Peripherals Web Cams ?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by oblivion181, 2 Aug 2012.

  1. oblivion181

    oblivion181 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    20 Dec 2009
    Posts:
    63
    Likes Received:
    7
    Ok, so I have been looking for a webcam as I am switching back form a laptop to a desktop and my family are going to be mad at me if they can video call me on skype.

    I though that I might splash out a little bit and buy something that will take 720p or even 1080p resolution images, rather than just getting the cheapest thing I can find.

    So after a bit of research I have found something that baffles me.

    If you have a 1920 x 1080 monitor then it is 1920 pixels wide, by 1080 pixels high. Using multiplication I would say that had 2,000,000 Pixels on the screen, using a calculator it would come out as 2,073,600. So in my mind that would be 2MP give or take a small amount.

    So why is a web cam advertised as 2 MP only give a resolution of 800x600. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/microsoft-lifecam-show-black-silver-2mpix-800x600-usb-webcam

    and a 8MP WebCam is 1280x720.
    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/kworld-ultimate-webcam-v2000-720p-8mp-webcam

    and for a 1080p WebCam it is 12MP.
    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/creative-live!-cam-inperson-hd-skype-hd-webcam-1080p

    Is my maths really that bad or am I missing some important aspect of the situation.

    Thanks for any explanation.
     
  2. Elton

    Elton Officially a Whisky Nerd

    Joined:
    23 Jan 2009
    Posts:
    8,577
    Likes Received:
    196
    Software. The lens is helped by software.
     
  3. SpAceman

    SpAceman What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    1 Nov 2010
    Posts:
    267
    Likes Received:
    4
    Nothing wrong with your maths.
    Quoted mega-pixels is the rating for still images.
    Quoted pixels x pixels resolution is for taking video.
     
    oblivion181 likes this.

Share This Page