Laptop & camera

[tiffanyalyssa]

It's has been quite a while since I upgraded my equipment. I'm currently using a MacBook Air and a Logitech brio. My webcam started glitching? It seems to flicker. I also noticed my fps is constantly dropping and viewers telling me I'm lagging. I have fiber 1gig internet.

What is a good laptop to upgrade to? I do love how long my MacBook air lasted should I just upgrade to a newer MacBook pro? What is everyone using?

Also, I'm considering getting a DSLR. That opens a whole new set of questions. Would a DSLR work going to a MacBook? Would I need a capture card?

Soooo 1. What kind of laptop would everyone recommend? I like the mobility to move around wherever I want with it.
2. What kind of camera? Would DSLR work with MacBook pro? I'm overwhelmed by specs

 

[Coffeelounge]

The Brio is a really good webcam. Not sure why you are lagging, it could be a wide range of things. You know your laptop best though and how it's running. If your using OBS double check your upload speed/bitrate settings to make sure they line up properly because that can cause lag and dropped frames if not done properly.

Setting up a DSLR as a webcam without a capture card requires fewer steps and less hardware. Any newer version of DSLR camera will come with DSLR webcam software you can install on your Mac or PC.

 

[BlackWizard]

i quot here @Nigerian Prince .He helped me a lot with choosing DSLR. Also depends what budget do you have for DLSR

 

[Nigerian Prince]

It's has been quite a while since I upgraded my equipment. I'm currently using a MacBook Air and a Logitech brio. My webcam started glitching? It seems to flicker. I also noticed my fps is constantly dropping and viewers telling me I'm lagging. I have fiber 1gig internet.

What is a good laptop to upgrade to? I do love how long my MacBook air lasted should I just upgrade to a newer MacBook pro? What is everyone using?

Also, I'm considering getting a DSLR. That opens a whole new set of questions. Would a DSLR work going to a MacBook? Would I need a capture card?

Soooo 1. What kind of laptop would everyone recommend? I like the mobility to move around wherever I want with it.
2. What kind of camera? Would DSLR work with MacBook pro? I'm overwhelmed by specs

If you want to stay with Mac OS the new air should be more than capable for streaming, and would likely last you a long time. If your FPS is dropping however it probably isn't the webcam, or at least if it is you would see the same issues in your preview (assuming you are using OBS).

A DSLR or mirrorless camera would work fine with Mac, and you would likely need a capture card depending on the model you get. My previous camera needed a capture card meanwhile my current one can stream via USB without any software. For camera recommendations it really just depends on your budget and if you plan to use it for anything other than a webcam replacement.

 

[BlackWizard]

If you want to stay with Mac OS the new air should be more than capable for streaming, and would likely last you a long time. If your FPS is dropping however it probably isn't the webcam, or at least if it is you would see the same issues in your preview (assuming you are using OBS).

A DSLR or mirrorless camera would work fine with Mac, and you would likely need a capture card depending on the model you get. My previous camera needed a capture card meanwhile my current one can stream via USB without any software. For camera recommendations it really just depends on your budget and if you plan to use it for anything other than a webcam replacement.

Of what I remember, from budger DSLR you were recommending me SONY RXIII and is also already goes with specific lens, so in one price she could have camera + lens. From more expensive i can totally recimend sony a6400 from my own experience, but its not cheap thing.
But its a lot of DLSR cameras so we need know Tiffany what is the most imporant for you, like for example in my case-i wanted have good depth of field effect, blurred background but also as wide angle as possible. So if you will tell us more details , we can help more.

 

[Pommster]

It's has been quite a while since I upgraded my equipment. I'm currently using a MacBook Air and a Logitech brio. My webcam started glitching? It seems to flicker. I also noticed my fps is constantly dropping and viewers telling me I'm lagging. I have fiber 1gig internet.

What is a good laptop to upgrade to? I do love how long my MacBook air lasted should I just upgrade to a newer MacBook pro? What is everyone using?

Also, I'm considering getting a DSLR. That opens a whole new set of questions. Would a DSLR work going to a MacBook? Would I need a capture card?

Soooo 1. What kind of laptop would everyone recommend? I like the mobility to move around wherever I want with it.
2. What kind of camera? Would DSLR work with MacBook pro? I'm overwhelmed by specs

Depends what MacBook Air you have. If you have one with an Intel CPU from a few years ago, I would say it's a bit underpowered and tends to overheat. The new M2 based MacBook Air is fantastic though and available in 13 or 15 inch models. I would say don't skimp on RAM though - go for 16GB.

 

[Nigerian Prince]

Of what I remember, from budger DSLR you were recommending me SONY RXIII and is also already goes with specific lens, so in one price she could have camera + lens. From more expensive i can totally recimend sony a6400 from my own experience, but its not cheap thing.
But its a lot of DLSR cameras so we need know Tiffany what is the most imporant for you, like for example in my case-i wanted have good depth of field effect, blurred background but also as wide angle as possible. So if you will tell us more details , we can help more.

Yeah, the Sony RXIII would still be my budget recommendation as sometimes you can get it used for a good price. Hugh step up in quality compared to any webcam, but also not super expensive. Nowadays I'd recommend the Sony ZV-E10 over the a6400 as it's basically the same camera but much cheaper.

 

[tiffanyalyssa]

Depends what MacBook Air you have. If you have one with an Intel CPU from a few years ago, I would say it's a bit underpowered and tends to overheat. The new M2 based MacBook Air is fantastic though and available in 13 or 15 inch models. I would say don't skimp on RAM though - go for 16GB.

Oh wow I just checked mine because I didn't know the specs. Mine is apparently a 2018 8gb memory 1.6ghz dual-core Intel core i5. From googling it looks like m2 started around 2020?

 

[tiffanyalyssa]

Yeah, the Sony RXIII would still be my budget recommendation as sometimes you can get it used for a good price. Hugh step up in quality compared to any webcam, but also not super expensive. Nowadays I'd recommend the Sony ZV-E10 over the a6400 as it's basically the same camera but much cheaper.

That's good to know. I'm wanting something better than what I have. It would only be used to replace a webcam so I don't want to go too crazy on price since streaming would be my only use for it

 

[tiffanyalyssa]

Of what I remember, from budger DSLR you were recommending me SONY RXIII and is also already goes with specific lens, so in one price she could have camera + lens. From more expensive i can totally recimend sony a6400 from my own experience, but its not cheap thing.
But its a lot of DLSR cameras so we need know Tiffany what is the most imporant for you, like for example in my case-i wanted have good depth of field effect, blurred background but also as wide angle as possible. So if you will tell us more details , we can help more.

Is there a specific lens? Or do you mean the lens that comes with it is already good? Sorry my reading comprehension when it comes to techy things is horrible lol. I would love to get a bit of a blurred effect but I don't know much about it. Would I only be able to be in a certain spot or does it kind of adjust to wherever you are distance wise from the camera?

 

[tiffanyalyssa]

The Brio is a really good webcam. Not sure why you are lagging, it could be a wide range of things. You know your laptop best though and how it's running. If your using OBS double check your upload speed/bitrate settings to make sure they line up properly because that can cause lag and dropped frames if not done properly.

Setting up a DSLR as a webcam without a capture card requires fewer steps and less hardware. Any newer version of DSLR camera will come with DSLR webcam software you can install on your Mac or PC.

It started the glitches after I moved it so it made me think maybe the cord/connection is having an issue? I wasn't rough with it by any means but touching it and moving it around seemed to make the glitches worse.

Also, I checked my laptop and realized it's a 2018 with 8gb memory. It's older than I realized

 

[tiffanyalyssa]

Yeah, the Sony RXIII would still be my budget recommendation as sometimes you can get it used for a good price. Hugh step up in quality compared to any webcam, but also not super expensive. Nowadays I'd recommend the Sony ZV-E10 over the a6400 as it's basically the same camera but much cheaper.

Do you have any lens recommendations? I'm in a whole new realm with this. Is the lens that comes with it fine? Also, I've seen some threads say you need a fake battery/power supply? Thanks for all the info btw

 

[Pommster]

Oh wow I just checked mine because I didn't know the specs. Mine is apparently a 2018 8gb memory 1.6ghz dual-core Intel core i5. From googling it looks like m2 started around 2020?

The M2 13 inch is from 2022 and the 15 inch was from 2023. The are both much better than the Intel version (even the M1 from 2020 is much better).

 

[BlackWizard]

Look at this https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cybershot-dsc-rx100-m3 In short cut

Lens focal range 24-70mm	Lens max aperture F1.8-2.8​

What does it mean ? ITS COOL LENS! Because f.1.8 make a little depth of field ( blurred background) so and 24-70 mm means how wide angle you will have. To most DLSR u have lenses like 35 mm f 1.4 . or a nother lens 15mm f 2.8, so you need have few lenses for different effects, in this sony you can operate wih your lens. 24mm means wide angle, 70 mm means close up. f1.8 means a little blurred , f 2.8 no blur . So you can work like zoomed out with no blurred background with pretty lot of vkiew for body and so on but when u will set 70mm you will be in nice close up with romantic blurred background
Am I right @Nigerian Prince ? i wanted to explain her good but im not so expert as you

 

[BlackWizard]

Ooh remember that to DSLR you will need separate microphone!
maybe you know this but for example my experience of first dslr was YAYYY WE HAVE NEW CAMERA! LETS STREAM
ooh shit i need capture card, microphone and some cables

And was big oooops

 

[BlackWizard]

I had few DSLR but finally i back to webcam . Its good but a lot of setting ,also hard to zoom in and zoom out the same easy as in webcam also dslr camera is really HONEST equipment- every red spot on face, every not perfectly shaved hair on body, make up done wit hurry- is showing everythng is really big details Withwebcams with good lighting we all can look perfect and few years younger-with DSLR no way hahaa only truth! I remmeber my good regularafter i changedwebcam to sony a6400 " oh my gosh i can see every pore on your skin! "
I will go soon for lovense webcam or insta360

 

[Nigerian Prince]

Do you have any lens recommendations? I'm in a whole new realm with this. Is the lens that comes with it fine? Also, I've seen some threads say you need a fake battery/power supply? Thanks for all the info btw

The RXIII has a built in lens, so you wouldn't need to purchase one. For something like the the Sony ZV-E10 the Sigma 16mm is a good option, but you u can get away with the kit lens that often comes with the camera if you are shooting in a well lit environment.

Look at this https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cybershot-dsc-rx100-m3 In short cut

​

Lens focal range 24-70mm	​ Lens max aperture F1.8-2.8​

What does it mean ? ITS COOL LENS! Because f.1.8 make a little depth of field ( blurred background) so and 24-70 mm means how wide angle you will have. To most DLSR u have lenses like 35 mm f 1.4 . or a nother lens 15mm f 2.8, so you need have few lenses for different effects, in this sony you can operate wih your lens. 24mm means wide angle, 70 mm means close up. f1.8 means a little blurred , f 2.8 no blur . So you can work like zoomed out with no blurred background with pretty lot of vkiew for body and so on but when u will set 70mm you will be in nice close up with romantic blurred background
Am I right @Nigerian Prince ? i wanted to explain her good but im not so expert as you

It's a bit more complicated than that because how wide a lens is or how shallow your depth of field will depend on the size of the sensor of the camera.

 

[tiffanyalyssa]

Ooh remember that to DSLR you will need separate microphone!
maybe you know this but for example my experience of first dslr was YAYYY WE HAVE NEW CAMERA! LETS STREAM
ooh shit i need capture card, microphone and some cables

And was big oooops

Whoops I did not realize it would need a microphone haha! Thanks for that heads up!

 

[blayze_noir]

For the glitching, I find on my mac that sometimes the log and systems files get too big and make things get slow, especially video processing. I use a software called Onyx to clean things up and make my mac faster. You can find at https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html.

You'll need to download the correct version for your macos, then open the app, go to the Maintenance tab and click on Run Tasks. You should be able to keep the default settings, but double check that in the Internet section that "Form Values" and "Cookies and Other Form Data" are not checked. If you clean these you'll lose any saved passwords and stuff.

After you run this, the computer will restart much faster and you should free up from 20GB to 100GB of disk space. I've been using this app since Mac OS 10.8. It's great. You can also customize all sorts of things with it.

Good luck.

 

[KingMarti]

It started the glitches after I moved it so it made me think maybe the cord/connection is having an issue? I wasn't rough with it by any means but touching it and moving it around seemed to make the glitches worse.

Also, I checked my laptop and realized it's a 2018 with 8gb memory. It's older than I realized

2018 for a macbook isnt that old tbh. from pretty much 2015 until the M1 there wasnt much performance difference between the years. Intel's development was pretty stagnant for a while. The new M chips are much better than any of the intel bassed mac's though. But if it's been fine for camming until now there's no reason why it would suddenly be the issue unless something changed in your setup or how you broadcast (switching from webrtc to obs for example) or dropped it or something.

If you want to find out if the issue is your laptop or your webcam I would either get another webcam to see if that fixes the issue (and it's always useful to have a spare anyway) or you can connect your phone as a webcam and see if you still have the issue...unless ofc you just want to upgrade the entire setup anyway.

 

[cbhours]

my current one can stream via USB without any software. .

At what resolution?

 

[Pommster]

Whoops I did not realize it would need a microphone haha! Thanks for that heads up!

And a capture device like an Elgato Cam Link to get the video from the HDMI out on the camera to USB on the computer (if you have a Mac, you'll need one with USB-C or an adapter).

 

[Nigerian Prince]

At what resolution?

1080p or 4k

 

[mika_kedi]

And a capture device like an Elgato Cam Link to get the video from the HDMI out on the camera to USB on the computer (if you have a Mac, you'll need one with USB-C or an adapter).

As it was said before that's not always the case these days. Most newer DSLRs let you stream without a capture card.

 

[Pommster]

As it was said before that's not always the case these days. Most newer DSLRs let you stream without a capture card.

Yeah, some of the very newest ones will have USB-C

 

[YungRiceWang]

If you have a newer iphone, I would recommend staying within the Apple ecosystem and picking up a Macbook Air M1/M2 or Macbook Pro. The main reason is the built in webcam and microphones are great, but you can also use your iphone as a wireless camera and microphone, which is so great.

Not to mention the insane battery life you get with Apple Silicon.

On my main (but old desktop set up), I use a Sony ZV1 which is your classic entry level vlog/stream type camera. Decent picture quality, good aperture.

But in May of 2023, I decided to pick up an M2 Macbook Air and an iphone 14 pro as a back up, and it's insane how much it competes with a dedicated camera.

I can stream (from the laptop webcam) for 5 hours on one charge via OBS, which is just insane for a portable set up.