I'm a 17 year old student from Waterlooville in the UK. I like to figure out how things work by taki...
I'm a 17 year old student from Waterlooville in the UK. I like to figure out how things work by taking them apart and often breaking them, networking out my house connecting the surround sound in my room to the neighbours TV simply because I can.
Member since:04.12.2005
Reviews:4
Having gotten used to using my digital camera as a webcam I didn't really know what to think of the Logitech Quickcam Messenger when my mum got it for my birthday. Using my own digital camera as a webcam is awkward, it turns off every few minutes and I had to make my own cradle out of lego to support it. But then again, the resolution, brightness/contrast and focus is brilliant. Could the Quickcam, specially made for the job, do any better?
The answer is a mixture of yes and no. Some information not included in the description: Video resolution: 640 x 480 (VGA) FPS: 30 Integrated Mic: Yes
Well, resolution and FPS-wise this is identical to many other webcams on the market. It must be said that if you are going to use this with instant messengers such as MSN and Yahoo I really doubt your friend will see 30 FPS; connection speeds are by far the limiting factor.
The image quality is, well, not great. Let's just say, my digital camera is a lot better (that's VGA too) and some of my friends have a lot worse. The lighting has to be good and it can often take a while to fiddle the brightness and contrast to make the picture acceptable. If you have two people in the shot the quickcam adjusts to whatever is behind you, so you often appear too dark or too light.
The webcam sits in a simple yet functional and well designed base which allows it to point anywhere you want, with a non-slip bottom. Sometimes the weight of the lead can cause it to move, this is mainly because the lead itself is a tad too short. Because of this I now plug the webcam into the back of the PC, rather than using the front USB ports which are more easily accessible.
As for installation, you plug it in, install a simple driver, and then, if you so wish, never use the programs that it comes with as for most use they are not needed. MSN and Yahoo communicate with it directly using the driver so you don't need any other programs running. The programs allow you to record and take images from the webcam, pretty standard stuff but it does it well.
Do you need a webcam? The novelty does wear off after a while and I stopped sending invitations to everyone to watch me do nothing. However, webcams are a great thing and allow you to communicate with family and friends all over the world. Even if you don't use it everyday its great to have the possibility there.
I was probably a bit too harsh when judging the image quality. The Logitech quickcam is probably one of the best cameras in its price range; if you have any gripes you have with the picture quality just remember this is a pretty cheap webcam. If you want to spend more, even then you're not certain of getting much better than this webcam because none of them have built in intelligent auto-focuses. My digital camera is a Canon Ixus (£160) and you need a tv card to use it as a webcam (that's another £50). So I guess what I'm saying is if you've already got this gear don't bother with the quickcam but otherwise, it's a great webcam; go for it!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Easy to install, Simple to use, Small, Long cable Disadvantages: Can be a little blurry, Perhaps not as amazing as new products but still good!
nutter_but_nice 15.06.2008 (15.06.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Logitech Quickcam Messenger
Aug 2nd, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
