Honest question guys…
I have a pi 3 running octoprint… with no camara.
will you prefer a pi camara or any webcam?
I like the pi cam. It’s also like 10-13 bucks on aliexpress.
Depends on how much flexibility you have in locating the Pi. A USB web cam gets you a lot more camera location flexibility.
There’s cables going up to 2 meters for the pi cam. I understand the convenience of a usb cable though.
I have tried both and I can recommend the pi camera enough! It joust works… And it does not bog down the pi! Add to that the quality is better than whatever webcam in the same price range. I have 2 printers running pi cameras now and won’t take anything else.
I did buy cheap China clones. And to one of my printer I got a 70cm ribbon cable = works great.
The pi cam quality is lacking but a decent webcam will run close to $100
The Pi Cam 2 is quite nice. I’d get that IMO.
The only other camera I’ve liked is the Logitech C920 which is more pricey