I am writing some image processing software to be used with the webcam built-in to my MacBook (purchased in mid-2008 to be specific). I want to know the specifications of it; particularly, frame rate (around 30 FPS from what I can tell) and exposure time / shutter speed.
1 Answer
System Information (formerly known as System Profiler) will show you some information about the built-in camera (which Apple calls the iSight), but I don't see frame rate, exposure time, or shutter speed mentioned here. In my specific case, the manufacturer is listed as Apple, and they likely don't want to publish this information. Apple treats the built-in iSight as a simple checkbox feature (a computer has it or it doesn't), not as a detailed specs feature (like memory size, hard drive size, screen size, network speed, etc).
To view the information available about your Mac's built-in iSight, go to the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, then choose System Report… . From there, go into the Hardware section, choose USB, and look in the USB Device Tree for Built-in iSight.
iFixit is a company that often disassembles Apple products to try to determine things like the cost of the bill of materials, specific parts used, and unadvertised specs or capabilities of the hardware. You could visit their site and see if your machine is covered there, or if there's another way to get information about your machine.
