ISight
From AudioLexic
iSight is a webcam developed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iSight was sold retail for US$149 as an external unit which connects to a computer via FireWire cable and comes with a set of mounts to place it atop any current Apple display, laptop computer, or all-in-one desktop computer. As of 16 December, 2006, the iSight was no longer for sale in the Apple online store or in retail locations.
The term is also used to refer to the camera built into Apple's Intel iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro computers.
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[edit] Design
iSight was designed for iChat AV, Apple's video-conferencing client. iMovie (version 4 and later) can be used to capture video from the device.
iSight's ¼-inch color CCD sensor has a 640×480-pixel VGA resolution, and it has a custom-designed three-part F/2.8 lens with two aspherical elements. It features autoexposure, autofocusing from 50 mm to infinity, and video capture at 30 frames per second in 24-bit color with a variety of shutter speeds. iSight includes internal microphones with dual-element noise suppression.
The external iSight camera weighs 2.3 ounces (63.8 grams). It uses a single FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a) cable (included) for audio, video, and power. Four camera mounts, a plastic tube carrying case, and a FireWire camera mount adapter are also included. It is fully compatible with its native Mac OS X as well as partially compatible with the Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux operating systems.
Apple introduced iSight at the 2003 Worldwide Developers Conference. In April 2005, Apple released a firmware update for the iSight to improve audio performance.
It has a small green LED that illuminates when the camera is in use. It also has a lens cap for privacy.
[edit] Built-in iSight
Apple also uses the "iSight" name to brand its built-in video camera component found in all MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers as well as iMac desktop computers produced in or after late 2005, although it is not the same device as the external iSight. While similar devices, the built-in iSight uses an internal USB 2.0 interface, not the FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a) method used by the external iSight camera. <ref>Apple Developer Connection, "15-inch MacBook Pro Developer Note", Last updated: 2006-05-09.</ref> Further, the built-in iSight has a plastic lens, is fixed-focus, and uses a CMOS Active pixel sensor, rather than the CCD used in the external iSight.
[edit] iSight on Windows
Version 1.1 Apple's Boot Camp added Microsoft Windows XP drivers for the built-in iSight. Version 1.2 implemented support for the built-in iSight in Windows Vista as well.
Microsoft Windows XP will autodetect an external iSight camera as “1394 Desktop Video Camera”, but no iSight driver exists for Windows XP. Nevertheless, some applications such as Yahoo Messenger, Skype and Windows Movie Maker are capable of using video from the camera and adjusting brightness and other settings (the image will appear to be overexposed until the settings are altered). Windows is not capable of receiving audio from iSight’s internal microphones, as no Windows driver exists for this. (The built-in microphone on MacBook and MacBook Pro does work, as they are a separate component.)
Technology blog Gizmodo reported in July 2006 that a bounty has been offered for a driver that will enable the external iSight's microphone to function on Windows XP. Users will contribute funds that will be won by a successful developer. The driver's source will then be open to the public for porting to future Windows versions. He has since canceled the competition and returned all donations.
[edit] Adjusting iSight
iGlasses may be used to adjust iSight settings such as brightness, contrast and white balance.
DotMatrix (which can be used with up to three iSight(s)-one internal, 2 external) creates instant, "RetroBooth" photographs and provides brightness, contrast, black level, white level, and realtime histogram equalization (for low-light conditions) and works with iGlasses.
[edit] External links
- MacBook iSight on Apple.com
- MacBook Pro iSight on Apple.com
- iMac iSight on Apple.com
- Freeverse's ToySight
- Developer contest to provide a driver for the external iSight's microphone on Windows XP
- iSight Linux audio driver project page
- iSight Linux driver project on SourceForge
- iGlasses on Ecamm.com
- DotMatrix on B-L-A-C-K-O-P.com (faster DotMatrix download on Apple.com)
- iSight Programming Guide for FireWire iSight cameras on Apple.com
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