Good Cheap DV Camera
I’m looking for a decent quality digital video camera (preferably firewire). I have a unibrain board camera: the drivers are horrible and the camera has a lot of annoying salt and pepper interference. I have a feeling that a lot of my problems tracking motion in Max/MSP are due to the crappy hardware/software. I need two cameras, and I’ve heard that I-Sight doesn’t work too well on XP so that’s out of the question. Any suggestions? Need something in the 100-150 US price range. Also, does someone make firewire – to – RCA adapters? I’m using this to plug into a makingthings motion detection teleo module. Thanks in advance!
Wait, I’m confused . . . do you want the camera to plug into both the Teleo *and* your computer, or do you just need an analog output?
Even if you’re plugging into a computer, actually, I’d say get an analog camera, like a security camera. There are fantastic-quality security cameras out there. eBay is a good source if you do some scouring, or you might just stop by your local security camera dealer, depending on where you live. (Check the yellow pages if you’re in a decent-sized town.) I think the quality is often superior to what you can get with webcams. And there are fine-quality FireWire conversion boards out there.
If you were set on a webcam, I’d suggest the Logitechs; they work quite nicely with the jit.dx.grab object. But you wouldn’t be able to plug an analog input in, so you’d have less flexibility.