Well, I wanted to get this up and running quickly to do a review of it, but honestly got a bit hung up in a few places.
First things first, mounting it on the monitor wasn't terribly intuitive. Maybe I'm just new to portable webcams...
When they say "clip," they don't mean it in the usual "spring-loaded for tension/gripping" sort of way. I had to read the manual to figure out how it's supposed to rest on the laptop monitor. Apparently you line up a little tab on the bottom with the front of your laptop screen, then adjust a rubber-footed leg on the back so it braces against the back of the laptop screen.
Once it's on, it seems stable enough that it won't fall backward when you adjust the webcam. Though, it's pretty easy to pull off in the forward direction, since there's nothing bracing it in that direction. So, if you reach for something behind the webcam, be sure not to hit it from behind or you might dislodge it, and I won't guarantee it's sturdy.
Secondly, when I installed the webcam on my HP 1000 Mini netbook, it started crashing as long as the Logitech webcam was plugged in. I THINK it was conflicting with the onboard webcam, as the crashing stopped or at least was far less frequent when I disabled the onboard webcam.
Honestly, I'm not sure whether it's a hardware issue, a software conflict issue, or a "user malfunction" issue (though having worked with computers for a good while I don't think I did anything the average user wouldn't do in trying to set up the web cam).
To get away from the conflicting hardware, I moved the webcam over to my desktop and installed the drivers there. (I'm running Windows XP on both machines). On the desktop there was no issue with crashing the machine. Which is a relief, on account of my old SiPix iQuest Roam would always crash it. So, it's a point in Logitech's favor that the desktop didn't crash after the webcam was installed.
However, when I started testing the webcam and some of the software that comes with it to adjust things like contrast, brightness, etc. (handy for low-light conditions), the video started getting intermittent but persistent vertical white lines across the entire video playback.
I haven't yet diagnosed the issue. So, I'm not sure whether it's specific to that system (the video card or some other defect), the Logitech hardware (general problems or a defective unit) or a software issue (I first noticed the issue when playing with the settings for low-light video, but that may be coincidental and the problems may have developed regardless; setting the software back to the default values did not seem to correct the issues).
At some point, I'll come back to this and try to get it all figured out and working properly. But for now, I'm giving it a rest and working on some other stuff.
From what I did see prior to hardware/software issues, the image quality seemed reasonably good. Though, my old webcam was a junky VGA (640x480) unit that pretty much ANYthing would be better than. This unit supports up to 1.3 megapixel resolution (1280x1024), which is toward the low-end of their offerings. So, this is a very entry-level unit. For the price it seems decent enough. I'm not sure why one would need a considerably higher resolution webcam, except perhaps if one was doing a lot of professional videoconferencing or using it to produce professional-ish videos / still images (one would think that you'd buy a real digital camera or video camera for that stuff, though).
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Update (7-25-10): On the up side, I decided to test the microphone today and turned on Skype. I set the microphone to the webcam and set the video to the webcam. I clicked the test call button. Recorded a message. Message played back fine. Unlike the Logitech noise canceling (I call it voice-canceling) microphone I bought months ago, this actually picks up voice pretty danged well from a moderate distance (you don't have to swallow the web cam's mic to get proper voice to pick up). I pinged a friend in Australia who's been bugging me to chat for a while. First call, Skype wouldn't patch through the video either way. So we hung up, he killed GIMP (he was editing a big image on a slow computer) and reinitiated the call. Everything went swimmingly. We talked for about 1/2 hr. Video was of good quality. He said the image quality was extremely sharp (he could see detail on the wall behind me, there was no pixelation and the image looked well-balanced despite lamp being sort of in the background; though I did haev to move it off to the side earlier, else the image was blown out or I was too dark in the image).
So, it seems to work fine now. I'm not sure why the video developed weird white vertical lines in prior testing. Maybe it was just a Windows issue or a transient software glitch. So far so good. Certainly beats out the old webcam from 2002-ish that would constantly crash Windows.
Average Rating:
Brand: Logitech
Color: Black
Model: 960-000617
Product Description:
Logitech Webcam C210. Video calling made simple for everyone. Logitech Vid is built right into your webcam setup for free, fast, and easy video calling for you and anyone you call. You’ll get lifelike color with a VGA sensor.
Features:
- High-quality video recording and video calling
- Crisp 1.3 MP photos
- Auto light correction adjusts brightness for best possible images
- Built-in noise-cancelling mic for clear conversations
- Works with Logitech VidTM HD, SkypeTM, Yahoo® Messenger, Microsoft LiveTM Messenger
Available at Amazon
List Price: USD 29.99
Lowest New Price: USD 25.75
Customer Reviews
Darned Nice Little Webcam that is Easy to Setup and Use
As of this writing all of the other reviewers have done video reviews. I'm not going to do that. Maybe if I was younger and comfortable infront of a camera, then I'd have a go about it, but I'd just stutter my way through the review, so you'll have to be content with reading what I have to say about this nifty camera.
First off, no fancy stuff high tech stuff with this camera. It's only a 1.3 MP lens, but my daughter uses it to video with her friend in China via Skype and it works a treat for that. I have it mounted on a Dell monitor, which is situated next to the computer, so the short cord isn't an issue, but if you have your computer more than five feet away, you'll need a monitor that has a USB connection to your computer or maybe a cord stretcher.
The software installed without a hitch and in less than ten minutes the camera was working, in fact I feel that it's as easy to use as the camera that comes with the Apple iMacs and that's pretty easy. The videos in a window on my computer look super, just like the video reviews here, but when expanded to the full size of my 24 inch monitor they don't look so hot, but then this camera isn't designed for movie making. It is what it is and it's darned easy to set up and start video chatting or phoning with Skype.
Very easy to use!!!
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1K11O3JKJQRSA This was an incredibly easy to use webcam, which is awesome since I don't have a lot of experience with them. I've seen my friends & family use them but I've never actually set one up myself before now. It was overall a good experience.
I have to admit that I'm not the most tech savvy person that's posted a review, so my review will be very much from the average non-computer savvy viewpoint. The lighting on this is very good & I liked that I was able to situate the webcam onto my laptop, as my regular desktop is currently on the fritz. Once set onto your computer, you can position the camera head however you like. I also liked that it had good light- I was very much afraid that this would show up dark like some of the digital cameras I've owned (or my cell phone camera), so that was a plus.
For me the greatest thing about this was how easy it was to upload, use & such. The software actually comes with a movie maker, which could be very good for those who want to do a little something extra with their camera. For the price this is currently selling for, this seems like it is a very good deal. The only people I think would probably want to go elsewhere are the ones who want something a little more sophisticated- I do know that there are webcams out there that are fancier than this, although for the average consumer this should be all you need.
Excellent low-priced webcam
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKHY4IQLKV7S9 This video review includes demonstrations of webcam features:
- Automatic lighting adjustment
- Automatic sound level adjustment
- Face tracking
Decent quality, simple webcam
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ATK57TFXH5A9 Video in sum: like other reviewers have said, it's a decent webcam for the price. Office Max and Office Depot sometimes have good rebates and deals (that's where I got my old Logitech webcam from for ...it has the same quality), so shop around before you go with this one. If you want something higher quality, I'd suggest you just spend the extra money and get something that'll better suit your needs.
I have an old, slow computer and a crummy internet connection, so it doesn't work as well for me as it does for others (just compare other video reviews to mine!). However, it's a basic, decent webcam for bucks...if you just need something simple, I'd recommend it.
