First, the bad. The biggest drawback is that, thus far, I have not been able to do an AV chat from my Mac with someone using AOL's AV IM client on Windows -- whenever I've tried this, both I and the person I'm trying to connect to get error messages wrongly stating that our cams are not connected. Others have not had this problem. I do recognize that AV instant messaging is in its infancy, so it is probably safe to assume that this situation will improve with time.

Second, the camera does not include any software (not even the iChat AV client for which it is designed). Other webcams include more generous software offerings -- and at a lower price, which brings me to...

Third, the price. The iSight is among the most expensive webcams available. If you're on a budget, you would do well to take a look at several other webcams and compare features and reviews before deciding on an iSight.

All that being said, however, the iSight is quite a camera. It is small, lightweight, and unobtrusive, especially with the "all in one" cable. The three included mounts make it very versatile -- if you go with another camera, you're likely to find yourself needing to buy additional mounts from third party vendors. It is also aesthetically pleasing, if that makes any difference to you, as it does to me... a lot of other webcams are pretty unattractive.

The autofocus feature has always worked nearly flawlessly for me, whether the cam is on my lap or across the room -- its ability to "find" me and focus on me is almost eerie. The picture is also very good. Others, including Macworld, have said they encountered trouble in low light, but I have not had this problem. I typically use the cam in my living room, with a single 150-watt bulb lighting the room from about two meters away, and the picture is fine. I've even sent images by candlelight that looked good (albeit only at pretty close range).

The iSight can also be used to make sound and video files, and while it obviously doesn't offer the power or versatility of a digital camcorder, it's still a pretty good tool for this task as well, especially when used with Apple's QuickTime Broadcaster (a free download) and iMovie.

If the iSight were about thirty dollars less and included more software, I'd have given it five stars. Apart from those caveats, though, this is an excellent camera, and one well worth your consideration.

There are many iChat related Web sites that contain databases of other iSight owners, so you can always find someone to chat with, even if none of your friends have Macs or broadband connections.

The camera can also be used for Yahoo Chat, but Yahoo's software limits your video to snapshot slide shows. iChat/AV allows you to to have live streaming video and audio with full duplexing, so it's like you're on the phone.

If you have a bad hair day, you can use the microphone only so you don't have to share the video. The lens cap is built-in, and with a simple twist of the lens, your camera is turned off.

The camera is an elegant addition to your Mac goodies, although the mounting has much to be desired. Some third-party companies have come out with some excellent alternatives for mounting the iSight, however, if you don't have a laptop to clip it to and you don't want to "stick" it on your monitor.

The camera is in full color and will automatically focus from about 1" to infinity. My less than perfect rating is for two reasons - 1 being the aforementioned mounting options - tacky "stick-on" mounting isn't the choice for most and the laptop clip can be broken easily during transport. My biggest gripe is the white balancing of the camera. This might be eventually corrected w/ a new version of the iChat software, but for now, the color you see is not necessarily reflecting reality. I have my computer next to a window, so in the middle of a sunny day with my overhead light on, the color looks great. At night (no ambient sunlight) with an overhead light, the colors are grainy and flat.

If you hold a white piece of paper next to your face while you look at yourself on the camera, the color suddenly corrects, but goes back to awful the minute you put the paper down.

Traditional cameras with built-in light meters have an ability to "spot meter" and lock a light meter reading - Apple needs to put this option in with their next incarnation of iChat/AV. For now, I have 2 halogen desk lamps on either side of my monitor. When I chat w/ someone in the evening, I will turn on the hot white lights to illuminate my face so the other person doesn't think they're talking to Darth Vader or the Grim Reaper.

I used it a couple of times for audio-only chats - the microphone quality is superb. I have chatted to people in Canada, Israel and Australia without a noticable delay or degredation in quality. If the other user is using a built-in microphone in lieu of an iSight, however, they will probably hear you well, but you may have a hard time hearing them.

I have also used the camera for some video/audio chats with people from around the globe. There is a noticable 1 second time difference delay, but it is acceptable all things considered.

As with all things Apple, this camera is quite an innovation. Beforehand, there was only one other firewire camera on the market and it did not allow for live streaming video. Thanks to Apple's iChat software, however, you can use some other cameras, but I would not recommend it. With the few failings of iSight, it is still the best there is - and considering what it does, it's well worth the price.