PC Peripherals Suggest a good Webcam for skype

G

Gaurish

ex-Mod
Hello Everyone,

Looking to buy a WebCam for Skype use for my uncle which he wants to use to talk to his kids.

OS: Windows XP

Internet Connection: BSNL Broadband

Special Requirements:
  • He doesn't like headsets & uses inbuild mic on his thinkpad laptop. so need a webcam which has better mic than inbuilt one on thinkpad.
  • Further, he is not computer savvy so it would help if webcam is plug & play, else I would have to provide tech support over phone:|
  • Thirdly, I am confused if to get a VGA or HD web cam.
  • I would be buying online, so suggest which site has good prices. I found, infibeam has better prices.

Options: Logitech C110, Logitech HD C270 or something else?

Budget: less than 1.5k
 
Gaurish said:
Thirdly, I am confused if to get a VGA or HD web cam.

Budget: less than 1.5k
Click to expand...

AFAIK, none of the video chatting software transmit at resolution higher than VGA.

HD webcams might offer better quality, performance in low light, etc than a low-res cam. But at the end of the day, the HD cam's resolution when transmitting will be VGA.

By the way, when you see cheap webcams posting ridiculous resolutions like 12MP, 16MP etc, do realize that these are interpolated resolutions, and the "real" resolution of the webcam is much lower.
 
Get the c270. Recently got one for my dad. Good video and audio quality for a good price. Bought from Flipkart for good service.

Sent from my MB860
 
skype can transmit at higher resolutions but that also means that you need to have a min. of 2Mbps connection for high resolution video chatting....the optimum broadband speed is automatically detected by the software to determine the quality of video that can be broadcasted over the network. the logitech options that you are looking at are decent and infact the best choices that you can make in your budget.

Logitech will be the best brand option to buy webcams..when it comes to performance and value for money, no other brand even comes close to logitech. the same also holds true for keyboards, mice and gaming steering wheels etc. etc.. logitech is the best in most of the products that it makes except sound systems and headphones..

if you can extend your budget a little bit, i would recommend the Logitech C310. I dont know your broadband speed and whether HD will be any good for you, but at a couple of 100 bucks extra, atleast you will have the option and it can even take 5MP photos. pretty decent when you want to just generally click decent pictures at your home. the 720p video if not for video chatting, will always be a handy option if you want to just generally record video at home for any occasion or purpose.

plus, i dont know how efficiently the RightLight Tm from logitech works, but apparently the C310 has rightlight 2, which should basically mean some upgraded performance over the default rightlight feature. but i have absolutely no idea whether rightlight is actually good or just more of a marketing gimmick.
 
Going to Logitech C270. Buying from Ebay @ 1420
<


puneetritehere said:
if you can extend your budget a little bit, i would recommend the Logitech C310. I dont know your broadband speed and whether HD will be any good for you, but at a couple of 100 bucks extra, atleast you will have the option and it can even take 5MP photos. pretty decent when you want to just generally click decent pictures at your home. the 720p video if not for video chatting, will always be a handy option if you want to just generally record video at home for any occasion or purpose.
Click to expand...

I have checked, C270 & C310 both have the same lens i.e HD, except C310 is software interpolated to 5mp
<
 
C270 is indeed decent for the price. Got one a while back to be used with Skype although I haven't really used the HD resolutions. But to tell the truth, my PS3 Eye gives a considerably better quality and smooth frame rates for 320 x 240. My sister likes the video from it a lot better. The only issue is that the drivers for PS3 Eye are somewhat flaky and occasionally Skype won't detect the cam.
 
Back
Top