Apple iSight Video Conferencing Webcam with Autofocus Model M8817LL/C

by Apple

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.8 x 5.7 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007KX4VU
• Item model number: M8817LL/C
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 23, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Introducing a revolutionary new way to say hello. iSight delivers picture perfect video, crystal clear audio and an innovative design that makes video conferencing over the Internet as natural as face-to-face conversation. Families can stay in touch from thousands of miles away. Students can hang out and talk with their friends like they were in the same room. And business travelers can tuck their kids in to bed from the other side of the world. It's the next best thing to being there. ??

Picture perfect video:
iSight doesn't just look good; it makes you look good with a high quality video image. A custom designed, auto-focus lens keeps your image crisp and clear from 50mm to infinity and focuses on a 1/4" CCD sensor with 640x480 (VGA) resolution. Put that together with iSight's built-in image processor and you get smooth, top-quality, full motion video at up to 30 frames per second with true 24-bit color.

Crystal clear audio:
An integrated, dual-element microphone suppresses ambient noise, so just your voice comes through loud and clear. ??

Innovative design:
iSight will get you talking. Its unique center-mount design, with an integrated rotate and tilt mechanism make it simple to position iSight so you're looking directly at the lens for a face-to-face conversation. The kit includes three multipurpose mounts: a magnetic mount for new Anodized Aluminum flat-panel Apple Cinema displays, an eMac and desktop mount and a PowerBook and iBook mount, along with two FireWire cable adapters and one FireWire 6-6 pin, 1.8m cable.

Seamless integration:
One simple FireWire connection provides audio, video and power. Just plug in iSight and iChat AV automatically launches and gets you chatting in seconds. ??

Ultra portable:
iSight is made out of the same aluminum alloy as our new PowerBooks, which makes it incredibly durable while keeping it extremely lightweight (weighs just 2.3 ounces). Just pop it into the included carrying case and you can stay in touch no matter where you go.

Product Description

Includes: 4 mounts: magnetic for anodized aluminum Apple Cinema displays, Powerbook and iBook, flat-panel iMac, eMac and desktop, 2 FireWire cable adapters, 1 FireWire 6-6 pin 1.8m cable, and carrying case. Apple iSight - High-quality video conferencing technology has gone from the board room to your living room! This iSight webcam delivers an impressive 640x480 resolution at up to 30 frames per second. It also includes a built-in dual-element microphone for crystal clear audio. Together, they make talking over the Internet as natural as a face-to-face conversation! Durable aluminum alloy frame Lightweight - 2.3 ounces

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Disappointed..., August 11, 2005

By 

R. Gordon "Tech Enthusiast" (Decatur, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apple iSight Video Conferencing Webcam with Autofocus Model M8817LL/C (Personal Computers)

Like most Mac users, I enjoy Apple's products because of their elegant, timeless designs, their ease of use, and their commitment to high quality performance.

The drama involved in opening the iSight is similar to an iPod. They use the same type of clamshell packaging. The camera is beautiful, though a bit larger than I thought--albeit lightweight. Plugged it in, fired up iChat, and it installed the latest iSight software [To the iSight? Not sure.].

That's where the kudos end. The picture was not acceptable in medium light. I had a QuickCam Pro 3000 [RIP] before this, so I have a point of reference. The image I saw was not what I excepted for a camera that costed twice as much as the previous camera.

The Mac OS X integration is great, you can record movies from QuickTime Pro [cool]. It also works with iSPQ VideoChat, my chat software.

I did find a solution for the dark image, iGlasses. This $8 program does what Apple should have done to begin with, it allows you to fine tune the iSight's video.

With iGlasses installed, iSight's rating went to 4, from a definite 3.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best webcam out there, May 9, 2006

By 

Spoonbread - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apple iSight Video Conferencing Webcam with Autofocus Model M8817LL/C (Personal Computers)

Don't mess around trying to get other things to work - this one is wonderful, and well worth the extra money for a well designed cam that 'just works'. When I opened it, I looked for an install disk. Of course, there isn't one. You just plug it in and iChat fires up... Compare that to any other cam.
Great picture, good sound, and good compatability with other software like SightSpeed (free software that interoperates with PC for video conference pretty well).

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice camera but lmage is kind of dark, October 21, 2005

By 

G. Ware (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iSight Video Conferencing Webcam with Autofocus Model M8817LL/C (Personal Computers)

I was a little disapointed in the lighting quality of the camera. I expected it to be better in average light situations. My other camera is a Logitech Quickcam 3000 and although the image isn't as good as the Isight, the image brightness is better. For the money I think Apple should do a better job with image brightness. I installed IGlass and that helped out with brightness issue but I shouldn't have to spend $8 to have a better image. Maybe the next version will address the issue.