Decent webcam @ Futureshop/BestBuy

Giles Orr gilesorr-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org
Fri Jan 9 18:21:01 UTC 2009


2009/1/4 Evan Leibovitch <evan-ieNeDk6JonTYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org>:
> I'd been having some grief with my old $4 microphone since upgrading to
> Kubuntu 8.10; I just couldn't seem to get the ALSA mixer to get it useful.
> And web forums seemed to present more similar problems that remained
> unresolved. So rather than waste another week on what might still be a
> futile effort, I started investigating USB-based microphones, and as it
> turns out most of them are built into webcams. Since I didn't have a webcam
> for this system I started looking around, at the usual suspects (Canada
> Computers, Tiger, NewEgg, etc.)
>
> Having been scared off many Logitecs because of firmware issues (some revs
> work with the driver, some don't, but the packaging doesn't say what' s
> installed), I saw that an off-brand model seemed to be reasonably supported.
> Some drivers work, but are not commonly shipped with distributions and need
> to be built from source. Others contain proprietary bits.
>
> I found one that seemed to have the combination of price, specs, and support
> using a standards-based driver included in many current distros. It was $31
> at Future Shop -- a place I almost *never* consider for computer parts --
> from an off-brand called Dynex:
> http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10098615&catid=10498
> I was surprised to see the Dynex listed amongst the webcams well-supported
> by the standards-based UVC driver:
> http://linux-uvc.berlios.de/
>
> I don't think stock availability is an issue. At the Yonge-Dundas store,
> there was a floor-standing display full of them.
>
> For $32 it seemed like a reasonable gamble; at that price it's cheaper than
> most current models. And I was delighted to get home and find this unit to
> be amongst the most hassle-free peripherals I've ever plugged in to a Linux
> system. The driver loaded as soon as it was plugged in and it was recognized
> right away; I had immediate access from both ALSA and the video test worked
> as soon as I told the Skype to use it.
>
> The only unusual thing is that `lsusb` reports the device as "Best Buy" :-)
> -- sure enough it's also found at that store:
> http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10098615&catid=20403
> So it' s probably just a store-brand -- BestBuy's equivalent of "Presidents
> Choice". :-)
>
> Anyway... I rarely recommend hardware but this one's on my list.

I've been considering buying one of these for the last couple days
after Evan's recommendation, and went to Future Shop today to do so.
I was pleasantly surprised to find they're on special (for what period
I don't know) for $24.99, or $28.24 with taxes.  The Future Shop at
the North York Centre has a good stack of them.

Haven't tried it with Linux yet.

-- 
Giles
http://www.gilesorr.com/
gilesorr-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org
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