AtlantaGreg's Full Review: Orange Micro iBOT Web Cam
Not as extensive as some of my other reviews, but I hope I get the point across here:
The iBOT was the first "firewire" web cam to hit stores, and was adopted by Mac users first, as Macs were more prone to have firewire ports on their systems than PCs did. PCs are now catching up, and newer ones have firewire ports built in. Firewire is much faster than USB, and is suppose to be better for things like scanners, web cams, and video cameras.
"Awkward" would best describe the iBOT. From it's wire base that doesn't quite grip tabletops correctly, to the firewire cable that's stuck on the back (hindering movement of the cam itself), to the installation of the software (it will work on Mac OSX if you go to their site for updated drivers only), it's just well... "awkward". The software doesn't really give you any helpful applications such as good video conferencing or chat software, as some others do.
Image quality, though faster when sending, is not any better than USB cams I've seen. As a matter of fact, my unit had visible white lines that "waved" throughout the video when on. The email to Orange Micro (the maker) was answer promptly however (24 hours). Basically, they told me to increase the amount of light in the room. I did - the white lines became even more visible. Then I was told basically to return it to the store.
There aren't very many firewire cams on the market as of yet. I'm afraid the premium price you pay for this one ($99 to $129 in most stores) for the firewire capability isn't worth it due to the image quality. Stick to the sub-$100 USB cams for now, save some money, and enjoy better (though slightly slower) video.
Happy video chatting.
** Update **
Via a comment: Yes, I took it back to the store, and seeing other units had been returned, decided to try a different cam, the "Pyro 1394 web cam" - a disaster even worse. Doing a search under that name, will bring up that item along with the review I've written for it as well. Thanks for reading.
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