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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A new webcam...

So, I got this new webcam, and I like it... but it doesn't have as wide an angle as my old webcam had.  The two webcams I'm comparing are a logitec quickcam Communicator... and a Rosewill Black Gulf Webcam.

Both have  comparable resolution, however I think the Rosewill webcam is a little clearer.

Both are plug and play cameras that work with Windows and Linux... but the Microphone requires a separate driver in Windows for the Quickcam.  The Rosewill camera actually uses an 1/8" microphone jack... so yea... I have a really mixed opinion about that.

The button on the webcam works fine with both camera in Windows with the provided software.  However, in Linux you have to map the button to some sort of functionality manually... So if you actually want to use it (which I think it's a dumb feature) then Linux setup isn't for the faint of heart (or complete noobs.)

My final note regarding the webcams is on the focus method of each camera.  The Rosewill camera has a manual focus that  forces you to choose between taking a picture of what is really close, or what is far away... it doesn't do too well in the middle.  The logitech webcam has an autofocus that seems to do a really good job.

So over all, the big point with the Rosewill webcam is that it takes a very clear picture when you adjust the focus correctly, and it seems to work very well in a variety of lighting situations.  The Logitech camera doesn't take as clear of photos, but it has a wider angle lense,  autofocus, and uses the USB cable for video and sound.  I have to say over all, the Logitech Quickcam Communicator is an overall better camera in my opinion, unless the only thing you realy care about is having a high quality picture. 

anyway... there is a quick review of these two camera...

I know... I probably should have put this on the tech blog... oh well.  Too late now!

Later,

     SteveO