Make

Microsoft

Microsoft

Logitech

Logitech

Model

LifeCam Studio

LifeCam Cinema

c910

c510

Price

£59.99

£39.99

£66.91

£31.95

HD Video

720p

720p

1080p

720p

Still Photo Quality

8M

5M

10M

8M

Built in Microphone

High-Fidelity

Mono

Stereo

Mono

Pro's

This webcam is Small, light-weight and easy to position. It can be mounted to a Tri-pod. It rotates 360 degree's and has vertical adjustment unlike the c910. The High-Fidelity microphone is the best I have found on a webcam and it wasn't put out by the audio from the speakers so you could do away with your headset.

This webcam is close enough to the LifeCam studio in Video Quality. It is small and light so it is easy to fit in your laptop carry case. It is easily adjustable and the mono mic is good enough to use.

The features of this webcam actually work very well. The 'Follow My Face' feature works extremely well with Live Meeting. The stereo mics are very good but possibly not quite as good as the High-Fidelity mic on the LifeCam Studio. 720p Video Calling and 1080p Video recording without any additional purchases required. The Wide angle lens is fantastic. This cam looks great and is very sturdy. Motion detection works really well and is very easy to setup. You therefore have the option to use the c910 as a security webcam.

This is a small, light-weight, in-expensive and very portable webcam. It comes with a handy little pouch for keeping the camera safe while on the move. It folds up to a nice small compact size which also protects the lense. It is every bit as good as the LifeCam Cinema for sound and video. It takes 8mp still images which is 3mp better than the more expensive LifeCam Cinema and equal to the LifeCam Studio.

Con's

Only after a bit of research did I find out that the only way to record 1080p Video is with the help of Commercial Video software (not included). The 1080p sensor is only for still images unless you purchase additional software. The colour can be a little off at times and I found that it didn't handle great in low-light conditions. They include what appears to be a clever lens cap as it clips nicely on to the USB lead while using the webcam but unfortunately it is badly designed and does not clip on to the webcam which defeats its purpose.

I found that the USB lead made it tricky to position the webcam. The sound is only ok and while small and light, it feels like it would damage easily if used a lot while travelling.

This webcam has very few bad points that I found. I expected the Audio to be better but is still very good. The fact that it doesn't have a built in Video Processor which rules it out for Skype HD and the software can be a bit fiddly with the effects menu disappearing when using the webcam with some programs. It is not a very portable webcam when compared to its rivals but it is very sturdy.

A stereo mic would actually make me choose this over the LifeCam Studio. It has the same software as the c910 which unfortunately can hide the effects option when used with some software.

Overall

This is a great all round webcam. The video is very clear although it can under perform in low-light conditions when compared to the Logitech c910. The High-Fidelity Mic is very good although some users thought it to be better than the stereo Mic on the Logitech c910, when used in Live Meeting the audio became very muffled. The option to connect to a tri-pod is a nice touch and it is quite easy to adjust the position of the webcam

It is a good webcam but let down a lot by the mic. There is not a lot in the difference between the Cinema and studio in terms of video but with the ease of adjustment from the Studio design and the improvement in mic, personally I would spend the extra money.

I really like this webcam and hands down I feel it is the best I have seen. The video is by far the best and it goes to another level with the built in motion detection feature. The sound is very good although not as good as the LifeCam Studio. The only real drawbacks are the software not allowing access to the effects at times and that it is not as portable as the others.

This is a fantastic inexpensive webcam. This is exactly the type of webcam you should be using if on the road a lot as it is so portable, great quality video and good sound.

Rating

Make

Microsoft

Microsoft

Logitech

Logitech

Model

LifeCam Cinema

c910

c510

Live Meeting

I was very suprised to see how much of a difference there is between the Logitech c910 and the LifeCam Studio. There are two big problems with this webcam, Auto-Focus and True Color. They cause constant change to the lighting and the slightest movement from anything within its sight causes it to completely re-adjust and give a blurry image while doing so. If you sit perfectly still it will eventually get a a good shot. After having a good play with this webcam the only way I got it to give a good consistent image is to disable both Auto-Focus and True Color in the 'Settings' menu under the heading 'Properties' in the LifeCam software. Once these features were turned off it worked quite well but the c910 is still noticeably in front.

This unfortunately had a similar result to the LifeCam Studio. The Auto-Focus and True Color features constantly playing catch up. Again I only managed to get a consistent image by disabling both features in the LifeCam software. The Microsoft webcam's seem to suffer a lot on lighting. This webcam was very close to the LifeCam Studio and if only used for Live Meeting the only real difference is the improvement in the mic on the LifeCam Studio.

This webcam is by far the best option that I have seen for Live Meeting. You can leave all of the useful features turned on like 'Auto-Focus' and 'Follow My Face' and get a great consistent image every time. The Logitech software works well with Live Meeting. I had noticed a lack of effects when using the c910 with some other programs but Live Meeting had no issues. Although the sound was not quite as good as the LifeCam Studio, as long as you are in a quiet room it is still very good.

This webcam would be my second choice of the four for Live Meeting. Again The Auto-focus just works and this eliminates the need to find your way around the software to disable the annoying features with Microsoft LifeCam's. The picture in Live Meeting is every bit as good as the LifeCam Studio but the sound could do with at least being stereo.

Video

Audio

Rating Overall