Ithaca’s beautiful downtown has been enjoyed by people the world over since we installed our Webcam a few months ago.

Now we want to make it better.

The webcam we use currently is, for lack of a better word, cheap. If you’re a regular viewer of the webcam, you’ve probably noticed that during the day the sunlight will blow out the image, or nighttime images will sometimes appear completely black. These issues arise from our current camera’s lack of decent exposure controls.

Our goal is to purchase a new camera, one that’s significantly better, so we can provide our visitors with a crisp, properly exposed, and correctly toned view of the Ithaca Commons. Specifically, we’re looking to upgrade to the Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision camera, which should satisfy our needs quite nicely.

We’re asking the viewing public to help us out on this one, so if you have the inclination, feel free to donate $5 to the Commons Cam Fund by clicking on the PayPal link at the bottom of this post. Your name will be included in a list of donors that will be drawn up and posted on the Commons Cam web page, so the world may see your generosity (optional).
So far we’re a quarter of the way there, and we’re making great progress.

To all of those who have helped us out so far: a huge thank you. We’re well on our way to making the Commons Cam better than ever.

Casey Dreier
AWP