Microsoft LifeCam Cinema

Introduction All the Skype hype and my ever increasing phone bills got me thinking, when a friend of mine in Devon had been given a new laptop for Christmas with a built in webcam; and since we communicate fairly frequently, discussing ancestry research projects, by phone, decided that we should give Skype communications a try, to save on phone expenses. So off I went to purchase a webcam for my desktop. Our local computer store, MicroBitz, had a good selection in stock, with a price range to suit every pocket. After a lengthy discussion on the pros and cons of each - they must cringe when ... more

I purchased the Microsoft Lifecam Cinema H5D-00003 to replace the 0.3mpx webcam built into my laptop. It's HD quality and I'd read loads of positive reviews where the only downside appeared to be price. I got it home. The box is easy to get into. You just need to disassemble the box to get the camera out but no scissors are required. Inside the box is a disc. There's a bright green label on the wire of the webcam that tells you to install the software first. So... I do as asked. I load the disc. It goes through the installation process then asks me to plug in my H5D-00003. I comply. Success ... more

The camera itself is generally very good - i don't often use it for HD videos howver as it just take up more space on my laptop and the picture quallity doesn't appear to be that much better (this may just be because my laptop doesn't have these graphics capabilities). On video, the clour looks good, it is a bit grainy, and also it keeps losing focus and refocusing which is annoying. I can't seem to use it that much as a webcam, on skype for example, as both my internet connection and the person recieving has to be perfect for it to work properly. The microphone is very good and picks up sound ... more

My first problem when receiving this through the post was its lack of compatability with macs. This didnt suprise me too much, but I was a bit dissapointed so I turned on my PC ready to get started. It was easy enough to get out of its packaging; no excess plastic that required endless cutting to get into so that was a bonus. I plugged it in, and within a minute my PC had installed required drivers and it was a case of clicking on the onscreen istructions and I had it all loaded up in less than 5 minutes! I turned the camera on and I must say I was very impressed. The picture was very clear ... more

My first problem when receiving this through the post was its lack of compatability with macs. This didnt suprise me too much, but I was a bit dissapointed so I turned on my PC ready to get started. It was easy enough to get out of its packaging; no excess plastic that required endless cutting to get into so that was a bonus. I plugged it in, and within a minute my PC had installed required drivers and it was a case of clicking on the onscreen istructions and I had it all loaded up in less than 5 minutes! I turned the camera on and I must say I was very impressed. The picture was very clear ... more