by Tom Piper
The iSight video “tube” camera was a terrific FireWire-tethered tool to capture images, and the built-in iSight camera in new Mac laptops and monitors is an excellent resource, but both have limitations of distance and direction. Wouldn’t it be great to have a wireless A/V device you can use almost anywhere?
Announced at Macworld Expo 2009 as “Best of Show”, and released for purchase in June, the very new BT-1 from ecamm is the wireless solution for which we’ve been waiting. This Bluetooth Webcam includes a mini-tripod, USB charging cable and very simple instructions. With the download and installation of a small interface file (requires Mac OS X 10.5 or newer, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR or better), this webcam is immediately usable by iChat, Skype, QuickTime, Evocam, and virtually any other software that access a camera.
Like the iSight, the BT-1 is 640x480 H.264 video with 48 kHz stereo AAC audio and 4-hour battery
capacity, plus Bluetooth range of 10-30 feet, depending on age and type of Mac (extendable up to 200 feet line-of-sight with a Class 1 Bluetooth USB dongle, for about $10). Its really small at 2”x2.5”x0.6” in size, and very lightweight. It is rechargeable with the provided USB cable (it will work while charging too, about 2-hour charge time), and has a standard 3.5mm audio port for an external microphone. The tripod legs extend from 2.5” to 7.0”, making for a very stable platform (the legs on some tripods have been known to jam). Bluetooth pairing begins automatically with a simple “0000”, and controls on the BT-1 are extremely simple with an on/off button, a power light, and a charging indicator light, and a nice preferences icon in the top menu of your screen . . . that’s it.
So far, I’ve used this unit with Ustream to share an hour at the Coffee Zone, on iChat to conduct a video call with a local friend and another a thousand miles away, on QuickTime to record a walkabout inventory of the house, via Skype with my son from his laptop to mine, and with Evocam to monitor the activities of my grandson (on both my Mac and iPhone). I’m sure that there are many other creative ways to use it, particularly since it is compatible with any camera mount (C-clamps, photo bags, gorilla tripods, etc.). It has excellent screen quality, even in low light situations. Color rendition is amazingly good, focusing well from 10” to infinity at 15 frames per second, and sound reception was good even 20’ away (a powered microphone would work even better in the sound jack).
The ecamm BT-1 can be yours for only $149, plus shipping, at
www.bt-1.com (and probably in your local
stores soon). I fully endorse this innovative product as yet another in a long line of successful products that you can see at
www.ecamm.com. The “ecamm network” also includes iUSBCam, iGlasses, Conference Recorder, Huckleberry, PhoneView and Call Recorder (all of which I have), as well as PowerBoost, DockStar and CardRaider (which I hope to get soon), and iMage USB Webcam (this is what got me interested in the webcam when a friend first showed it to me). For a pair of great interviews with co-founders Glen and Ken Aspeslagh, go to
www.bt-1.com and click on the Media tab.
Easy simplicity, high quality, excellent reliability, thoughtful service, and competitive pricing make the ecamm BT-1 Webcam a great value for many of our video needs. I can’t wait to see what the Ecamm Network comes out with next!
Comments