This is a fantastic webcam with a great set of software tools. I use it for conference calls where we share whiteboards and the picture quality is fantastic. Also Skype allows you to do high-def video calls with this camera. Highly recommended with very good price / quality ratio! Logitech QuickCam Orbit
This camera provides a very good picture but mounting it is a challenge. It doesn't sit on top of a flat screen monitor and if you use the pedestal you have to put it up on a 12" stand in order for it to be in front of you. The only other choice is to have it off to the side, but then your guest thinks you're being rude by not looking at them. It's like when the news anchor is looking at the wrong camera.
I decided to purchase a webcam, and as long as I was going to get one I figured I might as well get a good one. I had a dinky one many years ago, so old it wouldn't even work with today's operating systems. One feature I knew I wanted the new cam to have is autofocus. This Logitech Orbit delivers a beautiful picture indeed. I've read just about all the previous reviews, the positive and the negative. Yes, the servo that controls the "follow me" movement of the camera isn't perfect, but it's good and I'll learn how to work with it. The manual controls are easy to use anyway and they work fine. The built in microphone is excellent. All the other commenters that said how easy the driver is to install are all correct. Setup was a piece of cake (you do have to disable any security software prior to installation.) For me, the most pleasant surprise was all the little features like avatars etc. They are really fun! In sum, great pictures, great sound, easy install, great extras. I love it! I wish I had enough technical expertise to know how to set the webcam away from the computer, to use like a security cam. I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Update 3/10: I use this all the time on Skype with my kid at college. I got the latest upgraded SetPoint software but find it doesn't find the camera, I had to manually update the unit's software. My only other comment is on a review that I read that it isn't part of the monitor so you're presentation isn't face on, ergo rude. My monitor's top is as tall as me, since my monitor sits 4" off of my desktop and my keyboard is below in a tray, so I can sit without hunching over or looking down at a monitor all day. When my kid videos from the laptop, I'm looking up her nose half the time -- nothing wrong with a nice semi-profile. YOU can always look into the camera to make a point, it just takes practice. Since my wife sometimes joins me, the camera's ability to swivel on it's own to follow people is great. We bought two of these units. At first since my kid's old laptop didn't have a webcam we needed two, now my in-laws have one so they can video with the grand kids and us.
Original Review:
I got one of these recently and we're going to get another, it is fantastic. Great picture, you can adjust the rate to either 50 or 60 MHz and there are lots of different preset picture sizes. Very clear, sharp and the face tracking works well but not perfectly. (Animation and tracking are not active at the same time, btw.) The built-in mike is also very good and has background noise suppression. The stick extension is a fantastic idea for desktops and is a mini-USB cable encased in a hard plastic tube. It's sort of creepy when this `eyeball' moves on the end of its stick as it tracks you. The active light is noticeable. There is a manual control via software, too. The unit can be setup for snapping photos or short videos based on motion detection. Its RightLight tech works well when you are not lit correctly but isn't good enough or effective/enabled to run calibrations for the animations. It is not a camera for very low lighting situations.
The included Animations are very funny, they have three kinds, one is a full animation, but you have to be very expressive (that is animated :-0 ) to make the characters move from side to side, really open their mouths. Everything from dinosaurs, aliens, wizards, lots of animals or SIM type avatars are available. The second type is 'video add-ons' so if you want to add a goatee, pig's nose, a crown or an arrow through your own head, that type is available, here you DON'T want to move too much (but this might vary by your computer's processing powers). The third type is picture masks; want to be a talking Mona Lisa, a kitty, a pair of baby foxes? You can, your eyes and lips will be superimposed on the photo. Here, again, you can't move forward/back and side to side too much. Only a few of each kind are bundled with the software, but there are lots more on the Logitech website, each with processing requirements. Additionally there are some photoshop type filters too, mosaic, fisheye, slow motion blurring, neon edges (that one is very kewl), and various styles of cartooning you and your surrounding available.
Animations and some of the other filters require calibration. A window is displayed asking you to hold your head still in a superimposed box, don't smile and the computer determines where you eyes, mouth and nose are. You need to be well lit and hold still for it work well.
Of 3 computers we tested on, one needed an updated MS Script update installed to run the CD or the downloaded software (error 1720), and this was one of our newer computers, XP Media on a AMD-X2-64. The hardware/software is rated for a P4 2.4. One laptop is such a P4 and it installed without updates and works flawlessly, except for some animations which have higher processing requirements.
Software to communicate is an entirely different issue. I have not tried Skype yet, but did try AIM and Trillian. These two are not inter-compatible, using the latest AIM 6.5 and Trillian Pro (the only version that supports video); an error occurred each time. When AIM 6.5 was installed on both PCs, it did work together. Interesting to point out on AIM, that if set it to auto-accept video on from Buddies, then the display windows DOESN'T pop up, but the camera turns on. That must be an AIM issue, IMHO.
Your mileage with video software is going to vary based on the computer. The desktop AMD-X2-64 with XP Media, was able with integrated graphics to show both the outgoing and incoming video at the same time at the sizes recorded at. A laptop AMD-X2-64 with Vista Home Premium (Toshiba A215-S6804 - a budget laptop) with integrated graphics could not, and the incoming video was very dark. AIM had no controls to correct it only the volume and speaker volume.
All in all, I like this, the auto-focus, the tracking, the ability to make videos or snapshots suitable for blogging, etc. It's turning out to be popular, and the pricing has actually gone up from the mid $80's to an average $100. - Logitech Webcam - Logitech - Logitech Quickcam - Skype'
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