PlayStation Eye

got this to play michael jackson the experience and it gets the job done!

I got this PS3 Eye specifically to take it apart and modify it to become an IR only camera to use it with FreeTrack & FaceTrackNoIR (free software that helps you emulate TrackIR). For this purpose, once the camera is modified, it works ...flawlessly. You will NOT regret the purchase, 5 stars just for that. However, what I was shocked to find, though was how well this also worked as a normal PC Webcam. Pros: 1. Picture was smooth, probably because the framerate can go up to 120 FPS. 2. Software drivers for various verisons of Windows, including Windows 7. 3. The camera can lower resolution and do a wider angle, which is very nice. 4. Microphone was very nice. 5. Once set up, worked with Skype, OSB for Twitch streaming, about everything I tried. Cons: 1. Camera only supports up to 640x480 (however, not much of one as that's a sensible resolution that won't eat your bandwith) 2. PC Drivers are not by Sony, or officially supported, you have to find them. There was an annoying bug that evverytime I reboot my pc, I have to unplug and replug the camera to get the microphone to work in Windows 7. 3. PC Drivers are 32-bit only, and that meant, for example, I coudl only run the 32 bit version of OSB to stream for Twitch. The Camera isn't an amazing piece of hardware, it's just a decent piece of hardware at an amazing price, that can work for a PS3, a PC, be reasonably modified into an IR camera, etc. For that, it really deserves 5 stars.

The PS3 Eye is an excellent PC webcam. It may sound strange to say this but I didn't buy the Eye for my PS3, but to use it as a PC webcam. All you have to do is look for the drivers on the internet, an easy search will take you to the right place, and install them. You PC will recognize the Eye and you've got a $30ish camera that would cost you much more if you were to buy another brand of the same quality. I've been using it in Skype mostly and it works like a charm. But the PS3 Eye works on the PS3 too. I'm not really using it there now, but I will once the Playstation Move comes out. I already got this part of it, so I just have to get the controller. Great product.

This camera has surpassed my expectations in terms of quality and setup difficulty. Though the shipping was slightly delayed, the camera surprised me by coming in a day early and really making my night. After about 10 minutes of downloading firmware for the small sum of $2.99, it put this camera in the $12-13 range, much cheaper than any competing web-cam could offer. I was able to get this set-up with OBS (streaming software) in another 5 minutes and can really only say the one thing I am missing now is a good lighting setup. I dn't plan to use the built-in Mic, but the fact that it offers this is beyond what you would expect, you can essentially setup a video VOIP for $12 in 10 minutes. I plan to use this for Youtube and Streaming on Twitch and the quality is definitely up to par. Very pleased with this purchase.

Ok -- so I picked this up for both the video conferencing and the games. Video is ok -- it's not the best, certainly not as clear as they make it look in the promotional materials, but good enough for us to chat with family. The stream is a bit choppy at times but hey -- this is not a several hundred dollar video conferencing system either. For what you're paying, you get a nice set up. Compared to PC, it seems to be about the same from what I've seen. The games are pretty neat but there's only a few of them! I bought every piece of software Sony offers on the Playstation network and it only cost me 20 bucks, so there's no big $$$ expenditure here. The kids really get a kick out of Operation Creature Feature and I gotta admit, I have fun with it too. It gets pretty tough on later levels so there's a bit of skill mastery goin' on there! :-) Lastly, a heads up for anyone who buys one of these -- the camera detects motion. ALL motion. I had my ceiling fan on when I first hooked it up and it would not work worth a @#$^&! Turned the ceiling fan off and presto -- worked great. Whereas you'll typically be using your hands to fight, you can also use your arms, head, torso... you get the picture. 40 bucks is a trip to the movies with the wife/girlfriend, popcorn, and drinks. That's a drop in the well for something like this unit. I've definitely derived far, far more entertainment from the PS3 Eye than I'd ever get from a movie and besides -- with the rising costs of going to the cinema, I'd rather just buy the DVD and watch it home for free...my shoes don't get all sticky from the candy and spilled soda pop that way either. :-)

This is a great camera with a high refresh rate at lower resolution (320x240) and the option to take a hit on frame rate and capture at 640x480. Both modes work great and it works out of the box in Ubuntu with OpenCV (a C++ library) as well as Skype. On windows I had a lot of trouble getting this camera to work with OpenCV and eventually gave up, this is not the fault of the seller or Sony because this camera is only meant for use with the PS3. There is a free driver available from Code Laboratories to make the camera work with webcam software like Skype and Anycam if you use Windows. Great camera, I got it used for a great price, five stars. That's all there is to it.

I recently picked up this camera after noticing that many games make use of it when playing online to capture moments, or "mugshots" if you will. The camera is good but it seems to have a few flaws. The zoom on the lense is very short so it makes placement of the camera limited. For example, we have our camera situated above our television, however because we do not sit on top of the TV when playing games, even with it zoomed it all the way, it really doesn't have the ability to focus much on the player. The only other issue I have with the camera is related to light. Behind our living room suite are three large windows. Even with the blinds closed they still let in quite a bit of light. The camera has some issues balancing with this backlighting and as a result often washes out the intended subject. Additionally at night, unless you've got a light focused on the subject, and a good bit of it at that, you won't be seeing any images in a dimly lit room. Other than these two issues I've found the camera to work great and I do love the included microphone feature. The games that you can get to play with the camera are nice as well, though certainly not a "Wii" replacement. All in all, if you need a camera that will work flawlessly with your PS3, this is the one.

As I write this review the PS Eye is currently on Amazon for $35.32 but it normally retails for around $39.99, the PS Eye is pretty good value, like the title of my review says it does what it does pretty well, there is *FREE PS Eye software available for download from the PSN Store (when PSN is working again of course) & this too is a pretty good little software program, numerous effects like Sepia tints etc are available to add to your pictures & video upload is also there for those that want that too, one of the best things about this is being able to chat with others who also have a PS3, I have family in the UK who have a PS3 & being able to chat to them anytime we want to is very cool, this feature works well too. The volume is great, picking up speech from quite far away, but like I said the video quality although good could be better, but don't let this put you off, in game chat is obviously also available negating the requirement for a separate mic. I think its hard for anyone to give this a 5 star review, its also hard to give it a negative one, its does the job, could it be improved?, yes of course, the resolution could be higher, the frame rate better too, but its good. *FREE - Broadband internet connection required.