Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe

Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe

Published August 25, 2008 at 01:15:46 PM, by Dave Bethune

In the web camera arena, Logitech is a top contender in the battle for optical broadcast supremacy. Logitech's mid grade QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe is another example of excellent design bundled with transparent software installation and strong application support. To put it simply, the QuickCam is a great product for the MSRP of $59.99. Relative to other notebook web cameras on the market in the $60.00 price range, the QuickCam delivers its advertised promises. Its simple design and functionality gives most users the ability to web conference, record videos, and take digital still images in a matter of minutes. What really makes the QuickCam for Notebook Deluxe an excellent value is its feature list. Some of these features include 640x480 VGA video resolutions, 1.3 mega pixel still picture quality, built in microphone, and an intelligent face tracking.

The package comes with a handy carrying case that keeps the QuickCam tidy when not is use so its perfect for travel. The QuickCam is definitely designed to be partnered with today's most popular instant messaging programs such and MSN, AIM, and Yahoo Messenger.

Design
The QuickCam's design is quite ingénues in its simplicity. The camera is relativity small, about 1½” width x 2¼” height, not much bigger then a cell phone. The exterior grey exterior casing is composed of a rectangular bottom clip and a rounded top. The lens is circled with a stylish sliver ring that encompasses the cameras adjustable focus ring. The built-in microphone lies just underneath the lens to pick up any audible conversation or environmental noise. Just underneath and the left of the microphone is a button that conveniently lets you take manual snapshots capable of 1.3 mega pixels interpolated. Located on the opposite side of the snapshot button is a green LED light that illuminates whenever the camera is actively taking pictures or in video mode.

Mounting the QuickCam is extremely simple. The spring-loaded mounting clip enables the camera to be mounted on a LCD monitor frame up to 14mm thick. The camera has a tight grip on most LCD notebook monitors, but there were several instances that mounting the camera proved to be a daunting task to say the least.

Having been able to test the camera on several notebook monitors, the LCD’s that gave the most headache had a rounded or beveled edge making the front and rear clamp unable to get a solid hold on a totally flat surface. These instances were quite minor and could easily be fixed by adding some tape to the rear clip.

The QuickCam also features a 45° pivotal tilt to better enhance capture capability. Unfortunately, this was the only physical adjust that could be made to the camera in terms of capture ratio, so if you had to mount the camera on the left or right side of the monitor, you would be stuck with being viewed at that angle.

Focus requirements are needed in the initial setup and also during different lighting conditions. To make these simple adjustments, just turn the lens encompassing ring to the left or right for the desired sharpness. This feature proved very useful, especially in low-light conditions.

CMOS Sensor
The QuickCam uses a CMOS sensor rather then the more accurate CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor technology. CMOS sensor technology provides a relativity good quality image at a lower cost, thus enabling a low cost for the consumer. In some social technology circles, CMOS technology is accepted at an inferior technology to the newer CCD sensors, especially in low light situations. In most respects that is a correct assessment, but the QuickCam performs very well and in fact its video performance would rival some CCD video image quality. Capable of taking VGA quality (640 x 480) videos at up to 15 frames per second, the QuickCam can also snap digital still images up to 1.3 mega pixels (1280 x 960). The overall video quality is very crisp and sharp, especially with a CMOS sensor equipped lens. In well lit areas, the camera is frame rate is smooth and the video playback is very clean as well, displaying little or now visual noise. Another bonus feature was the QuickCam’s built in microphone. This added feature was a great addition to the camera’s arsenal and it just added to the overall value and portability of the camera design. The microphone proved quite useful in video IM mode, there was almost no need to type when you could hear crisp and clean voice audio, and combined with the smooth video frame rates, the “videophone” sci-fi enigma felt like normal reality.

High-Speed USB 2.0/1.1
The QuickCam uses a standard USB interface with a version 1.1 data rate. The QuickCam packaging states that it’s “USB 2.0 compatible”, which utilizes data stream rate of 480 megabits per second. In reality that just denotes a 2.0 port compatibility, not data rate. To further confirm this issue, by using the Windows control panel interface, a standard USB host controller was being utilized for the 1.1 data rate. This aspect does not hinder the QuickCam’s performance, for both video shots at video conferencing; we experienced great frame rates that were smooth and sharp, within good lighting conditions. The camera is also USB powered. This aspect makes the QuickCam completely portable with only having to plug in one cable when you’re on the road.

Intelligent Face Tracking
Equipped with Logitech’s Intelligent Face-Tracking technology, the camera is capable of detecting movement of a person’s face within the capture environment. The camera recognizes skin tone using color detection technology and automatically tracks a person’s face, following and zooming into the face. This feature works quite well when the subject is in well light areas and with no other movement taking place behind the subject. In lowlight situations, the camera was constantly zooming in and out on the subjects face.

Logitech Webcam Software
The initial driver and software setup is very easy and self explanatory. Install the camera drivers and then connect the camera using the USB cable into any available port. Within a matter of ten minutes, I was up doing video conferencing. The included software enables the user to take snapshots, and compose video e-mails. Of course you can’t forget the video instant messaging feature.

After the initial driver install, the software menu displays a several options to install third party IM programs. MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AIM are the supported messaging clients of the Logitech camera. The performance and video quality during video IM sessions was very good in well lighted situations, although MSN Messenger outperformed its competitors in overall frame rate and quality; this was interesting because Logitech lent a helping hand to Microsoft in developing their MSN Messenger webcam.

Featured on the right side of the software menu are several other useful programs. QuickCapture enables the user to take still photos or short video clips and saves them into a file. Video capture resolution ranges from 160x120 to 640x480 with still picture capture resolution going all the way up to 1.3 mega pixels, not bad for a portable little camera.

Within the QuickCam software control panel, adjustments to the brightness and contrast can be made. On and off color and low light boost features can also be selected. Horizontal capture and vertical capture modes can be selected as well. For even more control, clicking driver settings displays a window that enables adjustments to white balance, sharpness, gamma, and even color saturation.

Performance

Testbed To test the Logitech QuickCam, I synced it up to the HP L2000 Special Edition Turion 64 based notebook, running on Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2. I tested the camera with all three compatible instant messaging programs using the latest version available at the time of this review: AIM, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. The camera was used at its default settings.

Indoor-Good Lighting The QuickCam preformed quite well in environments with acceptable lighting for both still pictures and video clips. The 1.3 mega pixel resolution used enhanced software interpolation, which in good lighting situations can add a great deal of detail. In contrast, low or poor lighting situations resulted in granny or blurry still shots. The quality of video clips was quite surprising. The clips were crisp and smooth considering the 15fps frame rate. When comparing the QuickCam to other, more expensive cameras with higher frame rates around 30fps, you really seeing the difference in quality.

Indoor-Low lighting With the overhead lighting turned off, the QuckCams performance diminishes significantly. Video becomes choppy and blurred with facial features becoming almost indistinguishable. This issue is not exclusive to the QuickCam; poor low lighting performance plagues even the best web cams. Activating the low lighting enhancement feature in the camera settings improves the brightness and contrast significantly, although overall camera performance does not improve.

Internet As mentioned in the preceding section, the Logitech QuickCam is compatible with AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger. The tested internet connection was a DSL line with data rates of 256kbps for both uploading and downloading. All three programs detected the camera without any issues.

Yahoo!Instant Messenger performed well with both video and audio. My associate could hear voice and auditory response clear via the QuickCams internal microphone. Video frame rates were coming in about 6-10fps, which is quite choppy. There were some instances that video performance slowed down a bit and audio cut out.AOL Instant Messenger preformed in a similar manor as Yahoo! IM. Both video and audio performances were overall satisfactory but users who prefer clarity would not find performance acceptable.

With MSN Instant Messenger, the situation was somewhat different. Out of all three instant messaging programs, MSN performed the best hands down. Video frame rates were coming in at a full 10-13fps with audio reproduction quality similar to telephone quality. These conclusions are not surprising because Logitech helped Microsoft streamline the compatibility and performance of the MSN Messenger and Video Conversation application while using the Logitech web cameras. As far as the term videophone goes, the MSN Instant Messenger video chat was as close as one can get with the QuickCam.

Smart Tracking The smart tracking feature works well with the QuickCam software. In pervious experiences with this type of feature, the software is constantly zooming in and out on the subjects face. In addition, when there is some type of movement or action in the background, the camera will focus in that particular direction. For the most part the QuickCam was not plagued with these problems. For the majority of the time the face tracking feature was working as designed, contently keeping the proper headshots within the camera borders. The only negative aspect is again in low lighting settings. As soon the lighting was dimmed or not sufficient, the face tracking contently zoomed in and out on whatever was in the cameras viewpoint, although this is expected with most web cameras.

Recommendation Relatively speaking, comparing the QuickCam to other similarly priced web cameras on the market, this Logitech package is well valued and comes with good supporting software as well as good quality. Its compact design makes it perfect to be stored in a notebook backpack and ready for use upon desire. By having the camera use the USB port for power and data transfer, installation is simple as plugging in a single cable and attaching the camera, anyone can be video messaging in a matter of seconds. The overall performance of the QuickCam is very good relative to other similarly priced web cameras on the market. And knowing that the QuickCam comes from Logitech, users understand that they are getting a quality product with a great level of support to back it up if needed. Not only is the camera compact and portable, it has a built in microphone which adds to the portability and value, no need to fumble with a headset. Logitech has included the QuickCam with some strong software that makes it very versatile and useful. Video messaging is as simple as it could be with the QuickCam. Just install the desired software and you will be video instant messaging in no time. Still picture capture is good in proper lighting conditions and video quality is up to par with QuickCams competitors. The QuickCam is a well valued bundle that proves to be an excellent communication weapon in any notebook users arsenal. This is another great product from Logitech and is recommended.

Price and Availability The Logitech QuickCam for notebooks deluxe is available now at a suggested retail price of $59.99. It is covered under a two-year limited hardware warranty.

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Technical Specifications

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