The Xbox Live Vision Camera has arrived and with many thanks to Microsoft, we have seen thy light! We took a few photos and screen captures to show a bit of what you can expect when it ships later this year. The Xbox Live Vision camera is set to hit the store shelves on September 19, 2006. Sorry, no price has been announced yet. But when it is we'll (or rather some other website/magazine/drunk person) will let you know.
[Update 1]: The Xbox 360 camera will work on your PC or Mac. You simply have to download a quick software upgrade and you're all set to go. Thanks to T7 for the question!
[Update 2]: If anyone would like me to send them a picture message just to test the Xbox Live Vision Camera out, just post your gamertag in the comments below and I'll ship one as soon as I can (my gamertag is 'Coola'), thanks!
[Update 3]: New pictures of the Camera's 'Zoom' function listed at the end of the article.
[Update 4]: A cool feature of the camera was just pointed out to me by fellow Microsoft Xbox MVP - Shogun of Live. While the Xbox Live Vision Camera is on, if you go into your music player, you can actually play with the vizualization with gestures of movement. I took a shot of me waving my hand infront of the music player and this is the result:
(Just a side note, I found that the camera picks up the light reflecting off the object. So in short, more light reflecting off the object the better the visualization will be.)
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_14_500.jpg)
[Update 5]: Good lord that's a lotta updates! I forgot to mention about the whole Video chat 'rumble' feature. Basically when you're in a video chat with someone you can press the Left and Right triggers on the Xbox 360 controller to make make the persons controller (whom your chatting with) rumble. How's that for those lonely days? All the while you can cycle through the same picture effects by pressing the Left and Right Bumpers, just to spice up your video.
[Update 6]: By default when you plug the camera in you get the watery background effect. If you go into the themes menu (Guide button > personal settings > themes > customize > camera effect) there will be two other options as well - edgy and dotty. Also, while in Uno you can go to help and options and zoom in with the camera
Xbox Live Vision Camera Preview
Getting right into it, the camera arrived at our doorstep just moments ago. We put the Xbox Live Vision Camera on your standard floppy and next to your standard pen. Here's a few pictures to size it up:
[Front Shot]
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_2_500.jpg)
[Side Shot]
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_3_500.jpg)
[Booty Shot]
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_4_500.jpg)
So we plugged it in via the USB cord, first thing that happens is that the ring around the camera lens lights up beautifully. You can also use the lense to adjust the focus of the camera, simply by twisting it left or right like a door knob.
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_5_500.jpg)
The second thing we notice is that as soon as your dash boots up, the camera automatically displays what it's aiming at, then makes it your background in the form of some groovy watery filter - all in real time too.
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_6_500.jpg)
Notice the alien we captured above. In the Xbox Live Vision settings under the Systems blade (which should already be present if you have the spring update) you can adjust Room and Lightning settings.
With all our settings tweaked and ready to go, we wanted to send a message using our Xbox Live Vision Camera. You simply go through the 'send message' process like you would any normal message. The option to attach an image (no video yet, if ever) is listed. Clicking on that brings you to this screen:
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_7_500.jpg)
Following the instructions listed, you then take a picture. Before doing so though, you are able to zoom in by selecting the magnifying glass button with the little plus sign next to it. Once you're ready and take a picture, the camera gives you a 3 second countdown and then it takes the shot. After that, it brings you back to the Send Message screen where you can then add an effect to your picture.
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_8_500.jpg)
There's a few more effects than listed in that screen and all work flawlessly. We also tried the Xbox Live Vision Camera with UNO and it works flawlessly as well.
But there was something missing... what about our gamercard picture? If you haven't heard already, there will be two seperate pictures you will have. Your public gamercard picture and your private one. Public is viewed by players not on your list and private is viewed *hold for the shocker* by people on your list.
To create a personal gamercard photo you simply select your gamercard on the Xbox Live dashboard. Go to Edit Gamer Profile > Gamer Picture > See photo below:
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_9_500.jpg)
This will lead you to the same menu as if you were just sending a message. Same camera, same concept. Simple. We felt the need to take a picture of the greatest man-made achievement the world has ever seen. Behold our gamercard picture:
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_10_500.jpg)
All in all, the Xbox Live Vision Camera will open a new world to the entire Xbox Live Community. But you already knew that. We're just looking forward to all the nips, emo kids and "loose objects" in the future. If you have any questions about the Xbox Live Vision Camera that I didn't cover here, feel free to drop a comment below and I'll have at it... if I'm allowed.
Camera Zoom Images
As requested below in the comments, I positioned the camera about 9ft (more like 8.9ft) away from my office wall.
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_11_500.jpg)
By clicking the 'Zoom' button on the screen, you are then able to move around a rectangle to select the area you wish to zoom in on. In this case we selected the whiteboard.
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_12_500.jpg)
Once you're satisfied with the alignment, you select the zoom button once more to well... zoom.
![[IMG]](http://www.xbox365.com/gdb/images/GGNNLrruHu08171251/Xbox_Live_Vision_Camera_13_500.jpg)
And there you have it. It also retains a lot of the visual qualities at a fair distance. Though I'm not quite sure what the real use for this zoom function is since you have a long cord attached to the webcam. There is no 2x, 5x, or 10x type zooms. Just one default one, which is all you need anyhow.
One thing I will say is that I did notice that the camera felt pretty warm after a short period of time, reminiscent of the Xbox 360 itself. But it's a lovely type of warmth, almost as if its filled with warm happiness....... yea I'll stop right there.
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