harryfromrichardson
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: how can I shut off built in camera and use another one?

I'm trying to use one of Apple's older auxillary cameras to shoot auditions.People will sit on the other side of my computer.

I plug it into my Imac, but the system doesn't recognize it and I continue to see only

myself. How can I turn the other camera on?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 12, 2011 6:09 AM

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harryfromrichardson

Q: how can I shut off built in camera and use another one?

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  • by elmac,

    elmac elmac Oct 12, 2011 6:13 AM in response to harryfromrichardson
    Level 5 (4,230 points)
    Oct 12, 2011 6:13 AM in response to harryfromrichardson

    Hi, check in Photo Booth, you may have to reboot, make sure no other App is using any cameras...

  • by EZ Jim,

    EZ Jim EZ Jim Oct 12, 2011 9:45 AM in response to harryfromrichardson
    Level 7 (22,547 points)
    Oct 12, 2011 9:45 AM in response to harryfromrichardson

    harryfromrichardson wrote:

    ...the system doesn't recognize it ...

     

    How can I turn the other camera on?

    With the external (Firewire) iSight connected, (do not chain external iSight with other Firewire devices) if your  > System Profiler > Hardware > Firewire does not recognize the external iSight, use the suggestions here to test whether your old iSight is still functional:

     

    http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/EZJim/EZJimpage4.html

     

    Once your system recognizes both cameras, be sure to rotate the ring at the front lens cover of the external iSight clockwise to turn it on and open the lens shutter.

     

    With more than one working camera recognized by your system, most camera-capable applications have settings that allow you to choose which camera to use. However, they do not all work the same way.  For example:

     

    • iMovie 9 ('11) uses a choices bar in the "Import from Camera" window:

      xx.png

    More info: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mov39f84285.html

     

    • For iChat, you can choose which iSight you use in the "Camera:" choices bar in iChat > Preferences... > Audio/Video that appears when more than one compatible camera is connected. Although your camera choices will be different, the choices bar will look something similar to the Preferences settings shown here:

     

      2camChat

     

     

    • Photo Booth uses the Photo Booth > Camera menu command to select which camera to use.  Remember, camera choice for any app will be available only if more than one working camera is recognized by your system.  With only one camera, the choices will not be visible.

     

     

    • For FaceTime,if your Mac recognizes more than one connected compatible camera, a "Camera" section listing the cameras from which you can choose will appear there. Clicking on the desired camera name will let you select the one you want as shown in this image from my Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display:

     

      FTcams

     

    If your Mac recognizes only one compatible camera, the "Camera" section will not appear in the Video menu, but FaceTime will automatically use the connected camera that is recognized by OS X.

     

    • QuickTimeX uses Preferences to select between connected cameras.
     
    QTX video Preference settings are visible only when you have a new video recording window open. The image below shows how to access QTX video Preferences from an open video recording window:

     

     

     

        QTX

     

    Note that only one webcam (iSight) is shown in this image because I had only one camera connected to my Mac at the time. When more than one compatible camera is connected, you will see the additional camera name and can select it in this menu.

     

    •  For cameras connected via Flash browser plugins, control-click on an open video window and adjust the camera settings to select between a connected USB and Firewire video camera:

     

    http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/help04.html

     

    • For other apps, check the app's menu items or Help to find out how to select between connected cameras.