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I need to set up a video conference, yet I have no webcam. I'm looking to buy something that works out of the box with Ubuntu 10.04, and as many possible conferencing apps as possible. Can anyone recommend me something I might be able to find at a local store?

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11 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

According to the webcam page on the wiki, there is a list on the Linux UVC page that keeps track of compatible cameras.

Personally I've had great support with Logitech cameras. They have a page that shows which models work with Linux out of the box.

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Thanks! I was already leaning towards the Logitech C510, even though it wasn't on quickcamteam's list. I picked it up and it's working like a champ. I wonder if I'll ever get over Linux Device Compatibility Anxiety Disorder. – pwnguin Sep 16 '10 at 2:13
Don't forget to drop the quickcamteam a note so they can update their database for the next person! – Jorge Castro Sep 16 '10 at 2:20
Aren't the quickcamteam logitech employees? My assumption is that whatever document hasn't been updated has a reason behind it. – pwnguin Sep 16 '10 at 3:51
It would be useful to find out why the cam isn't on the page already. – Jorge Castro Sep 16 '10 at 4:29
@pwnguin, does the C510 work with Motion? The C270 on 10.04 64-bit does not. – systemovich Nov 2 '12 at 1:24
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up vote 6 down vote

You might want to have a look at the Hardware Compatibility List from Ubuntu, especially the section about webcams.

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up vote 4 down vote

You can take a look here.

Many webcams will "just work" in Ubuntu. There is a USB standard that defines USB streaming video called UVC. This stands for Universal Video Class, and it does for webcams what UMS does for USB memory sticks and hard drives. This allows one driver to work with many webcams. When looking to purchase a webcam for use with Ubuntu, you should look for a UVC compatible camera. The Linux-UVC project has a good list of UVC compatible webcams as well as The Quickcam Team for Logitech cameras.

What you can do is test the webcam at the store with a LiveCD or your laptop. If you have a desktop you can test it at home and if it doesn't work you return it. This last thing is what I did when I bought my webcam (Genius iSlim 330 - works out of the box).

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up vote 2 down vote

Most will just work. Getting a definitive list is somewhat harder because the list varies from kernel (and its UVC version) to kernel.

In my experience, the cheaper, the better. As soon as you start getting into software-controlled things like tracking and flashes, you tend to need drivers that just aren't available. Dirt-cheap webcams seem to all share common hardware.

If in doubt, buy something that isn't in a sealed box so you can return it if it doesn't work.

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up vote 2 down vote

The Logitech C200 has been reported as a webcam that works out of the box on Lucid,

Most UVC compliant webcams will work in Linux in general, here is a list of UVC Compliant cam hardware from Logitech: http://www.quickcamteam.net/devices/logitech_uvc_device_list.pdf

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up vote 1 down vote

The Creative Live! Cam Socialize HD works great - just plug it in... A bit pricey perhaps, but a good quality cam.

/N

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up vote 1 down vote

I have a Logitech C500 that has worked like a charm out of the box. Caveat: it does not work well with Cheese Webcam Booth by default- none of the webcams I have tried work well with Cheese. The C500 yields an acceptable picture after tweaking the preferences in Cheese. It works perfectly with guvcviewer.

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I ended up buying a C510, and it appears to work fine with Cheese. Am I missing something about the quality? What preferences were you tweaking? – pwnguin Sep 17 '10 at 17:15
On first opening Cheese, things were very green and so I adjusted the Hue and Saturation sliders in Edit -> Preferences until things looked more or less ok. Just reopened it now, and it looks all right and the sliders are in the centred position. So there's nothing wrong with the camera or with Cheese (although I still prefer guvcviewer). – koanhead Sep 19 '10 at 0:51
up vote 1 down vote

Most of them work out of the box. If you use Skype see the list for compatibility

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up vote 1 down vote

I am using a Logitech "QuickCam Pro for Notebooks". It works fantastic out of the box on my Karmic and Lucid boxes. Most time I use it for video conference with Skype and sometimes for a little bit of fun with Cheese.

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up vote 0 down vote

WebCam A4 Tech 16.0Megapixel PK-810 G -> works out of the box with Kubuntu 13.04, including audio.

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