I am a boarding student and wanted to get a webcam with which I could email pics of myself and video chat with my family. As a newcomer to webcams, there were 3 things which attracted me to the Quickcam Express:

1) $50 only - more expensive cams cost $75-$150. "As long as it does the job," was what I was thinking.

2) The well-trusted Logitech name.

3) Sturdy build. The other cams were clunky with their shaky stands and had that "fall apart the instant you use it" look.

I rushed home with my new treasure and fired up my PC. The setup is nice and easy. Pop in the CD, let the program install and reboot your computer, THEN plug in the USB at the prompt.

I started the main program for taking pics, video and making a webcam and was pleased with the colorful, user-friendly interface. I was disappointed though that the program did not have support for motion detection (which I had been looking forward to) or stop-go animation. Both are just fun extras which are included in the higher models of Logitech webcams.

Once I opened the main preview window to see through the eyes of the camera, I was shocked and appalled by the poor quality of the image. The camera is also very sensitive to light. It takes a few seconds to adjust to different brightnesses and cannot take viewable images or video if there is much brighter light in front of it than there is behind it. You also have to manually focus the camera by turning a knob around the lens. If you use the camera for what it is meant to be used for - sitting on your monitor, unmoved, and pointed at you, you should have no problems.

The bundled software includes (in addition to the main program) Yahoo Messenger, Netmeeting, and a stupid program called "Reality Fusion" which is a poor attempt to let you play with your camera by using its sensor to do various things in simple games when the camera is tilted around.

This is a very solid camera and will last a long time. Very sturdy and unbreakable so you can trust it to children. I have been carrying it around when travelling, just stuffing it into my bag, and it hasn't suffered at all. The stand is made of rubber and is also very robust.



Recommended: Yes