![]() ![]() In general, price rises as resolution, features and quality gets better. The webcams range from $20 to about $300, and the best models usually go for $200 and up. Even in an ideal environment, the best webcam won't necessarily deliver great video and audio quality on the other end that can depend on the consistency and quality of your network connection as well as the software you're using. Videoconferencing software, for example, tends to aggressively process the video for smoother and more consistent transmission over the network rather than looking great. Improving your environment with good lighting or a better angle can often enhance the quality of your webcam video more than upgrading the camera itself. Integrated models increasingly are tuned to work with the operating systems in a way that third-party cameras aren't. Your new external webcam won't necessarily be better than the one integrated into your laptop. AI is not magic it doesn't automatically make a camera (or even a particular feature) better, and the term is used excessively and very loosely in marketing. For instance, all webcams are plug-and-play, despite frequently being called out as a novelty, and claims like "DSLR-quality video" are meaningless. On one hand, you don't need to worry about too many specifications to figure out what you want on the other, it helps to understand what you're looking at to prevent being blindsided by marketing claims. It's a benefit if you're using it atop your laptop, since the way most people use their laptop cameras, it sits well below their eyeline. You can change the aperture, but that setting doesn't seem to do anything on any webcam I've tested thus far.īecause it's so tall, you may not like mounting it on top of a big monitor, although I've got it perched on top of a 32-inch without issue. The latter wouldn't be as much of an issue if the utility had some image controls, but the Obsbot relies entirely on Windows' settings dialog and even then supports only white balance and exposure. While the auto white balance and exposure work pretty well, it doesn't handle low light as well as the cheaper Anker, which can also do 1080p at 60fps (the Tiny is limited to 30fps). Since it's 1080p, the 2x digital zoom doesn't look great. ![]() In software, you can zoom continuously between 1x and 2x, but the gesture control only takes you completely in or out, while 1.5x is probably your best general choice. It has all the essentials covered as well, including solid video quality and a surprisingly good mic (although it lacks features you might be used to from the mic in your laptop or headset, like noise cancellation), as well as a lightweight utility to control the camera position and zoom in software. You can zoom digitally, but as with any 1080p webcam, that gets ugly fast. It also has a 110-degree field of view, which is kind of wide for your usual web conferencing. Other trade-offs for the price: a captive USB-A cable and a non-removable mount. The build feels about what you'd expect for a cheap webcam, plasticky but not fragile, and the mount supports tilt and swivel. ![]() The mic performs noise cancellation, but you can't turn it off or adjust it, and I heard quite a bit of popping and tinniness on my end. It's got a built-in mic, although the audio quality is disappointing. It doesn't currently work with MacOS Monterey, so I couldn't test that, but the company promises an update to support the latest version of the OS within the next couple of months. ![]() It also allows you to save presets for all the adjustable settings. For instance, the manual white balance actually works well along a continuum rather than just giving you a choice between too pink or too green. Nexigo's software isn't pretty, but some of it's a lot more functional than much of what I've used. Scaled down to a typical laptop viewing size, it looks good. Under those conditions, you can see noise and softness, but it's no worse than most 1080p webcams under $100. Don't expect great 1080p picture quality at full-size viewing or in low light. There's only so much you can do with the image quality on a basic 1080p 30fps webcam, but the Nexigo still delivers better video quality than many 720p laptop webcams, with relatively solid white balance and autoexposure, even across various lighting conditions. ![]()
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