Webcams - which one?

[bitchstewie]

I'm sick of having to have my laptop open to use the webcam.

There are a million on Amazon from brands I've literally never heard of ranging from £10 upwards.

It's for the usual Zoom/Teams type stuff.

Anyone got any recommendations for something that can go on the top of the monitor or the desk and that just plugs in and works?

Autofocus ideally and that is recognised by Win 10 without having to go download an installer etc.

[ThumperMc]

I’ve had the £90 and £30 versions here, all provided by work.

For standard v/c stuff I can’t notice the difference.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/logitech-computing-a...

[bitchstewie]

ThumperMc said:

I’ve had the £90 and £30 versions here, all provided by work.

For standard v/c stuff I can’t notice the difference.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/logitech-computing-a...

Yeah this is where I suspect I may be overthinking because of the sheer choice on Amazon and the fact that there are a million geeks analysing the st out of these things on YouTube

As you say I'm guessing that for a Zoom/Teams call it probably doesn't make much difference anyway as there will be some scaling/compression going on?

[xeny]

bhstewie said:

As you say I'm guessing that for a Zoom/Teams call it probably doesn't make much difference anyway as there will be some scaling/compression going on?

I've a colleague with a 270 and with a 920. If I pay significant attention the 920 is a little better, but for looking at people you work with, I don't think it matters.

What's the resolution of the camera in your current laptop - 720p? If so the c270 is the same res.

[bitchstewie]

xeny said:

I've a colleague with a 270 and with a 920. If I pay significant attention the 920 is a little better, but for looking at people you work with, I don't think it matters.

What's the resolution of the camera in your current laptop - 720p? If so the c270 is the same res.

Yeah this isn't so much about 720p v 1080p or whatever.

It's more about a million £25 webcams that all claim to be 1080p autofocus from makes nobody has ever heard of because the cheap Logitech and Microsoft cameras are all sold out.

It's which of those

[scottri]

I recently got this one. Nothing fancy but it does everything you ask for.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZD39ZWK?ref=ppx_pop...

[TheRainMaker]

You really can’t go wrong with a LOGITECH Pro C920

Don’t get hooked on resolution, things like Webex are only 720 anyway.

Lighting also makes a massive difference to webcams.

[xeny]

bhstewie said:

It's more about a million £25 webcams that all claim to be 1080p autofocus from makes nobody has ever heard of because the cheap Logitech and Microsoft cameras are all sold out.

It's which of those

The C270 is in stock at Currys though.

[QuartzDad]

scottri said:

I recently got this one. Nothing fancy but it does everything you ask for.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZD39ZWK?ref=ppx_pop...

Same here, picture is clear and just works.

[Wax1234]

DroidCam is a great app that lets you use your mobile as a webcam. I do have a webcam set up for work but just have this as a backup/to have a play about it. Really good quality

[bitchstewie]

Thanks all, ordered one of these on the basis of it being cheap and some stupidly good YouTube reviews.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0878FDL5H

And if they help anyone else

https://youtu.be/HnCN07jNK2w

https://youtu.be/FytKiv8bXRs

It should do for Teams!

[Watchman]

Wax1234 said:

DroidCam is a great app that lets you use your mobile as a webcam. I do have a webcam set up for work but just have this as a backup/to have a play about it. Really good quality

This is an excellent solution. Mobile phone cameras are far superior to crappy laptop cameras (watch the next gen laptops sort this out now) and DroidCam can be presented via the WiFi, so you don't even need a cable (but it also works with a cable).

The free version only presents 720 whereas the paid-for version presents 1080p.

You just need to buy a ten quid tripod for your phone to position it in front of you instead of trying to balance it against something. I'm getting tired of colleagues who just won't spend such a small amount to stop this inevitably happening numerous times per VC.

Alternatively, have you a regular camera with an HDMI output? Some are actually able to present themselves as a webcam using USB but if not and it has an HDMI out (preferably a clean HDMI out - it'll be in the settings) you can buy a capture dongle for £13 on eBay that'll present the HDMI as a USB webcam. I bought one for my son, and it works up to 1080p60.

This sort of thing works for GoPro type cameras too. These are excellent in day-lighting but not so good if you have to use artificial lights (I do a lot of VCs at night).

I use all of these solutions as I have a good camera with HDMI out for my primary, a Chinese GoPro copy, and my mobile phones.

Edited by Watchman on Sunday 11th October 00:14

[Luca Brazzi]

Excellent thread. DroidCam sounds good. Will check that one out.

[s2kjock]

Wax1234 said:

DroidCam is a great app that lets you use your mobile as a webcam. I do have a webcam set up for work but just have this as a backup/to have a play about it. Really good quality

I started off on this route, but got a bit concerned when I got to the part about installing Droidcam software on my PC and allowing it access to networks etc.

Is it quite safe to install and use?

[Podie]

TheRainMaker said:

You really can’t go wrong with a LOGITECH Pro C920

Don’t get hooked on resolution, things like Webex are only 720 anyway.

Lighting also makes a massive difference to webcams.

We're running the C930e and they've been great.

[Hoofy]

bhstewie said:

Thanks all, ordered one of these on the basis of it being cheap and some stupidly good YouTube reviews.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0878FDL5H

And if they help anyone else

https://youtu.be/HnCN07jNK2w

https://youtu.be/FytKiv8bXRs

It should do for Teams!

Can you let me know if it's really 110 degrees? That's very wide for a webcam. You will have to do a lot of tidying up!

[FunkyNige]

Good lighting makes a massive difference, there was a thread a few days ago about it with a bunch of cheap solutions in there
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Watchman]

I bought a Neewer T120 LED light which made a huge difference to my Chinese GoPros at night but beyond my face, the picture in the background was still noisy, and the teleconference screen would freeze from time to time because (I guess) the teleconf app (BlueJeans) considered the webcam input to be insufficient (my preview screen worked OK so I know the problem is with BlueJeans).

Those GoPro copies really don't work well with low light conditions, although they're fabulous in daylight. They were only 30 quid, and claim to be 4K although I only use them at 1080p60.

The iPhone and Pixel cameras (via DroidCam) are much better than the GoPro copies at night. They respond well to artificial lighting but even on its lowest setting, the T120 was too bright to point directly at my face, so I aimed it at the wall which dispersed it nicely. I have to say, phone cameras might be the very best value for money option for anyone.



At the other end of the scale (in case anyone is interested), the Sony A5100 I use as my primary camera handles low light really nicely. As I do a lot of work overnight, I prefer subtle lighting - in fact I prefer none at all and the Sony works perfectly well with just the glow from my screens, although if I aim the T120 into the room, the Sony presents a nice scene behind me.

[bitchstewie]

Hoofy said:

Can you let me know if it's really 110 degrees? That's very wide for a webcam. You will have to do a lot of tidying up!

Blur works wonders

I don't know what it is in degrees but it does seem pretty wide though only compared to my laptop.

If you watch the second YouTube video above (the German guy) he gives a pretty good example of what it's like.

Have to say for £18 it's pretty hard to fault it.

[Hoofy]

bhstewie said:

Hoofy said:

Can you let me know if it's really 110 degrees? That's very wide for a webcam. You will have to do a lot of tidying up!

Blur works wonders

I don't know what it is in degrees but it does seem pretty wide though only compared to my laptop.

If you watch the second YouTube video above (the German guy) he gives a pretty good example of what it's like.

Have to say for £18 it's pretty hard to fault it.

Great. What's the vertical angle like? Wider than your laptop, too?

Edit: just checked the video, it clearly is taller. I can see the edges are bending, too.