Best webcam for a Mac Pro?

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Level 4

2,342 points

Best webcam for a Mac Pro?

I'm not sure how much luck I will have, but here goes.

I have an old mid-2008 Mac Pro, I've been wanting to get a webcam for it for some time now, can anyone suggest one? — I doubt one of the cheap $20 webcams I can buy at the supermarket will even work with my Mac.

I've known Logitech to make Mac compatible webcams in the past, but I can't find any any locally.

Can anyone suggest something that's been tested to work with Mac? Thanks.

Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 31, 2014 4:34 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

EZ Jim

Level 7

22,590 points

Feb 1, 2014 9:23 AM in response to Peter Miller

I suggest a USB webcam like one of those shown in Mac Compatible Web Cameras. There are other choices that will also work, including some of the cheap ones available at the supermarket.

All that is necessary for compatibility with your Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.8) is that the camera meets USB's "UVC" standard. Almost all currently produced USB webcams are UVC qualified, but you should check the products packaging, documentation, or support information to be certain. UVC cams should work with your Mac right out of the box. There is no need to install any third party driver software for UVC cams because Apple has included all needed UVC drivers as part of every Mac OS X version later than 10.4.8.

Many users who post here report that Logitech cameras identified as Mac compatible work well.

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Answer 2

Peter Miller Author

Level 4

2,342 points

Feb 1, 2014 3:58 PM in response to EZ Jim

Thanks for the detailed response EZ Jim,

Yes, turns out after I posted this, I was reading through the Logitech Support pages, and found a similar answer in that no drivers should be required since Mac OS X has UVC drivers included as of 10.4.8 onward (great idea on Apple's part!) — with that information I decided to take a chance, and purchased a Logitech c270 for about $50AU.

So far I've tested it with a number of applications, I figured I'd try Photo Booth first, it works well.

I then tried to set up iChat with my iCloud account, couldn't seem to get that to work, so I called Apple Support, who helped me find the FaceTime app for Snow Leopard, got my iCloud account connected and was able to make a successful call to a family member. (I found the picture quality very nice for a small 720p camera.)

I also figured that since the webcam has a microphone built in, I'd also try using it for audio recording, it worked, which is handy meaning I won't have to connect an external microphone through the line-in.

I've still got a few uses I want to test it with such as Yahoo Messenger and Skype, but I'm confident that given my success so far it will work just fine. :)

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Answer 3

EZ Jim

Level 7

22,590 points

Feb 2, 2014 8:38 AM in response to Peter Miller

You're welcome, and thank you for the "solved" feedback!

It sounds like you are on the right track for a good camera experience with all applications that are written to work properly with Mac.

Cheers for letting us know.

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Answer 4

Apr 28, 2015 10:03 AM in response to Peter Miller

The most expensive webcams don't work well with OSX. The most compatible webcam that I have found is the Logitech c310. Higher models don't play well with facetime.

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Answer 5

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

Apr 28, 2015 10:05 AM in response to MrMac2000

I have Logitech HD Pro C920 and it works great with FaceTime and everything else.

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