Author Topic: Webcam for about 50 quid  (Read 3003 times)

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Webcam for about 50 quid
« on: 21 August, 2020, 06:10:47 am »
Hello, along with lots of us I am upgrading my home office.  I want to move away from using the camera on my laptop and would like a webcam I can attach to the top edge of a monitor - what would the panel recommend?

I have about £50 to spend and it having a built-in mike and speaker isn't important as I mostly use a very good Plantronics Bluetooth headset. 

Thanks in advance.

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #1 on: 21 August, 2020, 08:03:10 am »
I managed to bag a decent Logitech webcam at the start of lockdown before they became rare as rocking horse poo.  It's excellent imo though out of your price bracket for the particular model that we have. 

Logitech make webcams which start at under £30.  If your computer is a Windows 10 device I anticipate no issues.  All lLogitech webcams appear to come with a microphone built in as ours has but not speakers.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #2 on: 21 August, 2020, 08:18:53 am »
I managed to bag a decent Logitech webcam at the start of lockdown before they became rare as rocking horse poo.  It's excellent imo though out of your price bracket for the particular model that we have. 

Logitech make webcams which start at under £30.  If your computer is a Windows 10 device I anticipate no issues.  All lLogitech webcams appear to come with a microphone built in as ours has but not speakers.

Thanks PB, which model do you have?

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #3 on: 21 August, 2020, 08:51:15 am »
C920 iirc.  I have a friend with a C270? which is far more basic but it has allowed him to ZoomPub with us on Friday evenings and to keep in touch with other people too. 

Others will have different opinions and experiences but I find Logitech kit never lets me down.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #4 on: 21 August, 2020, 08:55:47 am »
C920 iirc.  I have a friend with a C270? which is far more basic but it has allowed him to ZoomPub with us on Friday evenings and to keep in touch with other people too. 

Others will have different opinions and experiences but I find Logitech kit never lets me down.

Good info, thanks PB.  The C920 is £85 on Amazon which I don't mind paying if the extra outlay is worth it which seems to be the case based on your experiences.

lets see what others come up with.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #5 on: 21 August, 2020, 08:57:32 am »
Good thread OD, I have been thinking along those lines as well. 

+1 for logitech, the only thing I've had break down on me is a wireless mouse which as well as being used was regularly abused by being thrown into my laptop bag amongst the rest of the crap of a travelling consultant.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #6 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:03:59 am »
I've got a Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX sitting around here going spare as it was on my FiL's old computer that I've just decommissioned.

It's only 640x480, so far from HD, but it's a perfectly good webcam for most people, sits on top of the monitor. I have one exactly the same for use myself.

£15 (inc P&P). (I told him I'd donate it to charity so any profit from it will be going to a suitable charity.)
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #7 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:11:43 am »
At the start of the pandemic, I ended up buying 2* random name HD webcams for about 45 quid.  Both have been fine, and "just worked" with Windows 10. I like Logitec, but I'm not sure I'd pay twice the price of something else for one.

* the first one was advertised as expected delivery in 4 days - after 2 weeks I bought another that arrived in a day, but by that time the first one was on a boat! It took 4 weeks to turn up and the return process was going to be a nightmare, so I got a giant discount and my wife is using it at work.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #8 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:14:07 am »
Good thread OD, I have been thinking along those lines as well. 

+1 for logitech, the only thing I've had break down on me is a wireless mouse which as well as being used was regularly abused by being thrown into my laptop bag amongst the rest of the crap of a travelling consultant.

Yes, I have just got a logitech wireless mouse and it seems to be ace.

I've got a Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX sitting around here going spare as it was on my FiL's old computer that I've just decommissioned.

It's only 640x480, so far from HD, but it's a perfectly good webcam for most people, sits on top of the monitor. I have one exactly the same for use myself.

£15 (inc P&P). (I told him I'd donate it to charity so any profit from it will be going to a suitable charity.)

Thanks for the offer but I'll let a more deserving cause than me take it off your hands.  I have some Amazon vouchers won for being the Least Worst Employee of the Decade to use up so I can afford to be a bit flash!

huggy

  • ACME GCFO
    • ACME
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #9 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:17:47 am »
OD, just carry on using your laptop on-board webcam - no one wants to see you in HD!!
But if you insist, pay your money and take your choice of these, or older variants of wherever you can find the best price.  They'll all do the job equally well enough for just you in front of the camera.  Best upgrade you can make is a front light to illuminate your rustic facial features, lots available on the Big South American River website, a quick search reveals this one.
Never knowingly underfed on an Audax

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #10 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:25:38 am »
OD, just carry on using your laptop on-board webcam - no one wants to see you in HD!!
But if you insist, pay your money and take your choice of these, or older variants of wherever you can find the best price.  They'll all do the job equally well enough for just you in front of the camera.  Best upgrade you can make is a front light to illuminate your rustic facial features, lots available on the Big South American River website, a quick search reveals this one.

Its not that I want people to see my rustic good looks in HD.  I now have a second monitor and a stand for my laptop so I can use it as a second screen.  If I move the lappy and its camera to where I want it to be its facing a window which buggers up the picture quality ("Hooray, there is a God after all!" I hear you cry  >:(  ).  So I want a separate camera on my new monitor which doesn't point at the window.

EDIT: I don't think I need a light but I bet you've got one! 

huggy

  • ACME GCFO
    • ACME
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #11 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:30:06 am »
EDIT: I don't think I need a light but I bet you've got one!
I don't but I sit facing the window so I'm naturally lit by the great outdoors (or by the monitor screen when it's not so great outdoors).  Main thing is to not have a strong light source behind you, like sitting in front of the window.
Never knowingly underfed on an Audax

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #12 on: 21 August, 2020, 09:34:24 am »
EDIT: I don't think I need a light but I bet you've got one!
I don't but I sit facing the window so I'm naturally lit by the great outdoors (or by the monitor screen when it's not so great outdoors).  Main thing is to not have a strong light source behind you, like sitting in front of the window.

Exactly, that's what'll happen when I move my laptop, hence wanting an independent camera. 

I'm beginning to think logitech is the way to go...

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #13 on: 21 August, 2020, 11:34:12 am »
I also have a logitech one, it's quite old as I pinched was donated it from a previous employer. However it works through a usb switch connected to my work laptop docking station and home computer, has a mic built in and does auto focus quite well.

D.
Somewhat of a professional tea drinker.


Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #14 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:09:06 pm »
C920 iirc.  I have a friend with a C270? which is far more basic but it has allowed him to ZoomPub with us on Friday evenings and to keep in touch with other people too. 

Others will have different opinions and experiences but I find Logitech kit never lets me down.

Second the recommendation for the C920.  It's the sex workers' favourite for a reason.

Seems to cope admirably well with barkata's difficult lighting conditions. (She tends to live in a cave for migraine reasons, with a minimum of light bounced off the ceiling directly behind her, which is pretty non-optimal for camera performance.  I think the major win is from having a camera looking down on her from above the monitor, rather than up her nose from a laptop, but the low-light performance of the Logitech is impressive.)

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #15 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:17:51 pm »
Going off topic...
If anyone is looking for a camera and microphone setup for a conferencing room Meeting Owls are fantastic. And cute.

https://uk-shop.owllabs.com/

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #16 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:26:18 pm »
Going off topic...
If anyone is looking for a camera and microphone setup for a conferencing room Meeting Owls are fantastic. And cute.

https://uk-shop.owllabs.com/

Love it!

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #17 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:27:25 pm »
WOL! WOL!
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #18 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:27:44 pm »
Second the recommendation for the C920.  It's the sex workers' favourite for a reason.

On this basis of this recommendation alone I've bought one!

Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #19 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:38:16 pm »
Going back on topic.. I haev a Trust webcan which perches atop my monitor. It has a built in microphone which seems to work OK.
https://www.trust.com/en/product/16428-spotlight-pro-webcam-with-led-lights

What are the recommendations for a microphone for video conferencing?

Mrs Pingu

  • Who ate all the pies? Me
    • Twitter
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #20 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:42:09 pm »
Going back on topic.. I haev a Trust webcan which perches atop my monitor. It has a built in microphone which seems to work OK.
https://www.trust.com/en/product/16428-spotlight-pro-webcam-with-led-lights

What are the recommendations for a microphone for video conferencing?
A headset. Otherwise everyone else can hear themselves speaking at your end which is really annoying.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #21 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:44:18 pm »
Going back on topic.. I haev a Trust webcan which perches atop my monitor. It has a built in microphone which seems to work OK.
https://www.trust.com/en/product/16428-spotlight-pro-webcam-with-led-lights

But are Trust webcams recommended by sex workers?

Mrs Pingu

  • Who ate all the pies? Me
    • Twitter
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #22 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:45:18 pm »
For anyone else interested, I wanted the Logitech but couldn't really justify the spend, so I bought this one off BigRiver instead. It works better than I expected it to, TBH and was cheap as chips.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/LarmTek-desktop-streaming-Computer-Conferencing/dp/B07VTPQ9NQ
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #23 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:49:29 pm »
Going back on topic.. I haev a Trust webcan which perches atop my monitor. It has a built in microphone which seems to work OK.
https://www.trust.com/en/product/16428-spotlight-pro-webcam-with-led-lights

What are the recommendations for a microphone for video conferencing?
A headset. Otherwise everyone else can hear themselves speaking at your end which is really annoying.

And headsets with 'Plantronics' written on them are usually a safe bet.

I've been using one barakta purloined from a previous employer.  Like most headphones, it doesn't fit my head properly, but it makes up for that with a minimum of USB driver faff.

(Barakta's been using the ambient mic on the Logitech, which seems to do a pretty good job.  Feedback is avoided because she has direct audio input to her hearing aid.)

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Webcam for about 50 quid
« Reply #24 on: 21 August, 2020, 12:54:40 pm »
Going back on topic.. I haev a Trust webcan which perches atop my monitor. It has a built in microphone which seems to work OK.
https://www.trust.com/en/product/16428-spotlight-pro-webcam-with-led-lights

What are the recommendations for a microphone for video conferencing?
A headset. Otherwise everyone else can hear themselves speaking at your end which is really annoying.

And headsets with 'Plantronics' written on them are usually a safe bet.

(I've been using one barakta purloined from a previous employer.  Like most headphones, it doesn't fit my head properly, but it makes up for that with a minimum of USB driver faff.)

Barakta's been using the ambient mic on the Logitech, which seems to do a pretty good job.  Feedback is avoided because she has direct audio input to her hearing aid.

Yes, I spend hours each day wearing my Plantronics Voyager Bluetooth headset, the active noise cancelling is very good.  I have done calls from noisy cafes and pubs with background music, the folks on the other end have been largely unaware of my surroundings.  They are also very good for listening to music and suchlike, the sound quality is superb, also if when listening to stuff you can press the mute button on the mic boom, music is muted and you can hear your surroundings, useful for train announcements when travelling on public transport was the thing to do.