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I was doing some research on new webcams and we have no seen a new high end webcam come to the market in almost 3 years. The last one was the Logitech C920 and it was released January 5th 2012.
Why have we not seen any new cameras hit the market? Is it that we have reached a limitation?
Personally, I think the webcam market is slowly phasing out because most web cameras need to be tethered to computers. I am assuming many want portable cameras with higher resolutions and better image quality.Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulSaunders
The Logitech C930e did come out, but has some issues apparently.
The HoverCam 3PO is the latest webcam that I have seen that is impressive. It has USB 3.0 and has a 3K resolution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VysxM5dxkQc
Details: http://www.thehovercam.com/press/pro...mation/352-3po
I saw that video a few months ago. Didnt someone from the company come on this site and say that the project was delayed? I would like to get some info if possible
It was delayed until June according to this thread: http://forum.ibroadcastnetwork.org/s...light=Hovercam It may have been delayed a bit more, I am not sure. I am really interested in this product.Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulSaunders
I'm also interested. I am hopeful that I will get my hands on a review unit when it is ready to be released.
Seems as though we've gone another year without any new major advancements in webcams. I'm at the point where I'm looking for something better than my C920 without having to spend over $400 for a better camera and capture card.
It probably has a great deal to do with the people who actually manufacture the webcams...not the broker distributors that brand name them. Look at the motherboards today... Intel and AMD are still using 8 year old base processor technology, just adding cores. I suspect the offshore motherboard manufacturers have gone through large support problems with changing technology. Seriously, I doubt for the most part they know little or nothing about what they are doing...except running their CNC machines and pick and place robots. I am still running a Intel Q6600 processor with 4 gig of ram, and 1 gig video card. The processor is running at 2.6 and I can easily overclock, but I don't need the extra speed. I do alot of animated graphics in addition to video production, and rarely experience a memory issue.
IMO, the GoPro and Blackmagic would be the best sources to come with new and better webcams. These companies have state of the art video technology and the people to develop it. Maybe, we should be nudging those companies to produce webcams.
The C920 I suspect could be improved alot with updates to the software.
Webcams use a lot of software tech to drive its quality. They really have not been improved since 2012 because what they have currently is good enough for most. Apple is currently leading the way when it comes to laptop webcams. No one is even coming close on the PC side and its really sad.
Logitech has no reason to even try at this point because no one is competing with them and the c920 is better than anything else on the market.
Bottom line. It comes down to competition
It is sad.
America has always had people who strived for newer and better constantly. Status quo improves nothing.
Sad commentary about America...for sure.
does anyone have experience with higher end PC based laptops and their webcams? I have yet to find one that has a decent webcam built in. something close to the Facetime camera that mac has.
Think about it.. You can buy a new in the box C920 for around $70. The C920 has a 1/4 inch taped holed in the mounting bracket and you can use with tripod, and across the top of a laptop. It folds up real snug and you easily carry it with your stuff. No sense messing with a built in laptop camera, which is just a baker dozen item. In other words, instead of a dozen donuts you get 13 donuts. Which is just a cheap way to give you something extra to encourage a sale.
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webca.../dp/B006JH8T3S
The webcam market as a whole is a commodity space. The C920 and C930 are best of breed considering the broad user base. The volume market is in the sub $100 range. the last big advancement was putting the compression engine into the camera, which is why we have the C920/930e.
For more particular applications, like corp video conferencing, there's the Logitech BCC950 & PTZ Pro Webcam, also the AVER VC520...but these are in the $1k range. They have better lenses, and mechanical PTZ with remote control.
VDO360, HuddleCam and a few others are this space. But the cost goes up considerably. They usually target corporate applications since there's a well-defined, funded market there.
Beyond that you're into the low-end of the professional AV market, like churches and smaller cable/TV stations.
Some people have been making use of DSLRs as higher performance webcams. They often take an HDMI output into a capture card.
When you look at who would commonly need webcams the most: parents, kids, grand parents etc you'll see that the bulk of their computing devices already come with a webcam. Every tablet, phone and laptop these days has one stock. So when the vast majority of your potential customers won't buy your new product, you are less likely to innovate in the consumer space. I would honestly surprised to see many new standalone high end web cams come to market.
What we as podcasters will have to do in the near future is setup more pro rigs with real video cams and tripods to get better resolution or performance.
It's a little sad, but expected. Tempted to play around with some old iPhone or iPod Touches to see how they would fill the need in case my C920 dies in the near future.
I wouldn't waste your time with such devices. The built-in cameras of laptops, phones, iPods, etc can't match the quality from the C920 or C930. Worse yet, you may then constrained by the use of Wifi as a connectivity scheme.
Telestream does offer an iOS app to using an iPhone or iPad as a source for Wirecast, but I wasn't impressed with the result.
On the mac and with the latest OS you can directly tether the device to your machine and mirror the screen. It's how I broadcast iOS games through Wirecast. The cameras on the latest iOS devices are close to the c920. I'm worried about lag, and on screen controls getting in the way. Just looking for something that can fill the gap incase something blows up with the current setup.
Definitely not something that I would want to use permanently, but it would be quicker to setup and way less than an external camera and capture card. I'll be moving there eventually, just taking small steps.
My iPhone 6+ takes better video the my 1 year old Handy-Cam.
The big difference being that USB attached are a low cost way to get decent video for live production. Post-produced video can come from a wide variety of sources. A $70 Logitech webcam is hard to beat for live work. Great quality/price ratio. Very accessible.
