Yeah....it's a jungle out there and there are sooooo many different brands of webcams out there. There are a lot of cheap generics and house-brands. Some of those may or may not actually be good. But if you don't want to waste time experimenting and hoping for a good product with decent help/support, I'd stick to a BIG NAME brand (Logitech, Microsoft, Philips, HP, etc). If you want to save a bit of money, go with a lesser-featured "basic" model.
Your profile says you are in the USA....just go to a few of your local ELECTRONICS/COMPUTER retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Frys, Costco, Sam's Club, whatever) and see what they have and compare. Jot down the brands/model numbers/costs of the ones that interest you and that are within your budget. Next, go home and do some online comparison shopping. Use a search engine like Google and compare prices as well as look for any REVIEWS/comparison tests (both professional and by customers). Decide whether or not buying locally or online works best for you (both have their pros/cons), and which webcam to buy.
Pretty much all webcams are limited in their quality....lots of lag and wonky focus. If you want good quality video it will take a decent video camera. If you use a web cam, have lots of light, and tweek the software to give you the best image. When you "perform", slow down your actions so you don't get lagged to death.
Good and inexpensive are mutually exclusive terms for webcams. Considerations when buying:
1. If you want a good, high-res cam, be sure that your computer is powerful enough to process all that streaming data. Older boxes don't have the ability to handle the output of a 640x480 cam at high frame rates.
2. The stream from a high-res cam might overwhelm your Net connection if you are on a low-end broadband service such as DSL. Cable or FTTP should be able to handle it.
3. Even if your box can process a high-res cam's data and your ISP can deliver the signal, the people on the other end may not be able to view it if their Net connections and systems are inadequate.
4. No webcam can match the quality of an average digital camera or camcorder.
That being said, look for a name-brand cam such as the ones that topspy listed, and be prepared to shell out the bucks. If you buy a camera with a cheap price, you'll have a camera with cheap quality.
When you're online with it, start with the minimum image size (160 x 120 is available in some models) and a low frame rate (10 frames per second is a good starting point). If those who are watching the cam have no problems with it, then tweak the settings upward until a good compromise is reached.
Your profile says you are in the USA....just go to a few of your local ELECTRONICS/COMPUTER retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Frys, Costco, Sam's Club, whatever) and see what they have and compare. Jot down the brands/model numbers/costs of the ones that interest you and that are within your budget. Next, go home and do some online comparison shopping. Use a search engine like Google and compare prices as well as look for any REVIEWS/comparison tests (both professional and by customers). Decide whether or not buying locally or online works best for you (both have their pros/cons), and which webcam to buy.
Best of luck...
1. If you want a good, high-res cam, be sure that your computer is powerful enough to process all that streaming data. Older boxes don't have the ability to handle the output of a 640x480 cam at high frame rates.
2. The stream from a high-res cam might overwhelm your Net connection if you are on a low-end broadband service such as DSL. Cable or FTTP should be able to handle it.
3. Even if your box can process a high-res cam's data and your ISP can deliver the signal, the people on the other end may not be able to view it if their Net connections and systems are inadequate.
4. No webcam can match the quality of an average digital camera or camcorder.
That being said, look for a name-brand cam such as the ones that topspy listed, and be prepared to shell out the bucks. If you buy a camera with a cheap price, you'll have a camera with cheap quality.
When you're online with it, start with the minimum image size (160 x 120 is available in some models) and a low frame rate (10 frames per second is a good starting point). If those who are watching the cam have no problems with it, then tweak the settings upward until a good compromise is reached.
New Comment