Technology Review: Nifty Laptop Computer Camera and Video Recorder

 I had the opportunity to review The Logitech Quickcam Pro for Notebooks, a product touted as a high-performance Webcam with Autofocus, special effects for video and photos and other special features. The camera is specifically designed to be compatable with Windows Vista, and computers must have Windows XP and a minimum of a Pentium 4.14 GHz or AMD Athlon processor plus 125 MB RAM. It comes with a 2-year limited warranty. Laptops or notebooks must also have a 1.1 or 2.0 USB port, OS compatable sound card and speaker and 16-bit color display adapter as well as a CD-ROM drive and 200-MG hard drive available. This would be an excellent Christmas, birthday or holiday gift for someone this year. If you know of a better product that does the same and works with laptops that use VISTA please let me know; I'd appreciate the info.

Here is my personal experience and analysis.  Please keep in mind that I am not a techie and be kind as I'm not a whiz at computer gadgets and I can't say this is the best product of its kind but can only write about our personal experience, so far. 

Product Details:

Here is what you get with the Logitech Quickcam Pro package: a webcam which can be use alone or set in the middle of your laptop by attaching it to the top screen, a travel case for holding the camera, a stand if you want to take photos or videos of yourself or other things at eye level, a CD for easy setup and the start guide. Cost: retail is about $80.00 but you can buy them used for as little as $40 online, from what I saw at Amazon and other sites.

Setup and installation:

This was a breeze. I do not consider myself a pro when it comes to technology or add-ons ("technologically challenged" would be a far more accurate term),  but using this was simply a matter of inserting the accompanying CD and letting it go to work, installing everyting.

I have since learned that you can also download the package directly from a computer website run by Logitech - but I'm not sure where that is -  and more experienced users might want to do so -  but the CD was fine with me.

It tested audio levels, automatically linked to our computer system and tested out performance of video and audio before it completed installation. We were extremely pleased with how easy this was. Within minutes, we were using the Webcam. It could not have been simpler.

Ease of use and Performance:

My son, a teen, absolutely fell in love with this and so did I (when I could get him to stop snapping photos of himself!). Within minutes, we were shooting videos and photos and having so much fun with the special effects and other options. The User's Guide is very short but completely informative about the camera features, including location of a snapshot button, notebook clip, autofocus lens system and the microphone. You can make your face look goofy if you want - stretched out or fatter - which I guess appeals to some. I was just thrilled to be able to take photos or short videos for sharing online. That part was easy, too. 

The camera comes with a stand which puts it at about face level or you can remove it and put it at the top center of your laptop screen for a front view of yourself if you are chatting to someone.  

Audio quality was excellent and I can't imagine a more portable Webcam, since this is only about the size of a housekey in length, but a bit wider!. To connect the camera to the computer, you simply plug it into a USB port. The RightSound technology which comes with this works wonderfully even though we didn't have portable speakers and we really didn't need them, a pleasant surprise.

Special Features

You can easily chat or IM with visual effect on the Internet. There are also special effects for photos as well as videos which we are still learning to maximize. They are very fun to use and had us laughing and giggling as we used them.

Overall quality and product Summary

The Logitech Quickcam has been  a winner for us so far as it is compact and easy to take anywhere a laptop goes. Since I help take care of my aging mother, this is a MAJOR plus for me.

The video quality is superior to other webcams we've seen at friends' homes and in stores. Easy to install and use. Now that online auction and book sites are offering video product reviews, this could become indispensable to me, as I use both types of sites. The only possible problem for some would be a short USB cord for the camera and stand but we didn't find this to be an issue. 

 Please feel free to contact me if you have questions and  share any similar products that you think are equally as good.