Camera question: Why is the camera a mirror effect?

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Hello,

My MacBook, currently on version 10.5.6., has a built-in camera at the top. When I use it, it is a mirror effect. :Grimmace: I've seen and used cameras that do not come out as mirror effects. Is there anyway to fix mine so it doesn't do a mirror effect?

If you don't know what that is, a mirror effect is when the image switches position and look basically. It's flipped.

Example: if you a read the word, "Macintosh", it looks like "Macintosh". In mirror effect, it looks like, "hsotnicaM".

Thanks. :)
 
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I'm not sure there is anything you can do to change this.

In Photo Booth and iChat, the image from the iSight camera is flipped...
However do a movie recording with Quicktime Pro and image is not flipped.

Weird I know, but I haven't found a way to change this so far.
 
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Which app are you using and what sort of problem is this causing?
 
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I have your answer if you are using photobooth...

If you are using photobooth, you go to: edit>auto flip new photos and then all pics taken after that will be flipped. :)
 
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iSight fault

If Apple can't produce a simple switch which allows you to return the iSight camera to "normal" rather than mirrored, then they're not as good as we thought they were. To have a piece of "photographic" equipment which only shows up in reverse is dumb in the extreme.
And it not only reverses the iSight camera, but any other cameras connected via USB or Firewire.... very very poor, and impossible to explain or understand.
 
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iSight advantage

@Berko

iSight (and other camera) mirroring within Apple applications is not poor, and is actually easy to explain and understand.

The applications merely show you "yourself" mirrored, to make it easier for you to adjust your position and frame yourself in the shot.

All downstream video conference participants view you in your actual non-mirrored orientation -and- for local Photobooth shots, simply flip the orientation with a single mouse click (see callarson's post) or by pressing command+F on your keyboard.
 
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@Berko

iSight (and other camera) mirroring within Apple applications is not poor, and is actually easy to explain and understand.

The applications merely show you "yourself" mirrored, to make it easier for you to adjust your position and frame yourself in the shot.

All downstream video conference participants view you in your actual non-mirrored orientation -and- for local Photobooth shots, simply flip the orientation with a single mouse click (see callarson's post) or by pressing command+F on your keyboard.

Yep, I second this. Totally makes sense to me...
 
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@Berko

iSight (and other camera) mirroring within Apple applications is not poor, and is actually easy to explain and understand.

The applications merely show you "yourself" mirrored, to make it easier for you to adjust your position and frame yourself in the shot.

All downstream video conference participants view you in your actual non-mirrored orientation -and- for local Photobooth shots, simply flip the orientation with a single mouse click (see callarson's post) or by pressing command+F on your keyboard.


Otherwise it'd be like watching someone use a waist level viewfinder, or view camera for the first time. While it provides a good amount of humor, the complaints would be rampant.. rather than scattered.
 
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Thats great for iChat and Photo but what about when you want to use the camera to show an actual app that has something other than someones face. I need to use the camera to show my iPAD over webex - so I have to run my Windows VM to use my LifeCam Camera on my MacBook Pro.

Apple has to accept that there is "enterprise" users and not just "consumer".
 
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Thats great for iChat and Photo but what about when you want to use the camera to show an actual app that has something other than someones face. I need to use the camera to show my iPAD over webex - so I have to run my Windows VM to use my LifeCam Camera on my MacBook Pro.

Apple has to accept that there is "enterprise" users and not just "consumer".

Interesting, I'd have to check the next time I do a video conference.. But I don't recall the image ever being 'flopped'. I don't think it's flopped for iChat/facetime either actually. Oh it's not for skype either for that matter.

BTW, I'm talking about what the other party sees. Because yes, at least in iChat/Facetime... YOU see a mirror image. Like I said, next time I do it, I'll hold up some text.
 
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It happens on my MacBookPro too. Any picture I take with the built in camera have been reversed to me and everybody else too. I searched for a solution before (a few years ago) and found none. Egads.

I'm back to Windows by the way. Jeeberz.
 
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Don't ever look in your rearview mirror in the car. Same thing. Apple, thankfully, provided a method to deal with exactly that. Bless them and their foresight.
 

TRI


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for the next guy...

I went through this today and was able to turn off Photobooth's mirroring on my iBook G4 running Leopard with some instructions I found. It worked great. It might work with applications other than Photobooth.

First I had to install the Xcode tools, which was on the Leopard install disk in the folder called Optional Installs. Then I followed these instructions:

1. Make a backup of Photo Booth so that you can return easily to the application's original behavior if desired.

2. Control-click on the Photo Booth application, pick Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu, then navigate into the Contents » Resources folder.

3.Double-click on Effect.qtz within that folder to open it in Quartz Composer.

4. Locate the left-most Flip patch. Select it and click the Patch Parameters gear.
Uncheck the 'Flip' box.

5. Save Effect.qtz and quit Quartz Composer.
 
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