If you're only using your webcam for boring video chats with your mum on Skype, you're missing all the fun! With programs like MagicCamera you can now use your webcam in much more imaginative ways.
MagicCamera turns your webcam into a fun device by adding all sorts of special effects and frames to the image that's currently showing on it. You can preview the webcam's image and test all the filters, effects, masks, backgrounds and animations included in MagicCamera in real time. They're all organized in tabs under the video preview, and can be applied with a simple mouse click.
The best thing about MagicCamera though is that it doesn't only work with real webcams. The program can emulate a virtual webcam which you can use to stream any other kind of video (a short movie, a photo slideshow or even the image of your own desktop) to your friends over IM.
MagicCamera works with all popular video chat-capable apps (Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Camfrog Video Chat, PalTalk, Skype, etc.) and is pretty straightforward. On the downside, I think the video preview is surprisingly low in quality (despite using a high-spec webcam with a Carl Zeiss lens), and some of the frames and animations included are a bit tacky.
MagicCamera makes your video chats more original and fun!
Pros
Easy to use
Realtime preview
Lets you use a virtual webcam
Compatible with all popular videochat apps
Cons
Low quality video preview
Some tacky frames and animations
