The webcam will turn back on if the light level is brightened - but only when it reaches an upper threshold level, which could easily be above the lighting level at which it had been working previously. See the illustration at right for clarification.Ĭorrect this by simply opening the Properties window of the Camera Assistant Software, as follows: The webcam may turn off - and display a black image - if the light it 'sees' has fallen below a certain lower threshold level. In the Properties window, c lick the Night Mode check box, if it's not already checked, then click OK.Click the Properties icon (shown selected at left).If the panel does not appear, follow the steps above to start the Camera Assistant Software.Either turn off any lights that are directly behind you, or reposition yourself so that bright light (from a window, for example) is not shining from directly behind you. If there is a bright light behind your head (for example), this light will reduce the webcam's sensitivity - causing your face to appear dark. As much as possible, aim lights toward the subject - and not toward the webcam.
Illuminate the subject with as much light as possible: turn on more lights and / or turn up lights that are dimmed.The better lit the subject (your face, for example), the clearer and brighter the webcam image will be. If the light on the subject is insufficient, the image from the webcam will be dark and grainy (noisy). Webcams need lots of light, more than your eyes do. The webcam indicator light should now turn on, indicating that the webcam is now running. Optionally, start a different webcam application, if you have installed one. Click the Start Webcam icon, shown highlighted at left.Move the mouse to the middle of the far left edge of the screen, until a panel of icons pops out, as shown at left.Click the Windows Start button, then click All Programs, click the Camera Assistant Software folder, and click the Camera Assistant Software.
Nvidia drivers for Ubuntu are on this page and ATI drivers for Ubuntu can be found on this page.
I believe your main problem is related to the fact that you forgot to upgrade your video drivers to the latest version available in Ubuntu repositories or as an aternative you can try installing video drivers available on the manufacturer's official website.
Cheese bets on quality over performance and this is why some users go with Guvcview because they find Cheese to be too demanding for their specific hardware.Īnd I think you should also install some video drivers for your graphic card. Guvcview is not as gifted as Cheese but it will automatically adjust your webcam for performance instead of quality and you will have to manually adjust brightness, contrast and all that from Guvcview interface if you are not satisfied with them.
You can install it in a terminal emulator using this command: sudo apt-get install guvcviewīut first you need to completely remove cheese package with this command: sudo apt-get purge cheeseĪnd after that reboot your PC and only after that install guvcview using the command line I mentioned before. If Cheese doesn't work for you, try instead guvcview package.