What webcam would you recommend?

[Maxus]

Like many, I spend a good proportion of my life working from home on Teams calls. I use a large screen with my laptop set off at an angle. I therefore "invested" in a separate webcam to sit on top of the monitor rather than use the laptop one. The laptop camera was fine but it meant I wasn't looking at it when I used the big screen.

I bought a cheap Logitech camera (c£20) thinking it will do the job. it's awful. Very pale image if any light in the room and turns me orange if I try to darken it. I've played with all the setting but still poor.

I'm just after something that is not as susceptible to light and can generate a natural clear image. All at a reasonable price of course.

Are you using something for similar business purposes that you would recommend?

Thanks

[wyson]

Quality cameras started seemed to land around £100.

If you are using Apple products you can use your iPhone as a Camera. Just need to buy a mount for your monitor then.

[eltawater]

You would be better off sorting out your lighting first. Cameras are susceptible to light (that's how they work) so control your illumination first.

Ideally one or more diffuse light sources (light globe, bar or something with a lightbox) which you can position independently to complement the lighting within the room or window light.

Preferably not hard / harsh light like a clear glass bulb which may create harsh shadows across your face and over illuminate your face against your background.

[fat80b]

Depends on budget - I use a Logitech C930 at both home and work - It's pretty decent and imho a good balance of cost vs quality.

If you want to spend more, the Brio is nice (and slightly better spec) and looks nicer than the 930 imho.

And if you are made of money, go with a Huddly - I've got an old pre-production unit and it is quite nice...

[Frimley111R]

As said, sort the lighting first. I have a Trust something or other. I saw one on FB for £5 the other day. Crystal clear and works well. I really wouldn't bother with a £100 camera etc unless you are a prominent vlogger etc.

[bakerstreet]

Have you thought about a ring light? I have a fairly cheap Logitech (£20) which is about four years and only just given up on me. I bought a flexible arm so its not balanced on the top of the monitor and also its been positioned so its framing me how I want. I don't like my face filling the screen.

As expected its all a bit dark, but a colleague's images were much better I discovered he was using the same webcam, but with a ring light surrounding the cam and it looks much nicer...if a little bit showy.

It also depends on what background you have. Mine is my own office with some cupboards and Lego in the background so I'm fine with that being shown. Others may not feel that way about their backgrounds.

[Supersam83]

This will do the job: https://amzn.eu/d/d84mqad

But make sure you have good lighting as that makes a big difference to the quality of the webcam.

[Hoofy]

The first thing I thought, and as others have suggested, sort out your lighting. Even a cheap ring light off to one side of the camera is better than nothing. Bought a £5 one off FB Marketplace and in the evening, the difference is... night and day.

[Maxus]

Thanks all. I'll get a light and see how I get on with that.

Thinking about it, the room window is behind where the laptop sits so it could have been that the natural light directly behind the laptop camera was helping the old setup with the new camera in front of a wall so not benefiting from that.

Really appreciate the advice

[.:ian:.]

I looked for a decent webcam a few months ago, its a bit of a minefield and a lot of the "best webcams" are years old. (The microsoft lifecam is at least 10 years old! as is the Logitech c930)

I splashed out on a link2c https://www.insta360.com/product/insta360-link2

Good audio and video quality, certainly shows up my wrinkles The build quality is nice too, metal monitor bracket and its held on with magnets.

[Alorotom]

I have a Poly Studio P15 camera and audio array and it’s excellent - regular get comments about the clarity and quality of the image and sound

Additionally I have a Lume Cube light that sits above it and lights me from the front - it’s adaptable between very cold to very warm (I use the latter) and again has been faultless.