I’ve just hooked up the LifeCam Cinema to my desktop, and thought an SD comparison was in order. In a stroke of genius, I attached the LifeCam to the top of my Mac so it and my iSight were pretty much aligned — though not so much that it’s seamless. I did a little video so you can compare color, fidelity, and all that. Best to watch it in HD so you can see the differences between the two.
It’s a bit difficult to get a read on detail since I can’t directly overlay the two images — but have a look at these two full-size images from the videos (click to embiggen):
I think the LifeCam has the iSight beat handily in all areas, though neither one is very good at catching motion naturally and dynamic range is pretty much non-existent. Of course, the iSight is a built-in thing the size of my pinky fingernail, and the LifeCam is actually the size of the original cylindrical iSight.
The LifeCam has a better low end in the audio but also has a hiss that gets pretty pronounced if you need to boost the volume. That can be taken out with a mild low pass filter, though.
Full review will be coming a little later in the week.
[Updated: I think this thing is called the Cinema now, not the HD. I'm not by the box so I can't tell. Also, it doesn't appear to work on Macs natively, although some programs are able to at least get a signal from it.]
I would be very interested in a comparison to the Logitech 9000 Pro which is 2 MP is wipes out built-in iSight cams.
I am using the Logitech 9000 Pro on a Dell LCD with my MacPro. I like it a lot. However the form factor isn’t very good for use on a laptop. This assumes you want to have a better camera than the built-in on the MacbookPro. The form factor problem of the Logitech is why I hoped the Lifecam would work on a Mac (laptop)
I’ve read that the autofocus does not work on the webcam pro 9000 or the quickcam pro 9000 on macs. Is this true? I have the quickcam vision pro which looks similar to the quickcam pro 9000, but has advertized Mac compatibility.
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/172/4771&&cl=us,en
Here it is. I did a Side by side with the Lifecam cinema and the Logitech9000
http://www.guysfromqueens.com/?p=419
This works on Macs? Is so are the drivers built-in on 10.6.1?
I don’t think so. I just had it clipped to the top of my mac but plugged into my PC. The Mac might recognize it as a generic webcam. I’ll try it out soon as I get home.
So did it work I would like to get an HD cam for my Mac. I think this would make my Bacon Videocast looks and sound so much better.
When buying a webcam for the Mac, look online or on the packaging to make sure it says that it’s a “USB Video Class” or “UVC” device. This will ensure that it works with iChat/photobooth/Quicktime natively without drivers.
http://www.mac-compatible-web-cam.com/
I got Gawker to recognize it (not HD though), but iMovie didn’t see it and Quicktime defaulted to iSight with no options. I’m running Leopard, though.
can you try a comparison of the lifecam to the hercules hd720p cam?
http://www.hercules.com/us/webcam/bdd/p/111/hercules-dualpix-hd720p-for-notebooks-/
Yeah, I’m hoping to do a comparison with that as well. Don’t have one yet. To be honest, I’d be surprised if it’s different, these things probably both have the same weak sensor in them.
I wonder how long until Apple decides to upgrade the iSight’s hardware? If I am correct in assuming its several years old at this point. A refresher might be in order to see how the updated hardware effects the presentation.
if they’re gonna keep it inside the bezel, 720p isn’t gonna happen for a while – or else it’s going to look ugly. there’s just not enough space for sensor and lens.
The picture still looks like crap. Too bad, I was hoping for a better lens on that camera.
Remarkable. Vincent van Gogh works for Crunchgear !
Will there be some more cam comparison on Crunchgear?. Would like that for Creative , Logitech , Microsoft cause these thing are different in scale although I’m favoring Creative right now good drivers disappointed for there closed software though.
I just received the LifeCam Cinema yesterday and can’t tell you how very excited I was to try it out on my Mac Pro desktop computer. I know, I know…the system requirements say the LifeCam Cinema was Windows-compatible only, but I also saw many comments posted on the web saying it worked just fine in OS X. Based on these recommendations, I took the plunge and purchased the camera. However, I’m sorry to say, it doesn’t work very well on a Mac, at least on mine. When I plugged it and and launched iChat, the image was overexposed, out of focus and there is a significant blur when I make any movement. What a bummer! I’m sure these are all problems which are easily correctable in the software, which won’t install on my Mac, of course. Do you think Microsoft is going to offer drivers in the near future for us poor, hapless Mac users? I hope so; otherwise, they’re missing out on a huge chunk of the market. Any suggestions about a workaround for me? Otherwise, I’m going to have to, sadly, return it.
I hate to say it, but I’d return it. I think Apple won’t properly support 720p webcams until they come out with one of their own.
Thanks for your advice, Devin; I think I’ll take it and return the LifeCam tomorrow. Do you know anything about an HD webcam made in Australia called Agent V5? Their website is
http://agent.liquiddigital.com.au/index.htm
It sounds like an even better, although more pricey at $94, HD webcam than the LifeCam Cinema, and has gotten mostly favorable reviews. Plus it IS both PC and Mac compatible and works in iChat and Skype, among others.
I just heard of this new company called Agama and they came out with really cool new webcams that all work with PC & Macs at 720p. You can check out the specs here: http://www.agamazone.com/
Very nice review. I also did a v review of the camera and I compared it with the Logitech 9000 pro. something interesting was pointed out to me and it was that my mic has a high pitch buzz. take a look if you guys want . hope it can help you out
http://www.guysfromqueens.com/?p=419
http://www.guysfromqueens.com/?p=409
Enjoyed your review Devin and you did a great job and provided a lot of useful information. I have one question and that is do I need to purchase headphones w/noise canceling microphone along with the MS Lifecam 720p, as I will be using it for online teaching and webinars. Thank you in advance for your advice.
Stephanie Inge
Dallas, Texas
How about drivers for 64-bit XP ?
I just bought this camera and it is telling me I don’t the the system requirements to install the software… My system is a kick-ass system so I suspect it’s because it is 64-bit Xp and not 32-bit XP or Vista.
I think this is ridiculous, because Microsoft makes the camera AND the 64-bit Xp and they don’t support their OWN operating system?
That is lame…
I’ll have to return the camera, unlesss anyone here knows if these drivers exist for 64-bit XP
Thanks a lot
Louis
Does this webcam film in HD? The new Agama webcams all film in HD and there’s even a few models with night vision! So cool. Have you seen them yet?: http://www.agamazone.com/