by jnthn on 11/14/23, 2:45 PM with 117 comments
by AlexAltea on 11/14/23, 9:45 PM
I'm sorry but I cannot take them seriously. Who in hell thought this is normal or acceptable?
by Terretta on 11/15/23, 2:49 AM
to look pro, you want maybe 35 degree field of view, equivalent to 70mm or more
see: https://s.studiobinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Focal-...
there's a reason studio newscasters have flat faces, while the people they interview via webex or zoom look like giant nosed clowns, it's the focal length
if you can't get a narrow field of view, you can pretend you have a "crop sensor" by getting a true 4K, cropping it down to 1080p since web conf software aren't sending more than that anyway, and positioning yourself farther from it.
this farther position also helps your eyes seem to be looking more directly at the lens.
by callumprentice on 11/14/23, 5:17 PM
I have sketched out a design for a bracket that dangles your phone upside down, in front of the screen and turns the phone front camera into a webcam that's much closer to where you are typically looking.
The interesting bit is that software on the phone displays the part of the monitor that's covered and creates a "seamless display experience" (slightly tongue in cheek).
Not perfect by any means but maybe worth creating a prototype of both hardware and software to see how it feels?
by berbec on 11/14/23, 4:20 PM
How is web design this bad acceptable? It's insanely slow, annoying to read and impossible to navigate.
by jszymborski on 11/14/23, 11:44 PM
Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly care seeing as the camera is suitably small and the other webcams are not fit for the same purpose, but my point is that if all I have to go on is the marketing, it doesn't inspire confidence.
Edit: The average height of a gummy bear is 2cm and the Tadpole is 3.5cm tall. A gummy bear is nearly half as tall (57%) as a this camera. I really dislike this copy.
by TD-Linux on 11/14/23, 9:28 PM
by dubcanada on 11/14/23, 9:50 PM
Who wraps their webcam around their wrist to go to a different meeting? I just don't understand the target of these ads/marketing.
by heeton on 11/14/23, 4:55 PM
Countless examples from forums and elsewhere of the same issues.
Shame, because the hardware is cool.
by johndough on 11/14/23, 4:47 PM
by _joel on 11/14/23, 4:12 PM
by Modified3019 on 11/14/23, 5:32 PM
For clarification, this device is 1.75x2.25x1 international haribo gummy bear heights.
by yjftsjthsd-h on 11/14/23, 4:24 PM
The mute button is a good idea - I strongly prefer having a nice dedicated button, though in my case it's on the headset - but that placement seems guaranteed to put force on the USB port in a way that risks damage.
by asadm on 11/14/23, 5:01 PM
by smoldesu on 11/14/23, 4:32 PM
by fermentation on 11/14/23, 10:02 PM
My C1 has been far too hot ever since the day I got it. The heat causes it to shut down and disconnect after using for more than 5 minutes. The only way I can actually use it is in low power mode, which removes all of the cool features and makes the video look worse. I have tried all of their software updates for the past year and nothing changed. I reached out to them multiple times over email for support and none of their suggestions helped much. Additionally, they advertised that PC support would come soon. It never came, and when I asked for a refund because they cancelled PC support I was ghosted.
They texted me ads multiple times today.
by FiddlerClamp on 11/14/23, 5:22 PM
by cabirum on 11/14/23, 4:55 PM
by nviennot on 11/14/23, 5:11 PM
There's a bunch of professional photos of the camera, two with a hand, then two next to a pair of pants, then on a handbag.
Only after all that it is shown on a laptop, where it is actually used! It should be the first image. Also, there's so little comparison between built-in webcam image and their offerings.
Then there's a huge video with a bead sliding on the rope holding the camera. It seems that the marketers are just masturbating with the high-quality photography they made. It's not actually useful.
This is not a problem users were like "I don't know how I can go from a meeting to another with my camera".
Also, their "Have you ever wished you could instantly mute yourself in a video call without having to look for that elusive mic button? Well, now you can have it." -- this is a solved problem with mute buttons on F1/F2 or whatever your laptop does. Or at least, current mute solutions are not harder than "I'm bring my own webcam, plug it in, configure the audio source, position it correctly on the top of my screen"
This landing page is out-of-touch with actual problems users may have.
by jasonjmcghee on 11/14/23, 11:54 PM
Your iPhone is crazy powerful with a beautiful picture- if you want to look great during meetings, use it.
No wires- just works
by lazzlazzlazz on 11/14/23, 11:34 PM
by pmontra on 11/16/23, 9:14 AM
Except for that I don't get what problem this is going to solve to justify the price. All laptops have a builtin camera. Any good or bad one would do for a business call, especially between established partners that don't even need a video feed and possibly spend the call on a shared desktop. With friends, same thing. For anything else, turn on the light and it will be fine. If you have to make a call in low light conditions, that's OK: a good camera might help.
by cloin on 11/14/23, 4:20 PM
by lproven on 11/15/23, 10:32 AM
That is the single worst site I've seen since winamp.com which told me, with 100% lossless fidelity, that the new version of the app was going to be a giant dumpster full of burning dumpsters full of toxic waste.
It alone is enough to ensure that I'd not give the company $1 let alone $179. Yuck.
by MiguelHudnandez on 11/15/23, 1:10 AM
Hard pass for me; I was excited when I saw what appeared to be a large lens and sensor but I don't think that quality translates to the footage.
by laweijfmvo on 11/14/23, 7:28 PM
Yeah probably not. What size sensor are they using?
by monkeynotes on 11/14/23, 5:19 PM
by superchroma on 11/14/23, 3:49 PM
by evanjrowley on 11/14/23, 4:20 PM
by sunshine-o on 11/14/23, 11:04 PM
(And ideally could be clipped on a laptop like this one)
by stuckkeys on 11/14/23, 4:53 PM
by ramanujank on 11/14/23, 5:04 PM
by j45 on 11/14/23, 11:38 PM
Top of laptop is not always ideal.
by yodon on 11/14/23, 4:17 PM
by user_named on 11/15/23, 8:09 AM
by todotask on 11/15/23, 1:58 AM
by idle_zealot on 11/14/23, 10:48 PM
Altogether it comes off to me as parody, except they will actually take your money.
by iJohnDoe on 11/14/23, 10:52 PM
The camera coats $175.00?
The little plastic case is not included and costs $50?!?
by solardev on 11/14/23, 5:03 PM
I know HN skews traditionalist anyway, but even here, a site this bad stands out.
I feel like normally we argue about user-invisible stuff like JS frameworks and analytics and tracking, but in this case it's a very in-your-face design meant to subvert all the common UX best practices in favor of something chic.
Does anyone like this? (Who is supposed to?) I can't tell anymore if I'm just old-fashioned and grumpy, and totally out of touch with modern preferences, or if this is just... universally bad.
