dlstewart's Full Review: Logitech QuickCam Connect Web Cam
I went into this purchase with high hopes. Our family has been using Skype to talk with one another through video and audio. It's been great! Since I have a webcam for my desktop computer, I decided to invest in the Logitech Quickcam Connect to use with my laptop computer.
Description
The Logitech QuickCam Connect is a compact webcam. The webcam itself is a bit larger than a golf ball. It is round with a manual focus ring, and has a clip attachment. The clip has a plastic hinge that can be opened flat to rest on a desktop surface, or the hinge can be bent so that the webcam sits atop the computer screen (either a desktop monitor or a laptop screen).
This webcam is designed to work with both Windows XP (SP2) and Windows Vista. It has 640x480 pixels. It also has a built-in microphone. The manufacturer says that the RightSound technology provides "crystal clear conversations without annoying background noise."
This webcam can also take still photographs and video. The software includes some video-effect avitars, too, if you wish to use them. If privacy is needed, there are several stock photos to choose from to act as a "privacy shade" to block live video. The software user interface is easy to use with lots of settings to adjust (ex: video brightness and contrast, microphone volume, mirrored images, etc.)
It is advertised as working with Skype Video, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and AOL Instant Messenger.
The box includes: one webcam with a connected USB cable, a Logitech software CD, a User's Guide. The clip/base already comes attached to the webcam.
My Experiences
I was excited to remove this webcam from the packaging and couldn't wait to try it. It's a small device that easily balances on the top edge of my Toshiba laptop screen. The clip is easy to manipulate so that it rests securely against the back of the computer screen/lid. I was able to unwind as much of the USB cable as I needed and keep the rest of the wire bundled together with the twist-tie so that it didn't get in the way.
The instructions are very clear that the software CD needs to be installed before the webcam is plugged in. It's a simple process. Once the software is loaded, plug the USB connector into a USB port on your computer. The computer senses the new camera and begins a configuration process to ensure that the audio and video are working. In case you are wondering, my laptop is running Windows XP (SP2) Home Edition.
I had no trouble following the setup tests. The video showed fine and appeared somewhat fluid with some start-stop motion. I didn't even have to adjust the manual focus ring. The video image was sharp even though it had jerky motion. The audio passed all the initial system tests.
The video was very dark despite my sitting near a brightly lit floor lamp, with a ceiling light on, and sitting near a window in broad daylight. With some fiddling of where the camera was placed on the top rim of the computer, I was able to achieve a decent picture. Lighting requirements are very important when using this camera. I don't recommend using this in an area where there is minimal light.
Now here's how things went terribly wrong. I bought this webcam to use with Skype. No matter how I tried, this Logitech QuickCam Connect failed to broadcast decent video and sound. As my brother (trying to see and hear me on Skype) said, "It works great if you like a slow out of sync mime."
The video was a bit dark (despite great lighting conditions) and choppy. My voice never matched the video's lip movements. At no time were the lip movements in sync with the sound. Then the sound quickly went haywire. My voice would be there, the audio would go dead, and then sporadically kick in again. The person on the other end of Skype might hear one out of ten words I said (when the sound worked).
I thought maybe the webcam settings needed adjusting, but no amount of tweaking changed the situation. I also examined the Skype settings, but all was well there. I shut down Skype and restarted the program several times; no luck. I unplugged the webcam and reinstalled it; no luck. The fault was with this webcam. Since I could not convince it to play nice, I returned it.
Purchasing
The only good thing about this purchase was that my local Staples normally sells this web came for $32.99. Staples price-matched a local sale, giving the camera to me for $19.99; plus I had a $10.00 coupon. With tax, it only cost me $10.49.
Summary
With my Logitech Quickcam Connect experiences, I cannot recommend this webcam. Previous to this webcam, I bought two other Logitech webcams. One of them I owned for years and years, but it dropped and broke. The other webcam is a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, which is working well with my desktop computer.
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