Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hello, beautiful people

12:56 AM / Web / Comments10 Comments

I picked up a webcam and did a thing with it:

 
10 Comments

1. Kentai said:

...so let me make sure I have this right... you can use webcams for non-sexual purposes, too?

Mind = Blown. :)

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4:51 AM)

2. Author Profile Page Michael said:

I know, it amazed me too.

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 11:26 AM)

3. Bleddyn Williams said:

The volume on these two videos is a lot quieter than other videos I've watched on youtube. I had to watch them with headphones on and the volume cranked to be able to follow it all.

For the sake of full disclosure, I don't have 100% hearing, but these do seem a bit quiet. Something to check for next time, perhaps?

Otherwise thumbs up!

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 1:44 PM)

4. Author Profile Page Michael said:

Yeah, the volume is still something I'm trying to nail down. The microphone on the webcam isn't all that great, and when I boost the volume it ends up picking up a lot of background noise. I'll continue to look into it, though.

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 1:51 PM)

5. Kram Sacul said:

Worst Blu-ray PQ ever. Looks like an upconverted dvd. ;-p

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4:20 PM)

6. Author Profile Page Avanze said:

Nice to see you, Michael.

I think a webcam review is a really great idea. Vlog isn't is called? If you are not happy with your current webcam, may I suggest the Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD? I have one myself, it's cheap at £35 and the lighting sensor is spectacular.

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 5:32 PM)

7. Robin said:

If you wish to improve the framerate, maybe the camera has some auto-expose and auto-focus settings that you can uncheck? Makes it a lot darker for me, but works charms for the framerate.

I have a LifeCam Cinema (wish I had a Studio though as it records in 1080p), this tutorial was immensely helpful for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QakF9eWBh7A

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 5:43 PM)

8. Author Profile Page Michael said:

Kram Sacul:

Agreed - I blame Universal.


Avanze:

"Vlog" - ugh, one of those buzzwords I hate. Then again, I felt the same way about "blog" when it first came along. :D

Cheers for the recommendation. As per my reply to Robin (see below), I'm now getting much better results. However, I'll bear your suggestion in mind should I find myself looking for a replacement.


Robin:

Thanks a million - you've solved my problem. The slowdown seems to have been entirely related to the automatic exposure setting, which you can't actually disable using Creative's software. I managed to do that in VirtualDub, and I'm now getting a far more consistent frame rate in Creative's own software. So cheers, buddy - I owe you.

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 6:08 PM)

9. Robin said:

Michael, very glad it worked for you. You owe me nothing, just keep up the great reviews and BD impressions! I visit the site regularly (daily I should say), your reviews and impressions are always very well grounded and written, and the captures are fantastic.

(Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 7:37 PM)

10. Daniel Joseph Sardella said:

Vlog...vanswers...

http://youtu.be/tD5xwKFKxZ4

(Posted on Friday, July 1, 2011 at 1:34 AM)

 
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