Anyone Using Logitech Quickcam Pro for Notebooks?

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A recent issue of MacFormat magazine highlighted the Logitech Quickcam Pro for Notebooks and said that it was an outstanding webcam, and that it was compatible with Macs even though Logitech did not advertize it as such.

I went out and got one, and I agree - it is an amazing webcam. The best image I have ever seen from a webcam. Crisp, clear and large. This is the result of the 2 MP sensor vs. the 1.3 MP (at best) sensor that most other webcams have.

I am using it on my PC now with Skype and have been blown away by how good it is.

Of course I wanted to get it running on my Mac, but no joy there. I plugged it in and the Mac does not even seem to see it. I can't find any new drivers for it, and (of course) I have thrown out the issue of MacFormat that mentioned it.

Is anyone using this webcam with their Mac? Can you explain what software you are using?
 
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MacHeadCase

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You might want to look at macam. Looks like that webcam is included in the supported models. Hopefully it will work with Skype. :)
 
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Thanks MHC. When I look it up on the linked page, it is not clear that it is one of the ones that is working yet. For the "new" one (which I presume I would have since I just bought it!) their entry in the "working?" column reads simply "depends"! Nonetheless, I will give it a whirl and get back to you. Thanks for the pointer.
 
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An update MHC. Unfortunately macam did not work - it does not "see" the camera. Most unfortunate.

However, this story has a happy ending! Serendipitously, I discovered today that there is a new Beta of Skype for Mac available (2.7). I always try to stay current with Skype and so I downloaded and installed it. I fired it up and it worked just fine. On a whim, and since I still had the Quickcam Pro for Notebooks plugged in from my macam test, I checked Skype's video preferences to see if it could "see" it. Sure enough, it could! It doesn't realize that it is a Quickcam Pro for Notebooks, just that it is a "USB Video Device", but that was a great start.

I selected it as my video source, and after an agonizing 30s or so of spinning beachball, video suddenly appeared - bright, crisp clear video. Much, much better than the picture I have been getting from my iSight. None of the Logitech Quickcam Pro for Notebooks "bells and whistles" are there, but it works, and it delivers better video than my iSight.

So, summation: Macam: bad. Skype 2.7 Beta: good! :D
 
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MacHeadCase

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Weird that macam didn't work, your model was on the list in supported/working cameras. Maybe they hadn't tested it extensively on Leopard?

Anyway, glad you got it to work in the end. :)
 
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Hi MHC, you are right. I rechecked the list, sorted by manufacturer first, and I find that there are two entries for Quickcam Pro for Notebooks. One is:

Quickcam for Notebooks Pro - listed as "maybe"
Quickcam Notebooks Pro - listed as "should work"

Curious. Anyway, no matter what, it did not work. macam reported "No camera found".

I am still on Tiger by the way. I will adopt Leopard sometime mid next year, when I think it is stable enough. I don't think it is yet. My fond hope is to buy a new 24" iMac with Leopard on it, sometime mid next year.
 
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MacHeadCase

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Ohh. I thought you were part of the fast Leopard crowd. I see you're withholding just like I am till stability issues have been cleared up a bit. ;D
 

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