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It makes no sense. I use a $100 Logitech Webcam and _regularly_ get comments about how sharp and clear the video is, using Zoom. There's value in a better came

It makes no sense. I use a $100 Logitech Webcam and _regularly_ get comments about how sharp and clear the video is, using Zoom. There's value in a better camera, even in laptops.

jagged-chisel 7y ago
Is there value beyond the compliments you receive? (I apologize for this sounding snarky - I am genuinely curious)
- jobvandervoort 7y ago
  Fair question, and I think yes! If you mainly do your meetings remotely (which I do), you want your interactions to be as high-bandwidth as possible. There is value, and data, in real world interactions that is lost quickly in video calls. The lower latency, the higher the resolution and quality of the audio, the more you approximate a 'real' meeting. This is way beyond baseline requirements for e.g. remote work, but it's _nice_, just as a slightly bigger screen is _nice_.
- pi-rat 7y ago
  Who would you prefer doing daily standups or long stretches of remote pair programming with? The one with the low resolution, low contrast, washed out, low fps video that makes it hard to read emotion or even detect where his/her attention is? Or the one with sharp features, pleasant colour rendition, high resolution, and maybe even a pretty bokeh in the background? Humans love pretty pictures. See OKCupids[1] image analysis vs attractiveness for example. Shallow DOF = More attractive. See also hanselman's[2] thoughts on the matter of having a high quality setup for remote work. [1]: https://theblog.okcupid.com/dont-be-ugly-by-accident-b378f261dea4 https://theblog.okcupid.com/dont-be-ugly-by-accident-b378f26... [2]: https://www.hanselman.com/blog/GoodBetterBestCreatingTheUltimateRemoteWorkerWebcamSetupOnABudget.aspx https://www.hanselman.com/blog/GoodBetterBestCreatingTheUlti...
  - the_hoser 7y ago
    Neither. We usually turn the cameras off to hide the fact that none of us got dressed that morning.
    - coding123 7y ago
      We turn all that off because inevitably someone starts saying: I can't hear you guys, it's coming in robot voice, can you turn off the screen/video share?
      - pc86 7y ago
        It sounds like they don't have adequate internet to be working from home.
        draugadrotten 7y ago
        From home? I'm trying to work from whatever airport I am at. Video isn't that important but solid audio really is needed.
  - aantix 7y ago
    Slightly offtopic - are there any webcams out there that can provide a shallow depth of field in realtime?
    - sbr464 7y ago
      You can use a Black Magic Design Web Presenter which allows connecting 2 pro camera/lens setups via HDMI/SDI, and XLR mic inputs. It shows up as a USB webcam like normal. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebpresenter https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebprese...
    - pi-rat 7y ago
      Not any good one that does it in hardware out of the box that I know of. There are mod kits for CS lenses for c920/930/brio, if you can live with a tighter shot. If you've an compatible RX100/A6000 or similar laying around, then an Elgato Cam Link like hanselman's setup above might be the easiest option. https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/cam-link-4k https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/cam-link-4k (1/5 the price of the blackmagic device above/below) There's also some software "solutions", but I've no idea how good they are, probably not iPhone portrait mode quality.
- adrr 7y ago
  When doing conference calls with clients and vendors. We have high quality cameras in our conference rooms for a reason.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  This is for audio, not video, as it's my "thing", but for the past year I've been doing all my video interviews with a Shure SM57 mic plugged into a nice preamp, into a good interface, and they've all gone much better than phone interviews. No one's ever said "wait, could you repeat that?" or "You're breaking up a bit". There's something to be said for smoothing out conferencing so it makes it more lifelike, and I'd assume that's even more true for video. Or put another way, can you find any high-profile Twitch streamers using their integrated webcam/mic?

It makes no sense. I use a $100 Logitech Webcam and _regularly_ get comments about how sharp and clear the video is, using Zoom. There's value in a better camera, even in laptops.

jagged-chisel 7y ago

Is there value beyond the compliments you receive? (I apologize for this sounding snarky - I am genuinely curious)

jobvandervoort 7y ago
Fair question, and I think yes! If you mainly do your meetings remotely (which I do), you want your interactions to be as high-bandwidth as possible. There is value, and data, in real world interactions that is lost quickly in video calls. The lower latency, the higher the resolution and quality of the audio, the more you approximate a 'real' meeting. This is way beyond baseline requirements for e.g. remote work, but it's _nice_, just as a slightly bigger screen is _nice_.
pi-rat 7y ago
Who would you prefer doing daily standups or long stretches of remote pair programming with? The one with the low resolution, low contrast, washed out, low fps video that makes it hard to read emotion or even detect where his/her attention is? Or the one with sharp features, pleasant colour rendition, high resolution, and maybe even a pretty bokeh in the background? Humans love pretty pictures. See OKCupids[1] image analysis vs attractiveness for example. Shallow DOF = More attractive. See also hanselman's[2] thoughts on the matter of having a high quality setup for remote work. [1]: https://theblog.okcupid.com/dont-be-ugly-by-accident-b378f261dea4 https://theblog.okcupid.com/dont-be-ugly-by-accident-b378f26... [2]: https://www.hanselman.com/blog/GoodBetterBestCreatingTheUltimateRemoteWorkerWebcamSetupOnABudget.aspx https://www.hanselman.com/blog/GoodBetterBestCreatingTheUlti...
- the_hoser 7y ago
  Neither. We usually turn the cameras off to hide the fact that none of us got dressed that morning.
  - coding123 7y ago
    We turn all that off because inevitably someone starts saying: I can't hear you guys, it's coming in robot voice, can you turn off the screen/video share?
    - pc86 7y ago
      It sounds like they don't have adequate internet to be working from home.
      - draugadrotten 7y ago
        From home? I'm trying to work from whatever airport I am at. Video isn't that important but solid audio really is needed.
- aantix 7y ago
  Slightly offtopic - are there any webcams out there that can provide a shallow depth of field in realtime?
  - sbr464 7y ago
    You can use a Black Magic Design Web Presenter which allows connecting 2 pro camera/lens setups via HDMI/SDI, and XLR mic inputs. It shows up as a USB webcam like normal. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebpresenter https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicwebprese...
  - pi-rat 7y ago
    Not any good one that does it in hardware out of the box that I know of. There are mod kits for CS lenses for c920/930/brio, if you can live with a tighter shot. If you've an compatible RX100/A6000 or similar laying around, then an Elgato Cam Link like hanselman's setup above might be the easiest option. https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/cam-link-4k https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/cam-link-4k (1/5 the price of the blackmagic device above/below) There's also some software "solutions", but I've no idea how good they are, probably not iPhone portrait mode quality.
adrr 7y ago
When doing conference calls with clients and vendors. We have high quality cameras in our conference rooms for a reason.
PascLeRasc 7y ago
This is for audio, not video, as it's my "thing", but for the past year I've been doing all my video interviews with a Shure SM57 mic plugged into a nice preamp, into a good interface, and they've all gone much better than phone interviews. No one's ever said "wait, could you repeat that?" or "You're breaking up a bit". There's something to be said for smoothing out conferencing so it makes it more lifelike, and I'd assume that's even more true for video. Or put another way, can you find any high-profile Twitch streamers using their integrated webcam/mic?