Logitech 720p Webcam C905 by Logitech
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Digital camera reviews of Logitech 720p Webcam C905
Digital camera Review: 11/5/2009
Summary: 5 Stars
I really love this camera. It was easy to install and easy to use. My only complaint is the size. It covers a small portion of the screen on my laptop, and since I have it mounted directly in the center, it can be a bit annoying. For the most part the quality of sound and picture are fantastic. I bought it just before traveling through Europe and it was very easy to pack and carry.Digital camera Review: A Very Crisp Picture just make sure you have a good internet connection
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this model it was easy to install and was a much needed and obvious improvement to the cheap 1.3 mega-pixel one that came with my gateway. One of the main reasons however I got it was to hopefully take advantage of the microphone that is built into the camera, however it came up a bit short in this category, talking to my friend he still wasn't able to hear me clearly and at times not at all. Raising my sound levels to the highest improved the situation slightly but not noticeably. Also make sure that both parties that are video chatting have strong internet connections, I blamed my camera built into my computer for the constant staccato picture that my friend was seeing but after I used the C905 I found that though it lessened the problem the problem was still present. Overall if your computer is fairly new this camera is a great buy and you will most likely be satisfied.Digital camera Review: A good go-with-you webcam
Summary: 4 Stars
I have the Logitech C905 for about half a year now. Usually I use it with my Windows 7 laptop, when on the go, to make Skype video calls.
I choose this model for the portable size, with the zip-pouch, it is really easy to take with me. There is a stand in the package included, good for recording product reviews, monitoring a room, or such. For video calls, it is not much use, because when I look onto the screen, the camera will show me as looking away (a general problem for all webcam video calls).
If the bandwith is high, Skype turns on high quality video mode, which is somewhat better then the standard quality (but is far away from a usual sense of "high quality"). In Gmail chat, I just got the standard picture resolution.
In low light, it gives a softer, warm image, which is good, I even prefer it vs. my Microsoft LifeCam Cinema, which also has a superb low light picture quality anyway. I think that low light features are the most important characteristics for a webcam, as many of the video-skype calls I make are in the evening. In bright sunlight, during the day, usually all webcams make a good picture, but in the evening, with some lamp giving light in the room only, cheap webcams make only very high noise pictures.
Note, that a good dual core CPU is recommended to use the webcam for video calls. This is because this generation of webcams doesn't have circuitry to compress the picture, it is done by the CPU alone. Also, a decent upload speed is needed, like 512 kbps, with low ping. Calling worked over 3.5G, but sometimes the call was dropped or flanky, so I tend to talk on a regular phone. If you want video calling over the mobile networks, it's better you try it first.
In the Logitech Webcam Software there are some funny features, which I only used when I installed the software, like making funny distorted faces (uses lot of CPU power), privacy mode (fills in a standby picture), face tracking, pan and tilt, zoom, etc. Video recorded trough the Logitech Webcam Software can be directly uploaded to youtube (useful for blogging), e-mailed, or printed. You can also take still pictures.
What I liked:
- Small size
- Pouch
- Good resolution
- Good low light performance
- Focusing was robust, no playing of autofocus
- Has good built-in microphones
What I didn't like:
- Driver is running all the time in the background
- Logitech Vid software is of not much use, only useable if both ends use it
- Camera settings software always pops-up by default when the camera is turned-on
All in all, I am happy with the camera, and will be using it for quite some time. I would only change it, when the new crop of cameras arrive with built in video compression chips.
Digital camera Review: A good, fun webcam
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first ever webcam, and so far I've been really happy with it. I love all the accessories that you can use to play around with when taking pictures & what not. I'm still getting used to skype, but I like that I can talk with my friends and see them in a clear view. Even in dark rooms, the camera automatically adjusts to the room by brightening the light balance coming from the camera. Overall, it's a really good quality picture received on your comp as well as others. Definitely a good buy!Digital camera Review: A great little notebook camera, works well for chat not for action video webcasts.
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Logitech has always been at the forefront for making web cameras and their products are plug and play. This one is no exception. You just plug it in and go! I've had the opportunity to use this product as my friend had it and now through Amazon's Vine program and I was impressed by the image quality.
The image quality on the Pro series has always been better than some of their other cheaper models and is perfect for people who may be using it for live meetings. The colors for this cam are true to life and the images are sharp. It's small (2.5 inches by 1 inch) and extremely portable and easily hooks on to the top of your notebook. I own the older version of this QuickCam Pro which has thinner prongs to hook it on the top of your notebook that caused the camera to fall over more easily. Logitech has improved the clip design that attaches the camera to the notebook for this model and it now stays securely on the top of the screen even if you are moving your laptop.
I've not had focusing problems with this webcam like some other reviewers have commented. In fact, the camera focuses automatically on you and performs very well in the night in low light conditions (you need to turn on the "Rightlight2" feature for the low light optimization). Just give it about 10-15 seconds to refocus if you move more than a foot away. It can be set on auto or manual focus through the software and you can also zoom in or out on your face with the same software. Sometimes, I just have had to adjust the focus a little bit to make the image sharper if I want to focus on a specific object (other than my face) that is not right in front of the webcam. You can set the camera to follow you and it keeps panning in that mode which can get a little too much for chat. I've used this webcam on Windows Live Messenger with surprisingly good image quality (really crystal clear) over a cable internet connection. There is one caveat though, if you want to use this webcam to perform some fast action in front of the camera it will be pretty blurry even though the refresh rate of the camera is up to 30 fps (30 frames per second). There may be a fix for this problem through the settings, but I have not found it and I got the same blur even when I turned off the auto focus.
The better resolution requires greater processor speed and works best with USB 2.0 so if you have an older laptop with a slower processor this will make your other applications freeze or slow down. They bundle the HP Photosmart software with this camera, which I don't use. I usually turn off the mic on the camera as my notebook has inbuilt mic.
It also has a video-effects feature in the software, where you can substitute a shark or an E.T. like creature (there are 2 more options) instead of your face and it mimics your facial expressions, so the people on the other side will see a shark saying "Hello" and winking!. That will funny to use once in a while but it does not work too well in low light, you'll need to have a brighter light on your face for this feature to work well. It comes with a softcase which is nice for travel and helps protect the lens. The included stand that comes in 3 pieces to increase portability is a nice touch as you may sometimes not want to have the camera on the top of your notebook, especially if you work at a desk. Like other webcams you can broadcast yourself live with this camera or even take quick pics upto 8MP but since there is no flash the pics will not be too great in low light. You can also make video clips of yourself for youtube or Amazon video reviews.