Best Webcam/Microphone Combination?
Patient Guy
Anyone have any idea of the best webcam/microphone to buy for the money?
Not looking to be extravagant here.
Given today's broadband/cable/DSL speeds and their ability to support "real
time" two-way connections, I suppose 640 x 480 resolution is the way to go,
with "microphone support" (whatever that means: don't they all "support"
microphones?). Don't believe any other bells and whistles are really to be
considered here.
Personal experiences and knowledgeable opinions gratefully welcome. I am
separated from spouse and child, who are on other side of planet, and would
like video chat. Can't be worse than a cheap-per-minute phone connection I
am using now, which has no video.
I am finding "reviews" (probably paid, eh?) that say that Logitech and
Creative make the best products. Philips is heavily represented on the
other side of the planet, although Logitech can be bought, probably under
different model numbers.
Rick
Both Logitech and Creative have been in the computer camera market
forever - I can't imagine either of them producing a less than suitable
camera at this point. There's not a lot going on there than can be
screwed up - the camera itself is a very basic thing. For that matter I
bought a $10.00 Vivitar mini "key chain" camera - just as a curiosity -
that can also be used as a web cam and that works fine too. Getting
640x480 resolution shouldn't be a problem for any camera you find.
Whether that's a practical resolution to use will depend on your
connection speed on both ends.
All the cameras need a decent light source for good results. Expect to
add or increase the lighting as needed. Overhead lighting - way up
there... - can produce creepy looking results with shadows where your
eyeballs should be. You want a light source behind or to the side of the
camera, throwing light on your face for a good result.
Cameras don't usually come with built in microphones. The
software/driver for the camera "supports" recording/transmitting both
video, and audio from a microphone you supply plugged into the sound
card, or the microphone typically built into lap tops. If you need to
buy a microphone it's a $5.00 or less item.
Your bigger decision is what software you are going to use for the chat
sessions. Some cameras may come with only a driver to support the
camera. Others will come with their own software for chat sessions.
Rick
al...@homelifeweekly.com
I didn't ever think I would say the following but I have been happy
with the microsoft range of web cams.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/digitalcommunication/Productlist.aspx?type=LifeCam
I have an entry level cam VX1000 and it works great and works with
Skype as well. They are pretty cheap plus I can confirm they are
fully compatible with Vista. They have a microphones built in which
are OK,
I toyed with the idea of Logitech but brought the Microsoft one
instead. We have a friend who has logitech web cam on vista and
using Skype and tell now they have not been able to get it to work.
Hope this helps
Alex
www.HomeLifeWeekly.com
Smarts Tips For Your Home Life
throwitout
Really they're all pretty much the same. I use a cheap one from a
company called "Ezonics", it actually has surprisingly good video
quality. It doesn't have a built in microphone. A trip to the dollar
store can fix that if need be. I find actually getting a headset works
well because the microphone is positioned near your mouth, which
yields better quality than a mic on the web cam on top of the
computer.
For software I generally use MSN messenger as it's very simple to use.
throwitout
> Your bigger decision is what software you are going to use for the chat
> sessions. Some cameras may come with only a driver to support the
> camera. Others will come with their own software for chat sessions.
My experience with a lot of hardware is included software is generally
crappy. Why limit yourself to only the crappy voice chat software the
manufacture bundled when the camera can be used with any program?
Personally I use MSN messenger as it's very easy to set up.
Buy a camera at whatever price you want to pay, then use whatever
program you want.