Skype video camera

Sharnbrook (Mike) · #1 15-01-2009, 04:24 PM

Hi,

Have any of you smart guys ever thought how it may be possible to use a 40D in live view mode as a video camera for use with Skype? I have a very low res Logitek video cam, but the results are woeful. I thought that rather than buy a decent camera, maybe using the 40D would be a viable alternative.

rastis95 (Scott) · #2 15-01-2009, 09:36 PM

Hi mike,
As far as i know the image would be heaps better but your fps would drastically drop. Instead of a reasonably smooth video conference you would end up with a very jerky image. Dont own a canon eos yet but i assume the usb connection would allow skype to pick it up as a device, only guessing.

Cheers
Scott

Sharnbrook (Mike) · #3 17-01-2009, 04:31 PM

Thanks for your reply, Scott. From your comments, I think I may as well bin that idea. The same thought had occurred to me, but I wondered if there might have been a way around it.

AstroJunk (Jonathan) · #4 17-01-2009, 06:41 PM

I used my GSTAR-EX camera and Skype to give a series of night sky tours to a hall of people from a UK club a couple of years back. It worked very well indeed and gives probably the best results for limited bandwidth ie std adsl.

If you fancy broadcasting to a wider audience, then www.ustream.tv has a very good service. Search on astrojunk to see some of my broadcasts last year. The downside is the need for plenty of bandwidth to get decent quality.

There is plenty of software available to turn just about anything into a virtual webcam - it's just up to your imagination as to what you want to show.

Have a go, it's loads of fun to skype a mate and show them something out of this world!!

RAJAH235 · #5 17-01-2009, 09:12 PM

I use a Philips ToUcam Pro.. 840K. (Un-modded).
Works very well & when updating either Firefox or Thunderbird, does not require un-installing or disabling....unlike the Logitech.

acropolite (Phil) · #6 18-01-2009, 11:43 AM

I use a logitech quickcam, but I bought the kids one a cheapy from ebay with inbuilt LED illumination. The led illumination is a real plus, particularly when you have the roomlight, or light from windows behind you.

I think I paid around $4.99 plus postage from Honkers. The cheapest I've seen this particular Cam is $1.05 US plus $8.95 US postage.