong with the 1080p one from Kogan for$19? At that price, I'd be surprised if it actually has a 1920x1080 sensor! Many cheap webcams list the displayed image size, not necessarily the actual raw capture resolution. The image is upscaled by the firmware or the driver, which is a terrible marketing cheat. Hope that helps, Andrew -- mailto:and...@sericyb.com.au Andrew Pam https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics https://glasswings.com.au/Partner, Glass Wings ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
Re: webcams
I am similarly in a market for something a bit better than my laptop webcam, but have not seen anything that seems to be an obvious price-performance sweet spot I have had this link for a while now, perhaps it could be useful: https://reincubate.com/support/how-to/why-are-webcams-bad/ I'm considering turning an old phone into a webcam, or using this as an excuse to grab the raspberry pi high quality camera module (already have most of the other bits)... Some people at pyconf au suggested getting a ring light to help with image quality. Might be worth a try. Irving On 4/11/21 10:23 pm, Russell Coker via luv-main wrote: On Thursday, 4 November 2021 17:58:04 AEDT Yuchen Pei via luv-main wrote: Perhaps take a look at <https://h-node.org/webcams/catalogue/en>. Thanks, that's a good resource. On Thursday, 4 November 2021 18:00:42 AEDT Paul van den Bergen via luv-main wrote: Recently purchased a webcam and had a similar discussion - but with a focus on affordability versus utility. Don't buy the cheapest webcams - they are truly crap. But you also don't need to spend huge amounts either. I purchased a Logitech C505 HD, and there are a bunch of good logitech midrange webcams. I would go look at a few device reviews to get a feel for the current options in the $100-200 range. I think that $100-$200 for a webcam is unreasonably expensive given that high end phones (which have lots of things in addition to such a camera) cost less than $1000. I have had cheap SoC mass produced webcams in the past that use barely functional windows only drivers with no problem on linux (with Cheese), but the discovery process for some devices can be very ... involved... especially USB microscopes - essentially webcams with a lens. My gut feeling is a well known company like Logitech is much more likely to be supported on Linux than anything on say Aliexpress. YMMV. I generally don't look at things on Aliexpress. I've found ebay to be pretty good for online stores of new stuff and Aliexpress seems to be more aimed at wholesale. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/j-burrows-1080p-webcam-with-autofocus-jbcm200bk A private message recommended the above, 1080p for $49. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/logitech-c270-plug-and-play-full-hd-fhd-720p-webcam-with-video-calling-00097855070753/ Another private message recommended the above, 720p for $49. https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207347086-Group-HD For Zoom 720p is for a "Pro" account and Zoom support has to enable it, also the client must be in full screen mode (something I generally don't do). 1080p is for a "Business, Education, or Enterprise account" and probably not supported by the Linux client. https://docs.bigbluebutton.org/support/faq.html For BBB 720p is the maximum supported. https://community.jitsi.org/t/1080-jitsi-server-available-to-test-with/18796 For Jitsi 1080p has been supported for a while but not by default and until very recently not for mobile devices. It seems likely that most places that host Jitsi won't have 1080p support enabled. With Australian bandwidth issues it's probably not a good idea to enable 1080p as that may require encouraging people to turn off video when they aren't talking (bandwidth being of the order of the users squared multiplied by the video stream size). Also would I be correct in assuming that a 1080p camera running at 720p would give a lower quality result than a native 720p camera? So I guess 720p would be the ideal resolution for only using current videoconferencing technology but 1080p might be better at some future time. Also 1080p would be good for recording videos to upload later. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/reitter-full-hd-1080p-webcam-with-microphone-usb-streaming-camera-for-mac-pc-laptops-a-91tdms1qlhfau/ Kogan has the above 1080p webcam for $19 which lists "Linux with UVC(2.6.26 or above" in the driver section. Presumably that means any Linux kernel above 2.6. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/maysarah-720p-rotatable-usb-camera-live-broadcast-camera-teaching-webcam-with-noise-reduction-built-in-microphone-37whcublwxvsu/ The above is $20, but 720p. Linux support. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/fashionstore-480p720p1080p-usb-webcam-video-web-camera-wmicrophone720p-fh1102702/ The above is $22 for 720p and $27 for 1080p. With Linux support. It seems that Kogan is now running a scheme like Amazon where other companies are selling through them, that's OK, Kogan will enforce the warranty which means if it says Linux (or "Linx") and ends up only working on Windows I can send it back. Officeworks has nothing below $39. If my first purchase from Kogan turns out to be not adequate but not sufficiently bad for a warranty claim then I could buy another and still not pay the Officeworks price. The best price I could see on ebay for a product that specifically mentions Linux was $19.50 for 1080p, so Kogan is cheaper. Is there an
Re: webcams
On Thursday, 4 November 2021 17:58:04 AEDT Yuchen Pei via luv-main wrote: > Perhaps take a look at <https://h-node.org/webcams/catalogue/en>. Thanks, that's a good resource. On Thursday, 4 November 2021 18:00:42 AEDT Paul van den Bergen via luv-main wrote: > Recently purchased a webcam and had a similar discussion - but with a focus > on affordability versus utility. > > Don't buy the cheapest webcams - they are truly crap. But you also don't > need to spend huge amounts either. I purchased a Logitech C505 HD, and > there are a bunch of good logitech midrange webcams. > > I would go look at a few device reviews to get a feel for the current > options in the $100-200 range. I think that $100-$200 for a webcam is unreasonably expensive given that high end phones (which have lots of things in addition to such a camera) cost less than $1000. > I have had cheap SoC mass produced webcams in the past that use barely > functional windows only drivers with no problem on linux (with Cheese), but > the discovery process for some devices can be very ... involved... > especially USB microscopes - essentially webcams with a lens. > > My gut feeling is a well known company like Logitech is much more likely to > be supported on Linux than anything on say Aliexpress. YMMV. I generally don't look at things on Aliexpress. I've found ebay to be pretty good for online stores of new stuff and Aliexpress seems to be more aimed at wholesale. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/j-burrows-1080p-webcam-with-autofocus-jbcm200bk A private message recommended the above, 1080p for $49. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/logitech-c270-plug-and-play-full-hd-fhd-720p-webcam-with-video-calling-00097855070753/ Another private message recommended the above, 720p for $49. https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207347086-Group-HD For Zoom 720p is for a "Pro" account and Zoom support has to enable it, also the client must be in full screen mode (something I generally don't do). 1080p is for a "Business, Education, or Enterprise account" and probably not supported by the Linux client. https://docs.bigbluebutton.org/support/faq.html For BBB 720p is the maximum supported. https://community.jitsi.org/t/1080-jitsi-server-available-to-test-with/18796 For Jitsi 1080p has been supported for a while but not by default and until very recently not for mobile devices. It seems likely that most places that host Jitsi won't have 1080p support enabled. With Australian bandwidth issues it's probably not a good idea to enable 1080p as that may require encouraging people to turn off video when they aren't talking (bandwidth being of the order of the users squared multiplied by the video stream size). Also would I be correct in assuming that a 1080p camera running at 720p would give a lower quality result than a native 720p camera? So I guess 720p would be the ideal resolution for only using current videoconferencing technology but 1080p might be better at some future time. Also 1080p would be good for recording videos to upload later. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/reitter-full-hd-1080p-webcam-with-microphone-usb-streaming-camera-for-mac-pc-laptops-a-91tdms1qlhfau/ Kogan has the above 1080p webcam for $19 which lists "Linux with UVC(2.6.26 or above" in the driver section. Presumably that means any Linux kernel above 2.6. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/maysarah-720p-rotatable-usb-camera-live-broadcast-camera-teaching-webcam-with-noise-reduction-built-in-microphone-37whcublwxvsu/ The above is $20, but 720p. Linux support. https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/fashionstore-480p720p1080p-usb-webcam-video-web-camera-wmicrophone720p-fh1102702/ The above is $22 for 720p and $27 for 1080p. With Linux support. It seems that Kogan is now running a scheme like Amazon where other companies are selling through them, that's OK, Kogan will enforce the warranty which means if it says Linux (or "Linx") and ends up only working on Windows I can send it back. Officeworks has nothing below $39. If my first purchase from Kogan turns out to be not adequate but not sufficiently bad for a warranty claim then I could buy another and still not pay the Officeworks price. The best price I could see on ebay for a product that specifically mentions Linux was $19.50 for 1080p, so Kogan is cheaper. Is there anything obviously wrong with the 1080p one from Kogan for$19? -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Bloghttp://doc.coker.com.au/ ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
Re: webcams
Recently purchased a webcam and had a similar discussion - but with a focus on affordability versus utility. Don't buy the cheapest webcams - they are truly crap. But you also don't need to spend huge amounts either. I purchased a Logitech C505 HD, and there are a bunch of good logitech midrange webcams. I would go look at a few device reviews to get a feel for the current options in the $100-200 range. I have had cheap SoC mass produced webcams in the past that use barely functional windows only drivers with no problem on linux (with Cheese), but the discovery process for some devices can be very ... involved... especially USB microscopes - essentially webcams with a lens. My gut feeling is a well known company like Logitech is much more likely to be supported on Linux than anything on say Aliexpress. YMMV. On Thu, 4 Nov 2021 at 17:52, Russell Coker via luv-main wrote: > https://www.sades.com.au/shop/p/ktdgxmmjrp86f7sn5vcu4yrtzfv8as > > I've just ordered myself a Sades gaming headset that connects via USB > 2.0. As > an aside don't buy it from that site, it's significantly cheaper on ebay. > > https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/?q=webcam > > Now I need a webcam. Can I expect that a random webcam I buy (such as one > of > the above) will just work on Linux or do I have to be careful about > compatibility? > > -- > My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ > My Documents Bloghttp://doc.coker.com.au/ > > > > ___ > luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au > To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au > -- Dr Paul van den Bergen ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
Re: webcams
Russell Coker via luv-main writes: https://www.sades.com.au/shop/p/ktdgxmmjrp86f7sn5vcu4yrtzfv8as I've just ordered myself a Sades gaming headset that connects via USB 2.0. As an aside don't buy it from that site, it's significantly cheaper on ebay. https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/?q=webcam Now I need a webcam. Can I expect that a random webcam I buy (such as one of the above) will just work on Linux or do I have to be careful about compatibility? Perhaps take a look at <https://h-node.org/webcams/catalogue/en>. -- Best, Yuchen PGP Key: 47F9 D050 1E11 8879 9040 4941 2126 7E93 EF86 DFD0 <https://ypei.me/assets/ypei-pubkey.txt> signature.asc Description: PGP signature ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au
webcams
https://www.sades.com.au/shop/p/ktdgxmmjrp86f7sn5vcu4yrtzfv8as I've just ordered myself a Sades gaming headset that connects via USB 2.0. As an aside don't buy it from that site, it's significantly cheaper on ebay. https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/?q=webcam Now I need a webcam. Can I expect that a random webcam I buy (such as one of the above) will just work on Linux or do I have to be careful about compatibility? -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Bloghttp://doc.coker.com.au/ ___ luv-main mailing list -- luv-main@luv.asn.au To unsubscribe send an email to luv-main-le...@luv.asn.au