Home :: Computers :: Components :: Webcams  

Dual Mode
Web
Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A

Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A

List Price: $149.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 >>

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Look is Not everythink
Review: (...)I Chat AV can't talk to any other videoconferencing system, though, and Apple bundles none of the usual Webcam software with the iSight. You can't manually adjust the brightness, the color balance, the white balance, or the contrast. You can't snap still pictures with the iSight, use it as a video camera, or feed video to the Web. You also can't use the iSight as a surveillance camera out of the box. And despite Apple's recent push for integration, iSight doesn't feed into iMovie.
here is third-party software for all of these functions, and the iSight worked well with half a dozen Webcam applications we tried. The iSight even plugs into PCs, where we used it with Yahoo! Messenger and NetMeeting. But on a PC, the microphone doesn't work because it lacks a Windows driver (Apple says third parties are welcome to write such a driver).

If all your friends and colleagues sign up for iChat AV, the $150 admission price for an iSight might be fine with you. But given that the iSight costs more than any competing wired Webcam, we had hoped buyers wouldn't need to spend even more on third-party utilities to get full functionality.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Best sound and video for the price
Review: Apple's iSight performs as promised on all levels -- great video and sound quality. The camera is light, easy to set up and use, and truly portable.
The only things preventing me from giving it a full 5 stars are the included mounting stands. Apple was smart enough to include separate stands for positioning the camera on top of CRT monitors, on flat screens and a laptop. However the first two require that the stand me affixed using an adhesive sticker on the bottom of the stands. Though I had few reservations about sticking it to my old (and ugly) black-cased CRT, I'm not sure a lot of people will want to stick something onto the back of their lovely new iMac G5 screens.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good performance, and the usual Apple curveball
Review: Given the necessary hardware, software, and bandwidth, this is a good performer. In anything less than optimum conditions, though, things get iffy. In its characteristic way, Apple leaves reason for frustration by not including essential software. It's as though Apple feels a need to follow up the carrot with the stick. It's hard not to conclude that iSight is also considerably overpriced. But for those with an excess of cash, it can be a pleasure to use.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Apple quality, software should be included
Review: Great camera. Great integration with Macs and Panther (I have upgraded). But I agree with the previous reviewer. When you spend this much on a web cam, the software absolutely should be included. Another major misstep by Apple trying Microsoft tactics. Anothger major con is the inability of iChatAV to integrate with other commercial web cam software. A pro? What many people don't know is that a regular firewire digital camera can be used as a high end camera with iChatAV as well!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stunning clarity and amazing ease of installation
Review: I absolutely love my iSight webcam. As with everything Apple, you literally just plug it in and it works on Mac OS X (I am running Panther). It is unbelievably easy to use, also. The motion capture is nearly television quality on my flat panel monitor. It makes me wish I had more people to video chat with! One piece of advice: If your Mac comes with a built-in mic, use it instead of the iSight mic because you'll get better sound quality.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great for transatlantic video conference
Review: I bought 2 iSight cameras to video-conference between the US and France. It works great. My parents absolutely love it. They can't believe how "genial" this is just because of the emotional add-on that the video adds.

I also use an iSight to discuss with other colleagues across the US.

It works as advertised. This is a great product.

PS: both my iSights came with software (iChat AV) in the box...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Very unhappy
Review: I bought two iSights for office use, and they worked fine with the iChat AV beta we downloaded from apple.com.

I bought two more iSights recently, only to find the iChat AV beta is no longer available and Apple wants $29.95 for each copy of iChat AV. That's right - the $150 iSight camera does not include a copy of the $29.95 iChat AV you need to use it for videoconferencing, which is the prime reason anyone would buy an iSight. The iSight manual clearly says on pages 5 and 7 that you can download iChat AV from apple.com/ichat, but that is wrong.

To make matters even worse, Apple's website doesn't even allow you to buy iChat AV for $29.95 as the link seems to be broken. The only way to get iChat AV as of this writing is to upgrade to Panther for $129 which isn't an option for us. So all of my iSight camera's are useless.

At this price, the iSight is too expensive, and the way Apple markets this borders on false advertising. I notice they have added fine print at the bottom of the iSight page which now states that iChat AV is not included. Well, I'm extremely disappointed at Apple for not making this clearer initially.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: False Review...
Review: I don't know if the review from EL was wrote by a Anti-Mac Nazi but, most of the information stated in his review was incorrect. First iMovie is easily used with the iSight. Second iSight is made for mac, If you have a mac that supports iSight, you should not have to instal any software, iChat AV Comes with the OS. Third iChat AV does now work with the latest PC version of AOL instant messenger, not the old ones. Fourth not only can you take still amazingly good quality still pictures, you can download programs off the internet that lets you add effects to the pictures you take. iSight self adjusted the brightness and contrast, so manual adjustment is unnecessary. EL has made it sound you cannot use iSight unless you are computer illiterate, it is very easy to use I have never had any problem with mine, and I've saved money on long distance calls. Plus it's a lot of fun I rated this excellent product with 5 stars. Online Video Conferencing is the future and apples firewire technology makes video Conferencing amazing with no skipping or lag the quality is superb. Hats off to Apple with the great product

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Apple bombs
Review: I have been a faithful Apple user for many years. Nothing as awful as this has ever been produced by Apple. The picture quality is terrible: very dark and gothic. And don't even try to get a resolution over 320x240; it just seems to blow up a small size and the pixellation is pretty rough.
When you plug it in, it will open iChat whether you like it or not. You then have to go to iChat preferences to switch this annoying 'feature' off but this doesn't seem to be documented.
To summarize, it is a camera for chats, best used at 160x120, and it is four times the price of its competitors. Sorry Apple, you bombed this time.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Make sure you have the right hardware. Very limited.
Review: I have to go with the thumbdown people.

I bought an Isight on impulse, to use with my Mac. Looks very nice. Should have checked more carefully.

So, to use it I need Ichat AV. OK, so another $130 later to upgrade to Panther, I have Ichat AV.

Oh, only other Ichat AV users can talk to me. Don't know any. Never mind I can use it as a webcam!

Nope. My Mac is only 500mhz. Needs 600. Sorry, you have a sexy looking piece of junk. It actually checks the processor, and unlike PC equipment, isn't even prepared to 'have a go and see'.

Alright, my PC running Win2k should see it. Nope. Crashes hopelessly.

A few month collecting dust, I upgrade to XP - now I know it works.

Nope. No drivers. XP generic driver gives a white washy useless picture, and as we know, no sound.

Would love to hear from anyone who has overcome that problem, as it is undoubtedly a nice little toy, but for the money I wish I'd gone for something less exotic.

To be fair, Apples equipment though expensive, is slick and satisying. But the Isight is horribly let down by lack of software. Fast Mac users probably love it.


<< 1 2 3 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates