Started camming recently. I live with older people who have no sense of privacy so I have to be discreet, which means I'm camming in my computer room late night/early morning in the dark. Currently using an old iPad Mini (with iVCam and OBS) which aside from being grainy does an OK job with only the monitor for light.
I just bought a Logitech C922 Pro. It will be mounted on the top of the monitor or on my desk on the small tripod for flashes. During the day and at night with my single wide beam spotlight on it looks great, but that's not an option when camming because it's bright enough to seep into the hallway and hot enough to make me sweat in summer. Having never used a webcam before I was shocked to discover that it's almost pitch black with the light off! Raising all the settings like Exposure, Low Light Compensation, Contrast, Gain etc. isn't helping because it just makes everything look washed out and adds so much lag the stream looks awful.
I need enough light for my face and body to be clearly visible but not so bright it will escape my room. It seems like the best idea is light behind the webcam or on the desk to illuminate me but it's not my house so I can't wall-mount and I don't have much spare desk space. Would one of those 3 bulb Boston floor lamps in front of the bookcase with Soft White LED bulbs do the trick? Would they need to be diffused? How big is the base on those things? Keep in mind I'm on a strict budget.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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