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| iSight ain't just for iChat... | | Date Created: Dec 01, 2005, 02:20 PM |
I had an idea bout 6 months ago. When doing shows, I'm usually back in video world; When back there, unless there is a camera on the show, you really have no idea what is going on onstage. I wanted to get a little camera that I could put on the stage to do just that...
I had an idea about a month ago. I wanted to make little quicktime movies and put them on my website. I also wanted to play with the idea of live broadcasts on my website...
A few weeks ago, I had another idea. I wanted to take pictures of shows that I setup, and put them on my website, so I can show you guys what I do...
I was looking at Apple's website the day after Thanksgiving and saw iSight. I bought it (with a little Griffin light that mounts on it). Turns out, with the right software, I can do all of the above with just my powerbook, a cable, the iSight, and the freeware I found...
-> To watch the stage during shows: I put the iSight somewhere backstage and out the the way, connect it to my Mac via the firewire cable, and run a program called SouthernReel. I can actually run up to four "firewire" camera's this way with a firewire hub. I've actually tested this with my iSight and Sony Handycam at the same time, and it works great (the camera is much better of a picture of course)...
-> To make movies for VodCasting on the website: I can take either camera (iSight is much less to carry) and run Quicktime Broadcaster. This enables me to create movies directly to my computer - actually, if you want to get technical, I can bypass my computer completely and go live to the Internet doing this...
-> To take pics of my gigs: I simply use either camera (iSight is easier to travel with) and my powerbook and another little piece of freeware called Grab Photos. This allows me to take a picture right then and there - off of any video source on my computer. Really Cool...
Anyway, I took a shot and it worked out. iSight is a very cool product that is really worth buying if you have a reason for it. I am not one who likes the whole video chat idea, but it has found a place in my travel bag. One simple request to the guys at Apple - could you give it a bit of a zoom on the next generation? Please?
I can live with the picture - I'm not shooting anything of importance with it (I use real camera's for that) - but a little zoom would do wonders... |
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