You're welcome, Doublestank
Thanks for confirming that your iSight itself was the problem.
Anything that people make can break. Improper environmental conditions of heat, humidity, and vibration can damage most electronics, too, so one of those may have caused your used iSight's failure.
If you look at the prices that used iSights fetch on the internet auction sites, the price quoted to you might not seem so "incredibly stupid," but there is no need to spend the money if you do not need an iSight.
The fact that
there are many available alternatives to iSight may not be widely known, but I and others have offered suggestions in
a number of posts in Apple Discussions since iSight was discontinued.
USB cams that support the new UVC standards will work with Mac OS X 10.4.
9 or later without adding any software or drivers.
Many older USB webcams can be used with OS X by addition of driver software such as
macam.
In order to use compatible older USB webcams with iChat, you will need to add
iUSBCam (formerly iChatUSBCam) software. See their list of
Known Working Configurations for more info on compatibility and which drivers, if any, are needed in addition to iUSBCam. If your old USB cam is on the list, it should work as an iChat webcam for you. If it really did cost $5 when new, it will not likely have a built-in mic, so you will need to add that if you want audio.
So long as you do not need to use your webcam with iMovie, which requires Firewire DV input from external cameras, your USB cam may be all you need.
Have fun chatting,
EZ
Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight