Affordable HD webcam and camcorder setup

Sep

Affordable HD webcam and camcorder setup

Tagged Under : equipment, Hardware, QuickCam, recommendation, review, tips, Video

In an effort to improve my AnywhereMan video workflow, I picked up a new Logitech QuickCam Pro webcam for around $80 which allows me to produce 720p video right at my desktop. So far I love it, and today I talk about this camera as well has the rest of my video setup. Still tweaking the audio level with the webcam (sorry about the clipping in a few spots!), but I’m really loving the video quality for the price and how it handles the lighting arrangement in my office.

NOTE: So I recorded this video, uploaded it to Vimeo, and had some issues with the frame rate. The audio worked great, but the video took forever to load and after it did I was super choppy. I guess the Logitech software records at 15 fps by default, and Vimeo prefers 30 fps. Trying to figure out whether I need to find 3rd party software to record 30 fps from the webcam, or if I should just start using YouTube over Vimeo from now on. I will keep you posted. I love Vimeo, but I also love a quicker process!

CONFIRMED AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH: The QuickCam Pro for Notebooks cannot do 720P at 30 fps, just 15 fps. Why don’t they tell you this stuff ON THE BOX? The picture quality still looks great though. I will stick with this until Microsoft sends me their new LifeCam HD to review on this site.

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View Comments | Posted by : Dave Yankowiak

Joel Dahlin

Your new webcam has great quality. Great tip with the arm light.

daveyank

Thanks Joel. The whole 15 fps thing had me a bit frustrated but you're right - the quality of the picture itself seems to be good. I just wish Vimeo had support for 15fps like YouTube does. Oh well! Very happy with the light coverage using an $8 IKEA light and a big white wall.

What kind of webcam are you using these days?

Wherever I go, there I work (and play)