Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks

Amazon Customer Reviews

(4 out of 5)

Impressive quality and perfect size

When I got the package, the first thing that made me happy was the size of this camera. I travel a fair amount on business and have a two-year-old daughter, so I always take a camera with me to talk to her at night and allow her to see me. The size of this camera is as good as it gets for traveling, and it also includes a great padded pouch for transporting it.

The other aspect of this product that I loved is its image quality, especially in regards to how well it adjusts the image based on the light and also how when you are on a Skype call and you move, the person on the other side can clearly see the movement instead of seeing a blur on their screen. I compared its quality side by side with my previous camera, which roughly costs half of what this one goes for, and the difference in quality was huge; making this a great purchase.

In terms of the software installation, the instructions were simple and clear and the process does not take too much time. The only thing that can be improved is that when you get to the point in which you are prompted to plug in the camera, while the computer is checking the configuration, the installation screen keeps prompting for the camera to be plugged in. People used to installing plug-and-play hardware will quickly realize what is going on, but some users may be confused by this and start unplugging and plugging the device.

In terms of using the camera with Skype, the integration is seamless. The only setting I had to adjust manually was the microphone, but this is straightforward, I just needed to go to the Options / Sound Devices and pick the appropriate audio in. A final thing to consider is that for the camera to work with Skype you have to close the Logitech Quickcam software, since the image cannot be used by both programs at the same time.

Overall I am highly satisfied with this product, and besides the minor problems mentioned above, the only other thing I did not care for was the stand. This camera works great if you are going to clip it to your laptop screen, but the stand provided for use with desktops is wobbly and does not help with image quality at all.

(3 out of 5)

Nearly Excellent but Flawed Optics

Update: A replacement unit has good focus from side to side. The focusing defect I saw appears to be unit specific. Check your unit for focus uniformity across its entire field of view to avoid a defective unit. Once you have a good one, the image quality is excellent.

This webcam does produce a better picture than the built-in camera of a MacBook. Yes, it works with with Mac OS 10.4.10 natively as a UVC device. HOWEVER, the unit I purchased had a focusing flaw. The left side of the image was always slightly out of focus while the right side of the image was well focused. As a result, the very nice lens system just could not get the entire picture right. This focusing flaw was not so noticeable at iChat's low 640 x 480 resolution, but if native resolution images were captured using other webcam capture software, the left 1/3 of the image was clearly out of focus. I believe the unit had its glass lens tilted relative to the CCD preventing it from ever bringing both sides into focus. As a result, the camera's touted superior lens was largely negated.

However, it is otherwise an impressive camera which delivers better tolerance to poor lighting than the built-in MacBook camera. The increased resolution CCD is impressive (in the focused portions of he picture) and gamma response yielded an image which conveyed greater depth.

If the entire image were in focus simultaneously (in full resolution captures) I would have given this using 5 stars. With the optical flaw, I can only give it 3/5. It is possible that other specimens may have better alignment between the lens and CCD, but without testing several more units, I don't know if the problem is a design flaw or simply a single missaligned unit.

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(1 out of 5)

Skype Users Stay Away!

I purchased this webcam for use with my laptop and Skype. I use Skype for business and pleasure. Even though the box has the Skype logo on it, the product is NOT compatible with the latest version of Skype -- 3.5. The video freezes about 15 seconds into any call. I am not the only user with this problem. Check out the Logitech and Skype user forums and you will see that this is common to anyone trying to use this webcam with Skype 3.5. I have not been able to get a straight answer from either Skype or Logitech as to whether they are addressing this issue. So, for now, my advice for Skype users is to buy a different webcam.

(1 out of 5)

Does not work with current Skype

As some other reviewers already mentioned: This cam does not work with the current skype version ... but in case someone wants to keep his cam: after endless fiddeling around the fallback solutions seems to be to use Skype version 3.0.0.218 or older ...

Skype blames the problem on Logitech, Logitech says Skype is buggy (since the camera is working fine with the logitech video call software...(btw: this is a paid service for $6.95/month) ... none of the two companies seems to care, however, if a seller puts a Skype logo on the package, I do not care where the problem exactly is, I simply expect the hardware to work with Skype.

2 days later.... after I almost overcame my initial frustration with the skype incompatibility let me add that under Vista on my Thinkpad X60 neither echo cancellation nor face tracking do work... did I mention that the same is true for any of other nice additional affects (avatars, still picture ...)?? Logitech Support told me to try a clean install (remove logitech software, disable all startup programs and non essential services, reinstall), took me about another hour ... however none of the bugs encountered so was solved by this.

(4 out of 5)

Pixelation on the Go

Logitech makes good cameras - there is no denying that these days - and the notebook camera is a great piece of merchandise for anyone needing a laptop view of the world. That seems a good thing, too, especially since the world is becoming more compact and everyone wants everything on the fly. I've personally owned two cameras on my personal computer before this and, to put it bluntly, I've always thought they stunk. The way the pictures intertwine, the way the grain bleeds into the background; everything that was promised seemed to be compromised and then some. And then I got my laptop camera and was surprised, pleasantly, by what it had to offer.

While there are flaws in the presentation of live video (as mentioned by other reviewers), Logitech does a great job with what they say they will deliver. The sound connected to the camera is great, the video itself is great when you find something you want to showcase and farm the image somewhat (or just want to chat a bit), and the ease of learning the product makes it all the more worthwhile. After having the product for minutes I figured out how to use it, and there were enough things to do with it to make it fun as my wife and I explored what it could do. All f this is done at an economically advantageous price to the consumer, too, with a camera that keeps growing on me.

Included with this is also a stand (shown in the photos), a novel concept that really makes a difference when you have to decide between hooking something to your computer or letting it set casually beside you, and it also comes with a carrying case. The stand went from novel to useful pretty quickly, the case turned out to be big enough to protect the camera while allowing it to be carried with ease, and the product something that really is what it says it will be.
Overall, I've been really pleased.