Logitech Quickcam For Notebooks Pro > Reviews (4)

Thanks in advance for reading this review on the Logitech Quickcam for Notebooks Pro. I have had this available at work for some weeks now and have made farily regular use of it. It is by far the highest quality web cam I have used, and I've used a fair few. It is also the most expensive web cam I've used. Compared to products targetted at the home user currently this is a mid-priced product aimed at the SOHO user who appreciates a slightly better quality of product and has a little extra money to spend. It is also designed specifically for use with laptop computers. Let's take a look at the specific features and see how it rates.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
First the boring bit!
Operating system: I use this with Windows XP professional but it will also support MAC OS 9.0.4 and 9.1and Windows 98/ME/ and 2000. The CD-ROM that is bundled with the camera contains drivers for all of these operating systems and the plug and play Windows XP delight made installing this camera a breeze with XP. I suspect Windows 98 and ME users may have a little more work to do to install as is always the case with these operating systems.
Connection: USB port to connect with a supplied lead plenty long enough for all ordinary uses.
Resolution: 640 X 480 for moving images but a slightly higher 1280 X 960 for still image captures.
Frames per second: 30. This is a high capture rate for such a small portable device and it is well worth checking this figure if you compare this camera to other similarly priced models. Lower numbers are lower quality motion. Thirty frames per second provides a decent fluid motion that doesn't appear even slightly jerky. Combined with the video resolution of 640 X 480 this is high quality and lifts the camera above many other similarly priced models.

PORTABILITY
This has to be the smallest and lightest camera I have ever had the fortune to use. Lift it and you feel as though it isn't there. The camera is designed to work with laptops and as such clips to the top of your laptop screen. It fits perfectly on my laptop and locks in place with enough grip to move the laptop without sending the camera flying. This adds to the camera's ability to produce decent quality moving images.
When you disconnect the camera from the laptop it folds in on itself keeping the lens clean and safe in travel. I always just drop the camera in the pouch of my laptop case with the other leads and it is perfectly safe being transported in this way, no scratches or chips.

SOFTWARE
This camera comes with the MGI software suite. Anybody who has dabbled in the budget end of the digital camera or web cam market will be familiar with this suite of software. It is, for freebie, excellent stuff. You can drop your video into frames and even add text and sound overlays to improve the final production. I have never used the majority of the facilities offered as the usual use for a webcam connected to the computer is to capture a moment or communicate over the internet. The need for post recording production techniques is reduced in my opinion by the whole connected to the computer issue.

I can understand these features being more useful if you have a digital video camera that you use away from the computer and then come back to edit. I have however used the facility of cutting video into smaller clips. This is great for sending clips to friends over the Internet as you can watch back what you have recorded and then but away the dead wood to leave the smaller clip for sending.

PRICE
I received this as part of a number of items in a package at work but individually it was priced at £84.99. This represented good calue for money at the time but now I would expect to pick it up about twenty pounds cheaper. At this price it represents excellent value for money as when you compare resolution and frame rates the quality of this camera is excellent.

OVERALL
The colours of web cams are often washed and browny. This is not the case with this camera. Even in slightly dull lighting conditions the colour is superb, especially when put alongside the price. The resolution and frames per second also add to making this by far the best web cam I have used. It is important to note it is designed for laptop use as I guess you would have difficulty hanging it from a CRT monitor. That said if you have a TFT monitor I'm sure the widget that grips the top would work just fine. Overall I think this is an exceptional product that does everything I want and then more - most of the video editing features on the included software I have hardly used. The ideal would be a product this size that takes Compact Flash cards and has a battery for use away from the computer. Why can't portable digital video recorders be this price. Until then, this is an excellent product that I totally recommend.

Thanks for reading this opinion and I look forward to reading your comments.