Logitech 2 MP Webcam Pro 9000 with Built-in Microphone Review.
"Great Cam; Don't be afraid to play with the software settings!" 2008-12-17
By RLC (California)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QQKFQETXGYLZ For those of you who've had issue with this cam, or those who've heard bad things about this camera; watch the video. I'm no public speaker by any means, but I think it's worth watching so you can get the best out of your new or potentially new webcam.
If you didnt watch the video or want a summary of what I stated in the video, I'll restate the main points below:
1. Always install the appropriate drivers from their logitech site. Often, the drivers on the disc are outdated.
2. Open up the Logitech Quickcam Vision for Enterprises software either through Start>All Programs>Logitech or just click on the icon provided on the desktop if there is one.
3. Unclick both Rightlight Automatic Settings(the eye picture icon) and Automatic Settings for Gain and Exposure(the owl picture icon). You can all find this under the gears icon. You can then adjust the bars left to right (especially exposure and gain) accordingly.
4. Under the camera picture icon in the software, you can also adjust for manual/auto focus, brightness, contrast, color, and white balance.
Doing all of this will raise your picture frame rate and minimize any blurring from motion.
Don't ever worry how you'll mess the camera settings up. If you first don't succeed at what you want, you can always re-click auto settings and start all over. Personally, I find it kind of entertaining when I mess around with it!
"First time webcam owner - Very easy to use" 2007-10-11
By TheBandit (SEA-TAC)
Having never owned - or even so much as used - a webcam prior to this, I don't have much point of reference. That said, the installation of this product couldn't have been any easier. On my older desktop system, the installation only took a few minutes. The laptop I have is much newer, and the software installed even faster. Absolutely trouble-free, and within minutes I had a picture on screen and was able to take photos and make videos.
The adjustable clip on the back of the camera is very effective - it doubles as a stand, which came in handy on my bulky old non-flat screen monitor. On my laptop screen it was just as handy, resting firmly in place at the top of the screen.
I was truly impressed by the video quality. Again, I've never owned a webcam previously, but I've viewed many webcam videos posted on websites - and I was aware that the image quality ran the gamut. The lens on this webcam produces a very sharp, detailed image. Even in relatively low-lighting, the picture wasn't bad at all. On my several years old desktop, the image didn't keep up with the movements very well - moving my head from side to side, for instance, resulted in quite a blur. But on my newer laptop, that blur was reduced extremely - the movements registered in more or less real-time. The auto-focus feature seems to do it's job pretty well, and makes operation very simple.
The audio quality was definitely less impressive than the picture - but it was right in line with what I expected for a little tiny built-in microphone. Loud noises clip and/or distort - I tried playing my saxophone and the result wasn't listenable (though some would say that's due to my playing ability). Yelling, or even extremely loud talking, clips. But all things considered, when remaining at a distance of a couple feet and talking at a normal, even volume - the audio quality was very acceptable.
I got a kick out of the various visual features. There are a bunch of filters - my favorite is the '50s style, creating a vintage black-and-white scratched up film look. Neonize was a trip - darkening everything on screen except for neon-colored borders to everything. The 'ghost' filter gives a blurred tracer effect to all movement. I don't know how much need I'll have for these, but they're fun to mess around with. There are also a bunch of options to change the look of your face on-screen - including 'robot face' which makes you look like a cyborg or something. I don't honestly know what the 'avatar' feature was supposed to do - I aligned my face within the red box like it said to, but nothing really happened ever once I initiated the feature...
Bottom line - speaking for total, complete, 100% webcam novices like myself: this is a quality webcam that I could not imagine being easier to use. The video quality is top-notch. My biggest criticism - and this is actually kind of minor - is the utter lack of a storage case or pouch for the webcam. I don't plan to leave mine out all the time and I'd like to keep the lens (rightfully rated highly) in good shape. For the time being, I'm actually putting it back in the box but even a cheap felt pouch would've been nice.
"What Do You Know? I DO Need This!" 2007-10-20
By fredtownward (Palatine, Illinois United States)
Despite being a computer programmer for... longer than I can now apparently remember, I have never been someone with much desire to be on the leading edge of computer technology. Let somebody else try it out, help work out the bugs, and come up with a convincing argument for why I need such and such a thing, and I'll THINK about it... for a few years. Thus, I was late to get on the Internet, late to buy a home computer, and laughed out loud at the thought I might ever want or need a web cam... until now.
As a still camera, the QuickCam Pro 9000 can take better pictures than my old and long gone digital camera, though at maximum resolution you'd better content yourself with emailing them one at a time. However, it is not a complete substitute for it because even with a very long extension cord that desktop will get heavy in a hurry.
As a video camera, the QuickCam Pro 9000 is truly amazing! At maximum resolution people only familiar with older generation web cams will be openmouthed with astonishment, and viewers of the resulting videos will be able to make educated guesses about their dental health. It has a "Face Tracking" feature that can be set to follow one face or multiple faces and will do so quite well no matter how the subject(s) move, though the resulting video is not recommended for anyone susceptible to motion sickness.
In short a person who did not think he needed a webcam now wonders how he ever did without it.
Defects? Well, the software that comes with it is more than a little buggy; you WILL want to download the latest software from their web site, which cleared up my problems. I also don't like the fact that you can select only a single image size for both still and video because only the three smallest image sizes work for both still and video. If you select any of the five larger image sizes for taking still photos, you will have to reset it for taking videos and vice versa, which since the newest version of the software finally saves my settings between runs, is more than a little annoying. (Note: the latest version of the Logitech software has added two more video image sizes: 1.3 and 2 megapixels, leaving only the three largest image sizes as still photo only.)
A nice accessory would be a tiny protective carrying case because it is small enough to haul with you on trips. The original package will do the job, if you opened it carefully enough, but it is too bulky to fit well in a suitcase.
Note: a more expensive Mac version (apparently because certain features available to PC's in software must be replaced by hardware) is now available: Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro. Word is that there is some cross-compatibility, but I wouldn't count on it. Purchase the one that is compatible with the machine you will mostly be using it with.
"Robert was RIGHT on in his review!" 2008-01-10
By Sean Woodruff (Grand Blanc, MI United States)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RVN10J1QV01DH Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 is a great product. Simple to use right out of the box and will give you great picture quality and sound for the money. This product certainly delivers on the value scale.
"Logitech have surpassed perfection !!" 2007-09-07
By Bruno Freitas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
They have got this one right.. That is for sure...
I had the previous Logitech Pro 5000 and this one beats that one (which is also good) miles away !!
The quality that I have all my family and friends reporting on Skype is just asthonishing.
Because of that, I got a 2nd one and start using it myself during all my trips and I could see the diference from the previous one.
The range of colors is what calls the attention, very good in bringing the true colors of the place you are without have to deal with the controls of it.
The Auto Focus on it is just something to bring the attention to, since you can acctually get close up on stuff that other cameras would not pick up.
I could even show what I had on my monitor to friends and they were able to read it ! (using Skype)
The lens are just great (All sony cybershot's uses the same lens if that tells you anything !!), to which I believe is also the reason for all this image perfecion they have reached with the camera.
And the sound is really good, with eco cancelation and all the bells and whistles.
I mainly use it for web conference, but if you would like to make videos and send them out, that does the job with an A+!!
You will be satisfied with this one, and the price is worht the equipment you are going to get...
That's why I got 2 of those already for my family !
Go for it !
By RLC (California)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QQKFQETXGYLZ For those of you who've had issue with this cam, or those who've heard bad things about this camera; watch the video. I'm no public speaker by any means, but I think it's worth watching so you can get the best out of your new or potentially new webcam.
If you didnt watch the video or want a summary of what I stated in the video, I'll restate the main points below:
1. Always install the appropriate drivers from their logitech site. Often, the drivers on the disc are outdated.
2. Open up the Logitech Quickcam Vision for Enterprises software either through Start>All Programs>Logitech or just click on the icon provided on the desktop if there is one.
3. Unclick both Rightlight Automatic Settings(the eye picture icon) and Automatic Settings for Gain and Exposure(the owl picture icon). You can all find this under the gears icon. You can then adjust the bars left to right (especially exposure and gain) accordingly.
4. Under the camera picture icon in the software, you can also adjust for manual/auto focus, brightness, contrast, color, and white balance.
Doing all of this will raise your picture frame rate and minimize any blurring from motion.
Don't ever worry how you'll mess the camera settings up. If you first don't succeed at what you want, you can always re-click auto settings and start all over. Personally, I find it kind of entertaining when I mess around with it!
By TheBandit (SEA-TAC)
Having never owned - or even so much as used - a webcam prior to this, I don't have much point of reference. That said, the installation of this product couldn't have been any easier. On my older desktop system, the installation only took a few minutes. The laptop I have is much newer, and the software installed even faster. Absolutely trouble-free, and within minutes I had a picture on screen and was able to take photos and make videos.
The adjustable clip on the back of the camera is very effective - it doubles as a stand, which came in handy on my bulky old non-flat screen monitor. On my laptop screen it was just as handy, resting firmly in place at the top of the screen.
I was truly impressed by the video quality. Again, I've never owned a webcam previously, but I've viewed many webcam videos posted on websites - and I was aware that the image quality ran the gamut. The lens on this webcam produces a very sharp, detailed image. Even in relatively low-lighting, the picture wasn't bad at all. On my several years old desktop, the image didn't keep up with the movements very well - moving my head from side to side, for instance, resulted in quite a blur. But on my newer laptop, that blur was reduced extremely - the movements registered in more or less real-time. The auto-focus feature seems to do it's job pretty well, and makes operation very simple.
The audio quality was definitely less impressive than the picture - but it was right in line with what I expected for a little tiny built-in microphone. Loud noises clip and/or distort - I tried playing my saxophone and the result wasn't listenable (though some would say that's due to my playing ability). Yelling, or even extremely loud talking, clips. But all things considered, when remaining at a distance of a couple feet and talking at a normal, even volume - the audio quality was very acceptable.
I got a kick out of the various visual features. There are a bunch of filters - my favorite is the '50s style, creating a vintage black-and-white scratched up film look. Neonize was a trip - darkening everything on screen except for neon-colored borders to everything. The 'ghost' filter gives a blurred tracer effect to all movement. I don't know how much need I'll have for these, but they're fun to mess around with. There are also a bunch of options to change the look of your face on-screen - including 'robot face' which makes you look like a cyborg or something. I don't honestly know what the 'avatar' feature was supposed to do - I aligned my face within the red box like it said to, but nothing really happened ever once I initiated the feature...
Bottom line - speaking for total, complete, 100% webcam novices like myself: this is a quality webcam that I could not imagine being easier to use. The video quality is top-notch. My biggest criticism - and this is actually kind of minor - is the utter lack of a storage case or pouch for the webcam. I don't plan to leave mine out all the time and I'd like to keep the lens (rightfully rated highly) in good shape. For the time being, I'm actually putting it back in the box but even a cheap felt pouch would've been nice.
By fredtownward (Palatine, Illinois United States)
Despite being a computer programmer for... longer than I can now apparently remember, I have never been someone with much desire to be on the leading edge of computer technology. Let somebody else try it out, help work out the bugs, and come up with a convincing argument for why I need such and such a thing, and I'll THINK about it... for a few years. Thus, I was late to get on the Internet, late to buy a home computer, and laughed out loud at the thought I might ever want or need a web cam... until now.
As a still camera, the QuickCam Pro 9000 can take better pictures than my old and long gone digital camera, though at maximum resolution you'd better content yourself with emailing them one at a time. However, it is not a complete substitute for it because even with a very long extension cord that desktop will get heavy in a hurry.
As a video camera, the QuickCam Pro 9000 is truly amazing! At maximum resolution people only familiar with older generation web cams will be openmouthed with astonishment, and viewers of the resulting videos will be able to make educated guesses about their dental health. It has a "Face Tracking" feature that can be set to follow one face or multiple faces and will do so quite well no matter how the subject(s) move, though the resulting video is not recommended for anyone susceptible to motion sickness.
In short a person who did not think he needed a webcam now wonders how he ever did without it.
Defects? Well, the software that comes with it is more than a little buggy; you WILL want to download the latest software from their web site, which cleared up my problems. I also don't like the fact that you can select only a single image size for both still and video because only the three smallest image sizes work for both still and video. If you select any of the five larger image sizes for taking still photos, you will have to reset it for taking videos and vice versa, which since the newest version of the software finally saves my settings between runs, is more than a little annoying. (Note: the latest version of the Logitech software has added two more video image sizes: 1.3 and 2 megapixels, leaving only the three largest image sizes as still photo only.)
A nice accessory would be a tiny protective carrying case because it is small enough to haul with you on trips. The original package will do the job, if you opened it carefully enough, but it is too bulky to fit well in a suitcase.
Note: a more expensive Mac version (apparently because certain features available to PC's in software must be replaced by hardware) is now available: Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro. Word is that there is some cross-compatibility, but I wouldn't count on it. Purchase the one that is compatible with the machine you will mostly be using it with.
By Sean Woodruff (Grand Blanc, MI United States)
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RVN10J1QV01DH Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 is a great product. Simple to use right out of the box and will give you great picture quality and sound for the money. This product certainly delivers on the value scale.
By Bruno Freitas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
They have got this one right.. That is for sure...
I had the previous Logitech Pro 5000 and this one beats that one (which is also good) miles away !!
The quality that I have all my family and friends reporting on Skype is just asthonishing.
Because of that, I got a 2nd one and start using it myself during all my trips and I could see the diference from the previous one.
The range of colors is what calls the attention, very good in bringing the true colors of the place you are without have to deal with the controls of it.
The Auto Focus on it is just something to bring the attention to, since you can acctually get close up on stuff that other cameras would not pick up.
I could even show what I had on my monitor to friends and they were able to read it ! (using Skype)
The lens are just great (All sony cybershot's uses the same lens if that tells you anything !!), to which I believe is also the reason for all this image perfecion they have reached with the camera.
And the sound is really good, with eco cancelation and all the bells and whistles.
I mainly use it for web conference, but if you would like to make videos and send them out, that does the job with an A+!!
You will be satisfied with this one, and the price is worht the equipment you are going to get...
That's why I got 2 of those already for my family !
Go for it !
