Did Apple fix the Studio Display Webcam -- An in depth review of the webcam on the Studio Display

[@Juraiprince]

Hello, Mr. Bullock! I came across your fine video recently, as I am considering replacing my 2017 iMac with a new Mac Studio/Studio Display combo. It does seem like there was indeed some improvement made. It does look better than what my iMac shows currently. I hope they continue tweaking it. I am new to your channel, and look forward to checking out some of your previous videos as well. Thanks so much!

[@donbullock-techihound]

Hello Julia, thank you for the comment. I’m glad you found my video helpful. Yes, the Mac Studio Max and Studio display are working out well for what I need them for. I’ve enjoyed using them. As far as improving the webcam, it looks like Apple isn’t making any improvements at this point. Now that MacOS 13, Ventura, has the Continuity Camera feature where an iPhone can easily be used as a webcam I’m planning on doing that when I upgrade to Venture instead of waiting for Apple to improve the webcam.

[@BriOnH]

Great video and good idea for a review. Appreciated.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

[@lpDIDI]

cool Video! :)

[@donbullock-techihound]

Thank you. I’m now creating a complete review of the Studio Display. It should be on KZbin by next weekend.

[@JustBlueFish]

Great video Don. I’ve been debating the studio display for my Mac mini. To be honest the webcam is only of mild importance but it would be nice if it looked better. What do you think of the display as just a screen for your Mac? Does it look good and work well?

[@donbullock-techihound]

@JustBlueFish - The monitor, other than the webcam is outstanding. You can’t beat the quality of the picture or the speakers. You heard a small segment from the built in microphone. It’s OK but not as good as my Blue Yeti. I’m used to the 5K monitor in my iMac and the quality of Studio Display is even better. I’ve been using it for both photo and video editing. So far I’m very glad that I didn’t settle for a 4K monitor or TV. Sometime this summer, after I’ve really had time to compare both my iMac and the Studio Display, I’ll be producing a review of the Studio Display. I’m still hoping they’ll tweak the camera more.

[@JustBlueFish]

@@donbullock-techihound thanks for the response and looking forward to that full review of the studio display. I hope to see your channel continue to grow as you create more videos.

[@donbullock-techihound]

@@JustBlueFish Thank you. I appreciate your support and encouragement.

[@illyanarasputina5770]

I appreciated your breakdown on the display and it’s webcam. I think it’s improved, but can be refined. I do think the blur is a little overwhelming n portrait mode, but in a pinch is tolerable.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Illyana, thank you for your comment. I appreciate your input. I hope my information was useful. Yes, the blur in Portrait Mode is overdone but could be tolerable if needed. As others have pointed out, it’s too bad that the blur isn’t adjustable. Once MacOS 13 becomes more stable I plan to upgrade to it and use Continuity Camera with my iPhone 11 instead of using the webcam. It’s really too bad because it was a big selling feature of the Studio Display. It’s also become obvious that Apple has no intention to make any additional webcam improvements.

[@graemewy]

Thanks for your video. I'm thinking of buying the Studio monitor. The webcam looks ok to me , I guess if I had any opinion it would be that maybe the image could be a little clearer. Its not a deal breaker for me. I'm thinking that Apple may be releasing a new version this year addressing some of the complaints people have made about this one, only problem would be that it will go up in price if that happened.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Graeme, thank you for your comment. I also did a full review of the Studio Display on my channel. It tells you a lot more about how he features of the display. LINK: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y16sfqKho6mqmqs

[@norman-king]

I first played this back on an iPhone 12 Pro Max and it looked fine, but when viewed on my Sony 65” TV (using an Apple TV 4K) I could see for the first time what everyone’s been complaining about, the moving parts of the picture (you) looked very poor although the static background looked mostly ok. It looks more like processing artefacts to me more than an inherent weakness in the camera hardware. Let’s hope Apple can sort it out, but either way, it’s not a feature I will use much and I can’t wait to get my Studio Display.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Norman, Other than the webcam issue my Studio Display is perfect for my photo and video work. Tell me how you like yours after you’ve worked with it for a while. Enjoy.

[@norman-king]

@@donbullock-techihound I will when it arrives 👍 (I ordered it mid April and it’s due mid June).

[@markday3145]

The blotchiness around the face (especially the cheeks and eyebrows) seemed like a loss of detail, perhaps too much smoothing and noise reduction. Interesting that portrait mode seemed to improve detail on the face (though I find the background blurring too aggressive and distracting). In normal mode, the background looked fine.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

The webcam and mic seem fine to me.

[@donbullock-techihound]

They have improved. As someone noted watch my video on a larger screen and you’ll see the problem. It looks terrible on the Studio Display.

[@takuan650]

I received my display on the 5th of June and I am a little disappointed with the image quality of the webcam. Not very sharp, washed out colours but better than on my previous Mac. Apple can do better and I am not sure why they skimp on such a simple item. Profit maximising? Probably. Maybe on the next display, or the next after that, in order to drip feed the fanboys with excitement as Apple always does - Yay, after 8 years we finally have a webcam that I can recognise my brother on.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Thank you for your comment. Soon I’ll have a video out on my thoughts as to what happened.

[@markday3145]

When I made this video full screen on my 2014 iMac Retina 5K, the detail on your face was really poor, especially your eyebrows and cheeks. It looks better as 1/4 screen; it seems to have more detail. Then I noticed that the highest quality I could select (for this video) in KZbin was 1080p. So I wonder if that full screen blotchiness is partly from trying to upscale the video to 5K2K and trying to smooth out the pixelation? What's the maximum resolution you can get out of this web cam? For sitting at a desk, Center Stage seems pointless, or even detrimental. I think they would have been better off with a narrower field of view, where they could use all of the pixels for better image quality. They could probably even get away with a lower resolution sensor, and still have better image quality than what they've got now. If they can put multiple cameras in an iPhone, maybe they could put two cameras in the Studio Display (one ultra wide angle for Center Stage, and one wide/normal angle for just sitting right in front of the display). Maybe they should give you a way to manually crop the image when Center Stage is off. And perhaps a way to select how much noise reduction and smoothing? I rarely use a web cam, and it seems like this one would be tolerable for light duty video chatting. I think the tough part about the Studio Display is the price relative to performance. Compare it to the 24-inch iMac M1. The iMac's screen has the same pixel density and almost as much resolution, plus an actual computer you can use, and a web cam with much better video quality, all for the same or lower price. If they offered the 5K display plus the iMac's web cam and speakers, and a few USB ports, for a lower price, I think it would be a clear winner.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Excellent observations and ideas. I appreciate all the ideas thanks. As soon as the new MacOS is available and stable it’s Continuity Camera feature will replace webcams with the iPhone camera. While my iPhone 11 doesn’t have MagSafe double sided tape will work.

[@hossetttren253]

studio display is amazing but the cam quality is so disappointing as its worse quality then my imac cam from 2011

[@michaelbw]

Blue Yeti much better mic than the inbuilt array. Webcam maybe OK for Zoom calls and the like, but still far from great. Maybe they should have applied the KISS (keep it simple stupid) principle and gone with a simple webcam such as on the M1 iMac.

[@donbullock-techihound]

Thanks for the comment. I agree that they should have kept the webcam simple rather than the Center Stage camera. I’m still hoping they can improve it.

[@thenakedtruth0205]

Not being hateful. The monitor creates enough problems that your lighting scheme is not an issue for me. With the center stage and portrait mode off, try just raising your chair or tilt the monitor down if it has that on the stand. Or, don't worry about it. And, fake bokeh on a cheap under developed webcam lens and system is less than smart on Apples' part. I'm done. david.

[@donbullock-techihound]

David, raising my chair or tilting the monitor will not improve the excessive headroom issue. The space is automatically readjusted by the camera. That’s what it’s set for by Apple. Agree that Apple didn’t do a great job on the fake bokeh. That’s one of my points. Based on their other cameras this one should be better than it is.

[@thenakedtruth0205]

@@donbullock-techihound Hello Don, time constraints made it difficult to get back to you before now. Thanks for responding. On the lighter side, I suppose they may have left the extra headroom so you could wear your 10 Gallon western hat. The height would allow for that beautiful 1/2 moon to be in frame. I do think they will get it fixed if it is possible with software upgrades, but if not it will be a redesigned camera on the next generation. However, I heard about being able to use the iPhone 13 or 14 as a webcam. If so, then problem solved should it be hardware problems and not software. Yes, the camera should be better than it is. Agreed. Well, on all points agreed. david.

[@donbullock-techihound]

@@thenakedtruth0205 Yes, using an iPhone using the new OS feature will be the best way to go for a webcam. It’s just too bad that Apple didn’t give us the camera they claimed it would be.

[@hossetttren253]

webcam looks terrible so much..looks both bad cams improve noise but the yeti is much better then studio sound