- Not to be confused with EyeSight
An iMac G5 with a built-in iSight camera.
The iSight is a series of webcams made by Apple Computer (later Apple Inc.). It was a initially a FireWire camera that could be mounted on any current Apple laptop, all-in-one desktop, or display. It was later built into the iMac G5 and early Intel-based iMacs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pros.
The iSight was designed for iChat AV, Apple's video-conferencing client. iMovie 4 or later can be used to capture video from the device.
Features[]
Some advocates claim the iSight has superior color quality and striking industrial design. The 1/4-inch color CCD sensor has a 640x480 VGA resolution. Apple calls iSight's three-part F/2.8 lens with two aspherical elements custom-designed. It features auto-focusing from 50mm up and autoexposure and can capture video at 30 frames per second in 24-bit color and use a variety of shutter speeds. All iSights include internal microphones, which, Apple advertises, feature dual-element noise-suppression. Its unique design and light weight allow it to be attached just above the monitor using one of the four included mounts, meaning that the image seen by the recipient during a video chat will be at eye level and not from beneath, like many webcams require.
The stand-alone iSight uses an included FireWire cable for audio, video, and power. Four camera stands, a carrying case, and a FireWire cable adapter are also included.
The iSight is compatible with Mac OS X as well as Windows and Linux computers; the libdc1394 library is required under Linux. However, the internal microphones will only operate on a Mac with the iChat AV software installed; work is in progress to decode the audio protocol and provide a Linux driver. It is also the recommended camera for use with Freeverse Software's ToySight game collection.[1]
Release[]
A MacBook with an iSight camera.
Apple introduced the stand-alone iSight camera at the 2003 Worldwide Developers Conference. It became a built-in feature of the updated iMac G5 in 2005 and early polycarbonate Intel-based iMacs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pros in 2006.
2010-2014 and discontinuation[]
On more recent Mac computers, the iSight camera was replaced by the FaceTime camera, due to its ability to communicate with iOS devices also equipped with FaceTime cameras, such as the iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 4th generation or later.
In March 2012, with the release of the third generation iPad, Apple briefly re-introduced the iSight camera branding for the rear camera on iPhone and iPod touch releases (retroactively, in the cases of older models still being sold at the time). Apple would once again discontinue use of the iSight branding in 2014, starting with the release of the iPhone 6.
References[]
External links[]
- iSight at Apple (archived 2003-06-29)
- iChat AV (archived 2003-10-08)
- ToySight by Freeverse (archived 2004-02-12)
- iSight Linux audio driver at SourceForge
- ISight at Wikipedia
