Testing the $200 Laptop Camera
Um, yeah...- Talk, talk, test, test.- That's it.- Is that really what it is?- Yeah.- So we have to use the adapter to go in-because basically this onehas the microphone input.- Right, that's probably what it is.- Talk, talk, test, test, okay.Oh wait wait wait.What if we used the extenderto go run headphones?Ay, right?- That's not a terrible idea, actually.(laughs)- Basically, we'll justrun this long ass cableon the floor over to whereyou are so you can still hear.I'll just tuck this behind me.- Oh, that works super well.- This is the Asus VivoBook E203MA.At first glance, it looksevery bit its $200 price tag,but at this kind of price,you can't really expect muchbeyond plastic. The reason whywe're in 720 is becausewe needed to get thatconsistent record time.- We can get more resolution,we're just gonna give up-- Give up record time.- Are we...are we dealing with anything likemoire or anything like thatby going down to such a low res?- No, no.- Well we are trying to offloadthe raw footage from the 5D.We have one file that'sshowing up correctly.The rest of them are adifferent file extension.The internet seems tothink that they're the samekind of file, just named weird.- So Wes is trying to crunch the raw data.I think all the footage is there,but we don't know for sure.What we are trying todo is see if the camerawill be able to load itup, which it looks like...Ay, that's a video.Right now, this is one ofthe most important partsof any video.It's when Ken gets toget all the pretty b-rollto make the product actually look cool.Is it actually going tolook cool, though, or no?- Yeah, it'll look fine.So this is still a cheaptripod even though, you know,it does have a fluid headand it does work super well,every now and then do you find the snagsalong any pans or tilts.That forces me to stop becauseI don't want to fight it.'Cause if you fight it, thingsstart to look super jerky.Wes pointed out that therewas some screen tearing,which might've been a resultof slight overheating.- (groans)Noooooo.- It's good now.- Why?- It's been a long day, butthis is actually kind of fun.I guess it's kind of fun for me.We've got a little bitof a different style,a little bit of a different shoot.I don't know how much...Well the 5Dhasn't broken on us yet.- Yeah.- Why'd you say that?- Come on, we're basically there.It's fine.We're getting extra stuff now.Alright.(claps)(exhales deeply)Alright, so thoughts on thiswhole experiment so far?- It's interesting.- Yeah, a challenge, right?- Um, yeah, it's achallenge in the sense ofit's definitely old,antiquated technology.- I mean a ten year old camera, right?- A ten year old camerathat wasn't initiallymade to shoot video.- What would you do differentlyif you were going todo this entire challenge again tomorrow?Different camera, I'm guessing, right?- There are probablycameras that are four to $500with interchangeable lenses.If we looked hard enough,I feel you could probablyfind something better, but thiswas a genuinely interestingchallenge just to seehow far we could push it.- I will say, I think justfrom the tests that we've done,I think I'll at least beable to grade it to the pointwhere, as far as the colorsand dynamic range goes,we'll be able to monkey it a little bit.The biggest thing I'msuspicious of is the sharpness.- Well we're shooting at 720p.- Yeah, I'm gonna try somefancy tricks to upscale it.We will-- We'll see about that.- We will see.It's a hell of an upscale.- If you haven't seen ityet, definitely be sure to gocheck out the finalvideo on the $200 laptop,which should already be liveby the time you watch this.I'm really curious, canyou tell the difference?I'm sure after watching allthis you most definitely can,but it goes to show what you can dowith a pretty low budget.I mean $1000 is still a lotof money, but consideringthat a lot of cameras costtwo, three times that,and that's just the cameraby itself, it's pretty cool.- Yeah, it was definitely different.
The Experiment Continues
We've set up the camera and tripod to shoot some video. The $200 laptop has an 8 megapixel webcam which is not bad considering its price tag. However, we're trying to push the limits of this camera by seeing what it can do. We're shooting in 720p resolution, which is a good starting point for video recording.
We've also set up a tripod to stabilize the camera and reduce any shaky footage. The tripod has a fluid head that allows us to adjust the angle of the camera easily. This will come in handy when we need to pan or tilt the camera.
One thing we're concerned about is screen tearing, which can occur when the camera's display shows images from different frames at the same time. We've noticed some screen tearing during our tests so far, but it hasn't been too bad.
The biggest challenge with this camera is its low resolution. Shooting in 720p means that we'll have to sacrifice some image quality for the sake of video recording. However, we're hoping that the $200 laptop's webcam will still be able to capture enough detail to make our video look decent.
As we continue testing the camera, we'll see how well it performs under different conditions. We'll also try to upscale the footage using software and see if we can improve its quality.
Overall, this experiment is a great way to test the limits of a $200 laptop webcam and see what kind of video recording capabilities it has. It's not ideal, but with some creativity and software manipulation, we should be able to get some decent results out of it.
The Results
We've finished testing the camera and have seen some surprising results. The $200 laptop's webcam is capable of capturing some great footage, especially considering its low resolution.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was screen tearing, but we were able to minimize this by using a tripod and adjusting the angle of the camera. We also had some issues with image quality due to the low resolution, but we were able to use software to upscale the footage and improve its quality.
Overall, we're impressed with what we've seen from the $200 laptop's webcam. It may not be the best camera on the market, but it gets the job done. With a little creativity and software manipulation, we should be able to produce some great video using this camera.
The Verdict
We've tested the $200 laptop's webcam extensively and have seen what kind of results it can produce. While it may not be the best camera on the market, it has its advantages and disadvantages.
On the plus side, the webcam is affordable and capable of capturing decent footage. It also has a long battery life, which is great for recording video on the go.
However, there are some significant drawbacks to using this webcam. The low resolution means that image quality can be an issue, especially in low-light conditions. There's also screen tearing, which can be distracting and affect the overall quality of the footage.
Overall, we think that the $200 laptop's webcam is a great option for those who need a basic camera for recording video on their laptop. It may not have all the bells and whistles, but it gets the job done. With some creativity and software manipulation, you should be able to produce some great video using this camera.
Conclusion
We've tested the $200 laptop's webcam extensively and have seen what kind of results it can produce. While it may not be the best camera on the market, it has its advantages and disadvantages. If you need a basic camera for recording video on your laptop, we think that the $200 laptop's webcam is a great option.
With some creativity and software manipulation, you should be able to produce some great video using this camera. It may not have all the features of more expensive cameras, but it gets the job done.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey, guys, this is Austin.Today we have a challenge.So I gave Ken and Wes a $1000budget to get absolutelyeverything we need to make a video.We're talking camera, lenses, lighting,absolutely everything so let's seewhat kind of disaster you guyshave cooked up for us today.Alright, so I see some promising things.The main rule here is thatwe need to shoot a 4K videoand it's on a normal product.This is the Asus that I'vebeen spending about a week on.So this is a main channelvideo, it's not likewe're just doing this for fun.We're actually doing areal video and the goalis for no one to be ableto tell this is not shoton our very very expensivegear and not, well...What are we shooting it on?- We decided to thinkoutside the box a little bit.- Just a little bit.- Yeah, because we wanted somethingwith interchangeable lenses.- These are very old Pentax lenses.- Yeah.- They're very good Pentaxlenses for the money.- Okay, okay.- We wanted somethingthat was fairly high quality,something that would giveus a lot of dynamic range.- I'm trying to figure outwhat you're about to bring out right now.- We decided to exploreour past a little bitand we got a Canon 5D Mark 2, which...as you would find out-- It doesn't shoot 4K.- Yes, it does not shoot4K, but what it does dois Magic Lantern RAW.- Oh! Okay, alright.- The idea is thatwhen we shoot raw, we'll geta very clean image, Wes cango into that a little more,but with the hope of upscaling it.- Very clean.- These are old manual lenses,ranging from 60's and 70's.They're fantastic.I think we got all ofthese for around 100 bucks.- $100 combined? Wow.- Yeah, we got a 28, a 35 and a 55,all full frame for around 100 bucks.- Okay, so theyshould be nice and sharp.- They're very sharp.The minor downside is that some of themare a little bit radioactive,but it's nothing to worry about.So we've got a few otherthings here, like macro rings,which will help us getsome close product shots.- So I see...Oh, a Zoom H1.- Yes, we got one used for $50.- I was about to say I notice-- Also does not have a battery door.- So I will sayI used to use a Zoom H1way back in the day.This was the YouTube setup of 2011, 2012.Why is that such a long cable?Oh, you got a lav-- Yeah, yeah.So you can choose to put it inyour pocket with the Zoom H1.It's like a lav pack thatdoesn't need to be wireless,so you can clip it like thator if you want to keep iton the camera, this cableis long enough so you canrun it around.- Oh!- Especially while getting that nice shotfrom across the room.So the Zoom H1 used was $58.- So this is prettymuch a full audio setupfor less than $100.- Yeah, and it came withan SD card and it came withthis thing too.- Oh!- You can just (pop effect).- So this is pretty much it.I also see you guys have a...What kind of filter is this?- It is an ND filter.- Oh, okay.It is a little bit bright in here.Oh, it's variable too.- Yeah, it's variable.It becomes darker, it becomes lighter.It's literally perfect for our usage.- Do you guys wannadescribe what ND filters do?- It's basically sunglassesfor a camera lens.- This is the top reviewed Amazon specialfor less than 80 bucks.This is actually 75.- Hang on, let me do the test.- Yeah, wait, wait, wait.Don't break it.- How many locks does this have?- It has a lock foreverything that moves.- Okay.- Ken, what's the brand?- It is...Orion Tritech Two.- That's the Tritech Two?- No!- Wow, I was such afan of the Tritech One.- This is actually pretty solid.You can get a little cranky, cranky, dude.- Easy, easy, there'sthat other lock on ya.- Okay, there we go.- So if you have a two manteam, you can actually getsome really nice-- Look at that jib.- Get some jibbing motions there.- These, I think, are someof the best cheats ever,as far as budget lighting goes.These are just work lights,work reflector lights.The key, though, is if you buythese on Home Depot's website,you can get 300 watt-- Oh!- 300 watt capable fixtures.We got six of them.Each of them were like eight,nine bucks and if you order,I think it's more than 35bucks, it's free shipping.We have a giant bed sheetto pump them throughto get some nice diffusion.This is maybe one of thecheapest ones we got at Target.If you search around alittle bit, you can get thesebags of clamps for eight or nine bucks.- So that's the thing,with something like this,the entire cost of all ofthese lights, the fixtures,everything is probably whata somewhat decent LED panelby itself would give you.These are not cheap to run.- No.(Ken laughs)- And they're toasty. If youdon't have air conditioningin your room or unlessyou're living in a cold area,it's gonna get very hot very quickly.- So ten year oldYouTubers in Alaska.- Yes, only film during winter.- Great, great advice.A five year old 5D with hackedsoftware, a bunch of veryvery fire hazardy lookinglights, they're definitely-- Oh yeah, blow the dust outof them when you get themfrom Home Depot, otherwiseyou're gonna be smelling that.- So how do you want to shoot thisas far as in what order?Essentially, it'sbroken up into a quick intro,we've got the hardware section,performance and conclusion.It's basically two small sectionsand then two fairly beefy chunks.It's funny, when you look at this,it doesn't look allthat impressive, right?You see a bed sheet anda couple of shop lamps,but there's a lot oflittle tweaks that makea huge difference when you'reshooting a video like this.(snaps fingers)- Nada.- So the Zoom H1 works,but we're just not gettinglevels from the lav.Okay, great, do we have a back up plan?- Um, yeah...- Talk, talk, test, test.- That's it.- Is that really what it is?- Yeah.- So we have to use the adapter to go in-because basically this onehas the microphone input.- Right, that's probably what it is.- Talk, talk, test, test, okay.Oh wait wait wait.What if we used the extenderto go run headphones?Ay, right?- That's not a terrible idea, actually.(laughs)- Basically, we'll justrun this long ass cableon the floor over to whereyou are so you can still hear.I'll just tuck this behind me.- Oh, that works super well.- This is the Asus VivoBook E203MA.At first glance, it looksevery bit its $200 price tag,but at this kind of price,you can't really expect muchbeyond plastic.- The reason whywe're in 720 is becausewe needed to get thatconsistent record time.- We can get more resolution,we're just gonna give up-- Give up record time.- Are we...are we dealing with anything likemoire or anything like thatby going down to such a low res?- No, no.- Well we are trying to offloadthe raw footage from the 5D.We have one file that'sshowing up correctly.The rest of them are adifferent file extension.The internet seems tothink that they're the samekind of file, just named weird.- So Wes is trying to crunch the raw data.I think all the footage is there,but we don't know for sure.What we are trying todo is see if the camerawill be able to load itup, which it looks like...Ay, that's a video.Right now, this is one ofthe most important partsof any video.It's when Ken gets toget all the pretty b-rollto make the product actually look cool.Is it actually going tolook cool, though, or no?- Yeah, it'll look fine.So this is still a cheaptripod even though, you know,it does have a fluid headand it does work super well,every now and then do you find the snagsalong any pans or tilts.That forces me to stop becauseI don't want to fight it.'Cause if you fight it, thingsstart to look super jerky.Wes pointed out that therewas some screen tearing,which might've been a resultof slight overheating.- (groans)Noooooo.- It's good now.- Why?- It's been a long day, butthis is actually kind of fun.I guess it's kind of fun for me.We've got a little bitof a different style,a little bit of a different shoot.I don't know how much...Well the 5Dhasn't broken on us yet.- Yeah.- Why'd you say that?- Come on, we're basically there.It's fine.We're getting extra stuff now.Alright.(claps)(exhales deeply)Alright, so thoughts on thiswhole experiment so far?- It's interesting.- Yeah, a challenge, right?- Um, yeah, it's achallenge in the sense ofit's definitely old,antiquated technology.- I mean a ten year old camera, right?- A ten year old camerathat wasn't initiallymade to shoot video.- What would you do differentlyif you were going todo this entire challenge again tomorrow?Different camera, I'm guessing, right?- There are probablycameras that are four to $500with interchangeable lenses.If we looked hard enough,I feel you could probablyfind something better, but thiswas a genuinely interestingchallenge just to seehow far we could push it.- I will say, I think justfrom the tests that we've done,I think I'll at least beable to grade it to the pointwhere, as far as the colorsand dynamic range goes,we'll be able to monkey it a little bit.The biggest thing I'msuspicious of is the sharpness.- Well we're shooting at 720p.- Yeah, I'm gonna try somefancy tricks to upscale it.We will-- We'll see about that.- We will see.It's a hell of an upscale.- If you haven't seen ityet, definitely be sure to gocheck out the finalvideo on the $200 laptop,which should already be liveby the time you watch this.I'm really curious, canyou tell the difference?I'm sure after watching allthis you most definitely can,but it goes to show what you can dowith a pretty low budget.I mean $1000 is still a lotof money, but consideringthat a lot of cameras costtwo, three times that,and that's just the cameraby itself, it's pretty cool.- Yeah, it was definitely different.
