Question What's the best way to connect a firewire webcam if I have no firewire input on a laptop?

[tom2u]

So I have an older DDR3 motherboard and a Sony firewire webcam and I need to sell it. The problem is most users out there are using newer laptops, none of which have firewire. I saw there are many firewire to USB adapters available. On Ebay they start at about 2 bucks. Is this all I need? I thought I might be better to get one that works with USB 3.1 though. The firewire speed of the webcam is 400 (the slowest) so it should be easy to connect. Or is there a better way to use this with a non-firewire machine? Of course for a desktop computer one could just get a PCI or PCI-Ex1 firewire card. Would that be a much better way to do if one was using a desktop computer?

 

[USAFRet]

If you need to sell the webcam, just sell it.
Someone who has a relevant port might buy it.

People without will just pass it by.

 

[InvalidError]

If I was in the market for a new webcam (which I am not since I have a lightly used Logitech C920), I'd be wary of buying anything based on FireWire since anything that old has likely fallen out of driver and software support a long time ago.

My guess is you will have a hard time finding a buyer for it. This is the sort of thing only people who require an exact replacement would bother looking for, normal people will just buy a modern USB2/3 webcam.

BTW, those $2 "USB/FireWire" adapters are only plug changers - hacks to reuse cables. Not sure if a real USB-FireWire bridge adapter actually exists, kind of difficult to encapsulate a bus that supports master-to-master DMA on a bus that doesn't.

 

[tom2u]

Not sure what you mean by "plug changer". Would they work for a firewire webcam? Should I only get Firewire to USB3 or USB3.1?

 

[InvalidError]

No, "plug-changers" are just passive adapters that let you reuse cables for different purposes, they don't make things that use different protocols compatible with each other.

To go from USB to FireWire, you'd need an active bridge to translate or encapsulate FireWire over USB.

 

[tom2u]

Well that's a bummer. I need to go from Firewire 400 to USB 2/3/3.1, whatever will display all the quality Firewire 400 can muster.