Q: Yosemite/Mac Pro compatible with external iSight?

I simply thought I saw a software disc in an iSight eBay listing; my mistake.

Primarily concerned, since the device has been discontinued for so many years, that maybe the latest OS would no longer support.  No, I don't really have anything that would conflict; the FireWire card is going to be dedicated to the iSight alone most of the time.  Everything else, besides the two external displays, is stock Apple hardware.   If I had other connected cameras I wouldn't be using the iSight, so that's not going to be an issue.

Thank-you for such a detailed answer that really clears everything up for me.

EZ Jim wrote:

 

You're most welcome.

 

A couple more thoughts if you don't already own the external iSight:

sparky67 wrote: ... iSight eBay listing... Primarily concerned...that maybe the latest OS would no longer support...

 

More likely that the ancient (by consumer electronics standards) iSight hardware is faulty.  Also they are limited (640x480) resolution cameras.

 

Apple discontinued external iSight several years ago and has now even archived the iSight service FAQ article.  My external iSights (I have two) are O.K. webcams, and both of mine still work as well as they did when they were new. However, some previously owned or even NOS (new, old stock) iSights may have been damaged by rough treatment or improper storage.

 

If you are buying now and cannot try the old iSight with YOUR system before you buy, ask for a written warranty.  An honest seller may offer you return or exchange privileges.  If not, and if you don't want to spend the money to have your external iSight serviced by an Apple-Authorized Service Technician, consider a new, Mac-compatible USB cam instead of an external Firewire iSight....

 

It was advertised as in the box and "never used" by a reputable seller.  For those rare occasions when something arrives not as described, between the seller and the various eBay/PayPal policies/guarantees, I've never had any issue getting problems resolved to my satisfaction.

For as cheap I as purchased it, as long as it's in working order, I'm not going to worry very much about the quality...  just wanted to do FaceTime and answer calls from my desktop Mac... not making movies or anything.

Thanks again.

UPDATE:

I received the iSight today and the camera worked but the mic appeared to be dead.  I tried with three different Intel Macs with FW 400 ports running OS 10.10.2, 10.7.5 and 10.5.8... same result in all three, no sound pickup from the iSight mic.

I ended up updating the iSight Firmware to version 1.0.3 and everything is working now.

Since I did not have a PPC Mac running 10.3 or earlier, I had to extract the updater app from the package and install it using OS 10.5.8 on an Intel Mac Mini... no problems with the installer at all.  It recognized the device and updated in under a minute.  Luckily, I had the older machines available.

iSight Firmware 1.0.3 Download:  http://support.apple.com/downloads/DL502/en_US/iSightUpdater103.dmg

More information:  Re: Facetime and external iSight - no sound input

I have a new question for you now that the hardware appears to be working as expected.

In my System Preferences > Sound > Input, my iSight is selected for sound input.  This can be verified by option-clicking on the sound menu where I can see "iSight" is selected as the Input Device.

The problem is that in Facetime, I have to select iSight as the microphone every time after a reboot.  For whatever reason, Facetime is not picking up my settings from System Preferences nor is it saving my desired "iSight" selection from the Video menu.

Under Facetime > Video > Microphone, I can select only "iSight" or "Digital In" and for some reason I have to reselect "iSight" after every reboot.

- I only have one iSight device plugged in

- I have nothing plugged into the "Digital In" or "Line In" ports

- "iSight" always stays selected within System Preferences

- "iSight" does NOT stay selected in Facetime after a reboot <-  this is the problem here

Is there some preference file I can delete or something?  How do I get Facetime to keep iSight as the default setting?  Thanks.

EZ Jim wrote:

 

The selected Microphone for Yosemite's FaceTime (Version 3.0 (2151) is stored in the "com.apple.FaceTime.plist" file that is located in YourUserName / Library / Preferences folder.

Quitting FT, deleting that plist file, restarting Mac, launching FT, and configuring FT's preferences as you want them, and then quitting FT should recreate a preferences file that will restore your saved settings next time you boot your Mac.     

Yes, exactly correct.  I figured that out yesterday and the Facetime microphone setting finally seems to be sticking with "iSight".

Should have tried it before bothering you again.  Thank-you!