Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 is a wired, desktop webcam that delivers High Definition still (1.3 megapixels interpolated) photography, brilliant video (640x480 pixels) and a built-in... more
(1.3 megapixels interpolated) photography, brilliant video (640x480 pixels) and a built-in unidirectional noise-canceling microphone for crystal-clear audio
(1.3 megapixels interpolated) photography, brilliant video (640x480 pixels) and a built-in unidirectional noise-canceling microphone for crystal-clear audio
Depthcm5.5Technical DataDimensions&Weight / Heightcm7.4Technical DataDimensions&Weight / Weightg95Technical DataSystem Requirements / OS RequiredMicrosoft Windows XP Professi...
Depthcm5.5Technical DataDimensions&Weight / Heightcm7.4Technical DataDimensions&Weight / Weightg95Technical DataSystem Requirements / OS RequiredMicrosoft Windows XP Professi...
Definition still (1.3 megapixels interpolated) photography, brilliant video (640x480 pixels) and a built-in unidirectional noise-canceling microphone for crystal-clear ...
Microsoft VX3000 LifeCam
This Microsoft VX3000 LifeCam is a wired, desktop webcam designed to take instant ... more
messaging between friends and family to a new level with its high definition 1.3 megapixel still photography, superb video quality using its 640x480 video capture resolut...
Windows Live Messenger. The compact Webcam offers top picture quality, combined with innovative features like the practical Windows Live Call button and the multi-functional pedestal, which can be converted in a holder for flat screens with a hand grip. Thanks to the integrated microphone there is no need to connect an external microphone for entertaining video conversations.
(1.3 megapixels interpolated) photography, brilliant video (640x480 pixels) and a built-in unidirectional noise-canceling microphone for crystal-clear audio
Microsoft VX3000 LifeCam
This Microsoft VX3000 LifeCam is a wired, desktop webcam designed to take instant ... more
messaging between friends and family to a new level with its high definition 1.3 megapixel still photography, superb video quality using its 640x480 video capture resolution combined with a Built in microphone for a crisp, clear picture with clean, clear sound. This webcam also features digital zoom, the face tracking function and works with all instant messaging programs.
Microsoft Lifecam VX-3000 struggles to be a Live cam
A review by craggybuk on Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 August 5th, 2009
Author's product rating:
Picture quality
Good
Video capture rate
Fast
Colour sensitivity
Good
Ease of Installation
Good - quick to install
Value For Money
Good
Advantages:
Good picture quality
Disadvantages:
No end of trouble with Windows Live Messenger
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Introduction
Since the late 90s at work, we have always used webcams to provide the photo identity for our ID cards. We have never had any preference to a particular make meaning we have tried 3Com, Creative and Logitech in the past. Now it was Microsoft's turn in the form of the Lifecam VX-3000. This camera was supposedly a middle of the range camera at its time of release, higher in spec than the VX-1000, but lower than the VX-6000.
In the box
Considering the size of this webcam and the fact there wasn't a user manual included in paper form, I found the box to be very bulky. In typical Microsoft fashion the box was big and bold and was definitely the brainchild of the Microsoft marketing department as a box half the size would surely have been sufficient. Along with the webcam was a quickstart guide and a CD containing the drivers, application software and a copy of MSN messenger. The quickstart guide was a single sheet basically showing you how to plug the camera in. I appreciate that somebody who had never bought a webcam before might find this useful, but in reality, once you’ve plugged any USB device into your PC/Laptop, you would know how to connect this webcam.
Installation.
Installation of the software is very simple. On inserting the disk, it will autorun and start the process going. You will then get prompted for what you would like to install, the choices are, driver only, driver and application software or full install.
For us, the driver software alone was sufficient as we would be capturing images with our own in-house software. For the home user, I would definitely suggest installing the Lifecams own application too as this allows you to snap your own photos and record video. Personally, I wouldn't entertain installing MSN from the CD. You can easily get MSN (now Windows Live Messenger) as a free download off the internet and the one that ships with the CD is now out of date anyway.
Once you have made your choice, its time to sit back and watch the Microsoft installer go about its business. I would advise against watching the progress bar during this installation as it cycles about 3 times. This is most disconcerting as it takes an absolute age to get to the end of the bar for the first time, there is no textual indication of what is going on either so you are left wondering just how long the install will take.
When the software has finally installed, you are prompted to plug the camera into a free USB port, this is where the diagrams on the quickstart guide may be useful to a total novice. The software will now detect the camera is plugged in and take you through a couple of screens to calibrate the screen display and the built in microphone settings.
Using the camera to record video and still images
The VX-3000 takes decent enough photos for sending to your friends. The webcam will take photos at 1.3 megapixels so the quality of these photos will not be as good as you would get from all dedicated cameras and most mobile phones on the market today. Using the application software that comes with the webcam, you will be able to add sceneries and props to your photos such as a lovely flowery garden or a divers mask which adds a bit of fun to the photos but this soon wears off.
Video footage is saved in the standard avi format, meaning it will play in applications such as Windows Media Player with the minimum of fuss. The video is captured in 640 x 480 resolution which looks fine in a small window but looks very distorted if you want to play the video in a full screen. If you have set the microphone up correctly, you can also record sound in your videos meaning that this could be a useful tool if you want to record a message for a friend or family member who you do not normally see.
Using the camera with Instant Messaging
In my experience most people who buy a webcam appear to buy them mainly to use with instant messaging (IM) software. Instant messaging software allows you to have real time conversations with people all around the world who use the same IM client. In recent years webcam and voice support have been added to these clients making them a great way to hold video and voice conferences with your friends. I have borrowed one of the works VX-3000 webcams on numerous occasions to use at home to chat to friends and family (normally my kids in the next room to be honest) and have had vastly different experiences with the 3 IM clients I have used it on.
MSN Messenger - As you would expect, the Microsoft webcam worked perfectly on the earlier versions of messenger. The picture was clear and voice content was crisp and easy to understand. There was the occasional freeze for a second or so but this seemed to be generic across the board and wasn’t specific to the VX-3000.
Windows Live Messenger - Again, the camera performed very well on Windows Live Messenger, which to be honest was MSN messenger with bells on it. However, Microsoft in their wisdom, released an update to Live Messenger in the spring of 2009 which has given me all kinds of fun and games since then. More often than not, Live Messenger does not even detect the existence of the camera which I find annoying and frustrating. The only way I can get the camera to work when Live Messenger is in one of these moods it to click the camera icon with the camera unplugged and to then plug it in after the communications with the other person have already started.
Yahoo Messenger - Video and voice streaming work perfectly from Yahoo Messenger. There is very little, if any lag, making for great conversations with friends and family alike. I find it amazing that the camera works better than in the Microsoft versions bearing in mind it is a Microsoft webcam.
The Verdict
This webcam does the job it was intended for without being spectacular. I wouldn't rave about it particularly but it is a very capable device. The VX-3000 retails for around £25 so it is reasonably priced and compares well with other similarly priced webcams. It is probably the highest quality camera we have used over our years of producing ID badges. If you wanted this camera for Windows Live Messenger, I would consider purchasing a different brand as it is not worth the hassle trying to get it to work every time you want to use it. All other cameras I have tried with Live Messenger have worked first time. If Microsoft can sort out this problem then the VX-3000 is an attractive buy.
Advantages: Value for Money, Trusted Brand, Quality Picture, Ease of Use Disadvantages: Slow Face Tracking,
...cams I plumped for the Microsoft Lifecam VX3000.
Microsoft seem to dominate the world with products nowadays, however it is a name you can trust and generally you get a good quality product. This was true when I received the unit, it had a quality feel to it.
Microsoft have various incarnations of their webcams ranging from the entry level VX1000 to the highly specced and highly priced VX6000, whilst I suppose you pay for what you get, i was pleasantly ... ...of configuring the webcam to Microsoft Windows Messenger Live. As I had the latest version of this this was a simple process of just choosing the appropriate settings for the camera and ensuring the speakers and microphone are working. I can't help but guess that if you have not got the latest version of Messenger, it will request you download it from the Microsoft site, so I would do this BEFORE you install the camera.
Almost immediately I was ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: excellent performance and setup Disadvantages: none for me
...principles and opt for a Microsoft webcam after all it had to be easy to install and use.
The Product-
The vx-3000 is a member of the microsoft lifecam range which is touted as being exceptionally good at relaying life like high quality images and excellent quality audio.It also claims to install and function seamlessly and quickly with windows and especially windows live messenger.Bold claims considering my past webcam experience but just what ... ...the Microsoft brand but this truly is a king of webcams.So this is a recommend from me and i am not ashamed to sing the praises of Microsoft on this occassion. I purchased mine for £17.99 and i must say it was well worth the money and showed fantastic value. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Sits on top of monitor, sleek design Disadvantages: Falls of monitor sometimes.
The Microsoft life cam VX-3000, great camera, got for Christmas about 1 year ago and has served me well. Its a durable camera, and its good quality.
At an outstanding 1.3mp its excellent, and takes good photos too, its perfect for day to day use, with video blogging, MSN, etc.
Includes many features like a zoom tool, backgrounds, and face tracking technology. Works in fairly low light conditions.
It tilts, turns in just about any direction, there ... ...what I desired.
Some negative comments include, no automatic focus, falls of screen occasionally, and when recording theirs about a 3 second pause before the filming starts which looks a bit retarded.
Thanks for reading my review of the Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 Webcam.
Ciao, Ciao Users, Bye! ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Good value, Good picture Disadvantages: Gamma and colour correction can play up
This little webcam is a very good office / general home use webcam, not only does it have very good picture quality but you can also manually focus by twising the lens itself.
The camera itself is 1.3 megapixels which gives a clear picture which can offer a very attractive output and along with settings you can change in MSN for instance you can create a rustique look by making it look grainy, black and white for that old field of simply tweak the ... ...function is very useful espcially if you want a cheap solution to making video blogs/ youtube entries for example as the video itself has a fairly reasonable resoulution of 640x 480 @30fps which is a fairly smooth.
As a final note it comes with drivers which are easy to install and a life cam software which allows you to add all kinds of things from bubbles to fish swimming across your cam!.....a good buy for the money they are ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It works well in daylight Disadvantages: poor quality at night
The Microsoft lifecam V3000 is overall a good camera, it produces good quality images “Sometimes”. During the daytime it works fine but at night you tend to get blue speckles on the screen, it doesn’t matter how many settings you change it doesn’t seem to get rid of it.
It has a built in mic which works very well and comes with its own software which unfortunately doesn’t work, I rang Microsoft about this and they couldn’t fix the problem, all attempts ... ...want a quality cheap camera for Video this is ok, just don’t rely on Microsoft to help if you have problems like I do.
I wouldn’t buy another one of these cameras because of the issues I had with mine, that’s not to say everyone will have the same problem. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Service & Support Details: Limited warranty - 3 years
Environmental parameters
Operating Temperature: 0 °C ... 40 °C
Relative Humidity (operating): 5 - 80%
Manufacturer's product description
Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 is a wired, desktop webcam that delivers High Definition still (1.3 megapixels interpolated) photography, brilliant video (640x480 pixels) and a built-in unidirectional noise-canceling microphone for crystal-clear audio performance. The LifeCam fully integrates with the Microsoft Windows Live Messenger to deliver a suite of market-first features that make Web video calling a breeze. The Universal Attachment Base allows for easy and secure attachment to virtually any size monitor. Featuring a sleek black and gray design, the VX-3000 complements any office or home PC.
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