Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 by Logitech
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Digital camera reviews of Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000
Digital camera Review: Best low-cost webcam (still)
Summary: 4 Stars
The QuickCam Pro 4000 debuted on Amazon on Aug. 2, 2002. So one word to describe it is "mature" ... which is a nice way of saying a bit long in the tooth by anyone's technology standard. You could also say it has stood the test of time, is stable, whatever. Hey, if it wasn't getting the job done it wouldn't (still) be racking up sales and revenue for Logitech and Amazon, would it? It's the Energizer Bunny of webcams!
After nearly two years of use, two words to describe me are "satisfied owner."
A picture is worth 1K words and it's nice to have a face to go with a web chat or business presentation. I like the way it works with Yahoo! Messenger and WebEx, and the grandparents on the East Coast certainly enjoy getting a look at their West Coast progeny once in a while.
Setup on XP Pro was easy enough, although I did download the latest drivers online prior to install (always a good idea). The resolution via USB 1.0 is decent, the zoom and face-tracking features nice to have, although the light-sensor benefits from a little manual intervention depending on the time of day and how close you sit to a window.
My biggest gripe is the lack of bundled software that allows you to schedule a webcam snapshot, save it as a JPEG image and ftp it to your web page ... something that was included in earlier models. This is one of the main reasons folks purchase a webcam in the first place ... still, it's easy enough to find a shareware program out there to do the job if you look around a little.
The bottom line is the QuickCam Pro 4000 is a good value. If you want something better, be prepared to pay for it. But at under $100 it has very few -- if any -- rivals.
Digital camera Review: Best of what's available!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're looking for a webcam that can give you satisfaction of quality for the price, you're looking at the right webcam. The Logitech brand makes great webcams, I should know, I own 4 of them! I recently bought the QuickcamPro4000 because it had the high resolution I was looking for. I am very happy about the quality of the picture, both from the videos and images taken with the webcam. Wow, you don't know the difference until you see it live...The QuickcamPro4000 is wonderful in that this is a huge improvement from it's QuickcamExpress series of webcams, one of which I own. While the quality of the QuickcamExpress is good, it is far inferior compared to the QuickcamPro4000, whose quality I've yet to see any better out there.
The round camerahead screws tight on a pivot that snaps into the triangular base, which is much improved with rubber feet and stability. The pivot point is great, while you are not able to get perfect 90 degree angles, you are allowed alot of movement quite easily. The lenscover for the camerahead is great for when you need privacy from the webcam, and it snaps onto the side.
The manual focusring is a big hard to get used to, but once you do, the sharpening of the image is amazing! I use the QuickcamPro4000 for both security cam and webcam, and I've gotten many compliments about the color and clarity of the images.
The QuickcamPro4000 lets you configure the zoom, image brightness/saturation, exposure, image modes [like b/w, mirror, backlight, etc], white balance/lighting and more! This webcam can be used in both brightly-lit and dim-lit areas because of the many adjustments. You should learn to play with it to test the abilities available.
The included software lets you use the webcam to take 1.3 megapixel pictures and videos up to 640x480 resolution. The macro is better than many digital cameras! Editing the images with the software is easy and quick. As for permanent webcamming, I don't recommend Spotlife, go online and search for better programs to do live webcamming. But for editing, ImageStudio is satisfactory and convenient.
The QuickcamPro series comes with many more features than the QuickcamExpress series. So learning is part of the fun, and because this is a top-quality webcam for the price, you need to learn how to use it to its limits. I definitely recommend this product for users who want the best possible for a decent price. Once you use this, you'll never go back to those other bad, bad webcams and you'll feel sorry for those who do.
Digital camera Review: Best webcam I have ever seen/used.
Summary: 5 Stars
After testing this camera I found the following things1. Video Qualtiy - The video quality is amazing. I got 640 x 480 @ 30 FPS. I use Windows Movie Maker to capture and edit. Awesome and free. (or Virtual Dub, I like windows movie maker format a little better though)
2. Image Quality - The image quality is great, for its design. The resolution is 640 x 480 = 307 200 dots in the picture. For photo quality you need 2 000 000 minimum. So as you can see its no where near that. But for web shots its great.
3. Base - I heard many complaints about base. I know why. If you look at the webcam base there is a little notch for the webcam to be put in a certain way. If you dont' put it in right then it will not stay in very well.
4. MSN 6.x - If you plan on using this with MSN 6.x and both parties have windows xp and a webcam use the video conferencing feature, much better then the normal webcam feature.
TIP: In the cmaera settings, Take white balance and take it off of auto and put it on the one that makes it look the most natual. For me I have flourescent lightbulbs and incandescent looks the best.
TIP 2: If you want to avoid a crappy and grainy picture/video, make sure you take exposure off of auto and lower the gain. Less gain, less grain. Only do this if you use the same lighting all the time.
Digital camera Review: Built-in microphone is horrible!
Summary: 2 Stars
The logitech advertises the built-in microphone as one of the major functions of this webcam. However, it does not work at all because it catches too much background noise. I ended up buying a new microphone to work with this webcam. Consider this drawback before you purchase this item. You may consider another cheaper product without built-in microphone because you still need to pay for it.Digital camera Review: Could NOT get it to work with Windows XP & Yahoo Messenger
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to give this thing a somewhat poor rating because the documentation and web support are weak. I could not get this device to work with my Windows XP Pro system (I am very computer literate) and Yahoo Messenger 5.5. I'm not sure if it's a Windows/Yahoo/Logitech problem, but after cleaning my computer's registry, searching for tech notes, installing/reinstalling/uninstalling, I could not get this thing to work (I threw away many hours of my life trying)! I gave up on my desktop computer (Win XP machine) and installed on my Windows 2000 Pro laptop...bingo! It worked. For the price, it's not horrible, but I don't love it. The software bundle is a bit cheesy. As far as being "flimsy" as others have written...I'm not sure how rugged it needs to be sitting on your monitor?! I have enjoyed making stupid faces at my brother in-law who lives in San Diego...our kids love it too.