Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A

by Apple

Product Details

Product Manual [1.13mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 2.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000AKACN
• Item model number: M8817LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2003

Product Description

Manufacturer Product Description

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.

The eyes and ears of your Mac

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 and three included stands, make it simple to position iSight so you're looking directly at the lens for a face-to-face conversation.

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 12" and 17" 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

Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A Product Features and Technical DetailsProduct Features    * 640x480 (VGA) resolution    * Integrated, dual-element microphone with noise suppression  &

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High-end webcam at high-end price, August 8, 2003

By 

NutMac "NutMac" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A (Personal Computers)

Pros:
- Excellent audio and video performances
- Mounts to Apple's LCD and notebook displays
- Excellent built quality (aluminum-alloy construction)
- Beautiful design
- Supports AOL, .Mac, Rendezvous (all via iChat AV), and Yahoo! via Yahoo! Messenger for OS X

Cons:
- Very expensive
- Adhesive mounting kit for LCD display
- No video chat for MSN (which is Microsoft's fault, but still)
- Does not include video capture application
- Works only on Mac OS X (at least for now)
- iChat AV costs extra (beta which expires on 12/31/2003 is free) for OS X 10.2 "Jaguar" users (included with OS X 10.3 "Panther" at no cost, however)

Apple's iSight is among the most expensive webcam out there. If you are heavily into video conferencing, however, the decision should be no brainer. iSight is THE webcam to own.

First of all, iSight is one of the few webcams to use FireWire 400 bus. FireWire not only provides plenty of bandwidth for VGA quality video and audio (24-bit 640x480 at 30 frames per second), iSight gets all the power from it, too.

Rotate the lens cap, which opens and closes the lens, and iSight comes alive (it will also activate iChat AV). Both audio and video capture performance are superb, with excellent exposure and clear audio. It is easily the best performing webcam out there.

And the built quality and design... simply stunning. Made in sturdy aluminum-alloy (used by 12" and 17" PowerBook G4 as well as PowerMac G5), iSight feels expensive. Furthermore, iSight is very functionally designed. Although mounting on Apple's LCD display requires adhesive (sticky) mounting stand, mounting on Apple's portable computer is elegant (even comes with a carrying case).

So is it worth a buy? iSight is certainly the best webcam out there. But it's also the most expensive and works only under Mac OS X. If you have lots of buddies on AOL (or .Mac) and Yahoo!'s Instant Messaging network, and wants to impress with high quality audio and video, iSight is worth the money. Otherwise, it probably won't get used often enough to warrant very high price tag.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars talk to friends and family across the world - for FREE!, November 16, 2003

By 

Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A (Personal Computers)

True video conferencing - the type that has been promised for years now really exists and is affordable for the common man (and woman). All you need is a firewire Mac (all new Macs for the past 4 years have shipped w/ firewire, but you can always install an after-market firewire PCI card if needed) running OS 10.2 or better, iChat/AV (Apple's software that comes free with OS 10.3 - "Panther"), and a broadband connection.

There are many iChat related Web sites that contain databases of other iSight owners, so you can always find someone to chat with, even if none of your friends have Macs or broadband connections.

The camera can also be used for Yahoo Chat, but Yahoo's software limits your video to snapshot slide shows. iChat/AV allows you to to have live streaming video and audio with full duplexing, so it's like you're on the phone.

If you have a bad hair day, you can use the microphone only so you don't have to share the video. The lens cap is built-in, and with a simple twist of the lens, your camera is turned off.

The camera is an elegant addition to your Mac goodies, although the mounting has much to be desired. Some third-party companies have come out with some excellent alternatives for mounting the iSight, however, if you don't have a laptop to clip it to and you don't want to "stick" it on your monitor.

The camera is in full color and will automatically focus from about 1" to infinity. My less than perfect rating is for two reasons - 1 being the aforementioned mounting options - tacky "stick-on" mounting isn't the choice for most and the laptop clip can be broken easily during transport. My biggest gripe is the white balancing of the camera. This might be eventually corrected w/ a new version of the iChat software, but for now, the color you see is not necessarily reflecting reality. I have my computer next to a window, so in the middle of a sunny day with my overhead light on, the color looks great. At night (no ambient sunlight) with an overhead light, the colors are grainy and flat.

If you hold a white piece of paper next to your face while you look at yourself on the camera, the color suddenly corrects, but goes back to awful the minute you put the paper down.

Traditional cameras with built-in light meters have an ability to "spot meter" and lock a light meter reading - Apple needs to put this option in with their next incarnation of iChat/AV. For now, I have 2 halogen desk lamps on either side of my monitor. When I chat w/ someone in the evening, I will turn on the hot white lights to illuminate my face so the other person doesn't think they're talking to Darth Vader or the Grim Reaper.

I used it a couple of times for audio-only chats - the microphone quality is superb. I have chatted to people in Canada, Israel and Australia without a noticable delay or degredation in quality. If the other user is using a built-in microphone in lieu of an iSight, however, they will probably hear you well, but you may have a hard time hearing them.

I have also used the camera for some video/audio chats with people from around the globe. There is a noticable 1 second time difference delay, but it is acceptable all things considered.

As with all things Apple, this camera is quite an innovation. Beforehand, there was only one other firewire camera on the market and it did not allow for live streaming video. Thanks to Apple's iChat software, however, you can use some other cameras, but I would not recommend it. With the few failings of iSight, it is still the best there is - and considering what it does, it's well worth the price.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars False Review..., May 24, 2004

By 

Kevin Clarke (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iSight FireWire Webcam for Apple Computers M8817LL/A (Personal Computers)

I don't know if the review from EL was wrote by a Anti-Mac Nazi but, most of the information stated in his review was incorrect. First iMovie is easily used with the iSight. Second iSight is made for mac, If you have a mac that supports iSight, you should not have to instal any software, iChat AV Comes with the OS. Third iChat AV does now work with the latest PC version of AOL instant messenger, not the old ones. Fourth not only can you take still amazingly good quality still pictures, you can download programs off the internet that lets you add effects to the pictures you take. iSight self adjusted the brightness and contrast, so manual adjustment is unnecessary. EL has made it sound you cannot use iSight unless you are computer illiterate, it is very easy to use I have never had any problem with mine, and I've saved money on long distance calls. Plus it's a lot of fun I rated this excellent product with 5 stars. Online Video Conferencing is the future and apples firewire technology makes video Conferencing amazing with no skipping or lag the quality is superb. Hats off to Apple with the great product