Kittyokc's Full Review: Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 Web Cam
Webcams come a long way over the years, they are still not a replacement for a digital camera, but the quality and features have definitely been improved since my first webcam years ago. My first one was a WebBlaster 3 and now I have the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 and so far I am very happy with it.
Most people used webcams for video conferencing, making little video clips and taking snapshots, but now most of the instant messaging services have added the ability to see who you are talking to and with the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 and any of those services your friends can talk to you and see you too.
I have used mine mainly with IM's, I've taken a few small videos and a few snapshots and even though I've had it for a few months now, I still have not tried everything yet.
Features
Video - Take videos up to 640 X 480 resolution or choose one of the other resolutions (320 X 160 or 160 X 120) from the camera settings in the software. Default setting is set at 320 X 160, so if you want to take the higher resolution video, you will have to change the settings first through the software.
Still Images - You can take snapshots with the webcam of up to 1.3 megapixels (1280 X 960), or you can choose from one of the other three lower settings, which is the same as I listed above for the video.
Frame Rate - Frame rate for video capture is up to 30 frames per second. The frame rate may be lower depending on your system and if you have any other things running at the time.
Digital Zoom - The zoom settings can be found by clicking the advanced settings button when in the camera settings. There is no documentation that I saw that tells you exactly how much it can zoom it, but it can zoom in pretty nicely if you ask me.
Manual Focus - So you can tweak the image if it doesn't appear to be in focus. I have not had to touch mine.
Face Tracking - This is a neat feature! While using the webcam you can choose to have the face tracking on or off. While on, it will keep track of your face and try to keep it in the center of the screen. Of course, if you move too far away from the webcam it won't be able to do this, but if you move a few inches to the right or left it will. Not only will it track, but it will zoom in or out as needed too!
Swivel Base - The base for the camera allows you to easily swivel the camera to point up, down, right or left and you don't have to worry about it slipping either, it might be easy to swivel, but it is stable.
Built-in Microphone - Located on the front of the webcam, the microphone picks up your voice nicely for both video and IM's and you don't have to be directly in front of it for it to pick up your voice like you did with the older webcams.
USB Connection - Connects via USB to a PC or a Mac and has a 9 ft cable, so you have some leeway as to where you can put your webcam.
Installation
Installation is simple. Just pop in the CD to install the drivers and software, hook up the webcam to your computer when prompted, reboot and you're ready to use your new webcam.
Software Galore
You actually get two CD's with your webcam, one is the drivers and additional software with many features to use and the other is Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator.
The installation CD, not only installed the drivers and basic software, but lots of software that you can do many different things with. If you're using Windows, it installs ImageStudio 7.3.0 and if you're on a Mac, it will install QuickCam 5.0.1.
There are many features with this software, it includes:
Logitech IM Video Companion - Makes it simple to set up your webcam to use with Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger. It works pretty flawlessly, but I did run into a problem with MSN Messenger. The person I was trying to talk to was told that because I was running XP (he was running ME), he needed to upgrade to XP in order for the video messaging to work correctly, it worked fine with Yahoo Messenger though.
Video Broadcasting - Helps you set up a web page that you can broadcast your webcam on it. I haven't tried this feature yet.
One Click Email - After telling the software your email information, it will automatically open and attach the picture or video you choose to an email for you.
Web Album - Helps you create web albums that you can upload to many of the photo sharing sites.
Animation - You can create animations from still videos with the software also. I messed around with it a little bit, but never really created one yet. One warning, it will take a lot of drive space for these animations, but they are pretty cool.
Motion Detection - Nice security feature if you need it, but I have never used it since I am almost always home.
Also includes video editing software (I haven't played with the editing software yet), SpotLife to help you add video to your eBay auctions and free software updates for a year.
I haven't used the Roxio yet, although I do have it installed, just haven't had the guts to mess around with it yet.
Is it easy to use?
I think Logitech had beginning users in mind when coming up with the features for the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 since it has automatic settings, but they also left it open enough that intermediate users can change the setting on the camera through the software. I have tried both ways and you don't have to worry about accidentally messing anything up, because if you tweak it too much where your picture looks horrible, all you have to do is click auto and it'll fix it all for you.
Even though there are tons of different things you can do with the software, it is very simple to use, everything is labeled clearly and you can get started without actually having to read the manual. Even my ten year old can figure out how to take pictures and video just by viewing the menu.
System Requirements
Requirements listed are the minimum, recommended is in parenthesis.
* Windows 98, 2000, ME or XP
* Pentium II 400, Celeron, AMD Athlon processor or higher (Pentium III 500, Celeron, AMD Athlon recommended)
* 64 MB Ram
* 200 MB Free hard drive space
* CD-ROM drive
* 16-bit color display adapter
* Windows compatible sound card and speakers (full duplex sound card recommended)
* Available USB port
Mac Requirements
* Mac OS 9.04 or 9.1 - will not work with OS X, Classic Mode (I would check with Logitech's Customer Service to see if they have updated the software since then since their web site says it supports OS X, yet my documentation that I have with mine says it doesn't)
* 64 MB Ram
* Quicktime 4.1.2 or higher
* CarbonLib 1.2.5
My Experience
I have used the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 to take a few snapshots of my kids, my boys love cameras and insist on getting their picture taken whenever a camera of any kind is produced, my daughter has become shy around camera, so I've had a difficult time getting her in front of it to do anything. I have taken a few video's of the kids also, I haven't tried sending them yet, but please be aware, the longer the video, the larger the file will be and most email servers have a limit on the size of file you can send, so you need to keep that in mind if you want to send video to family and friends through email. The boys are easy to get on video, my daughter I have to be a bit sneaky and not let her know it's on or she will go in the other room. I also use it when talking to friends using Yahoo Messenger, it's always nice to see who you are talking too.
There are many different things you can do with a webcam nowadays compared to years ago, but one of the biggest issues with webcams was quality with low light conditions, people always complained about it. I am happy to say that they have greatly improved the low light issue with the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000, now I'm not saying that you still won't have problems with lighting, because you will still have problems with some lighting issues, but compared to a couple of years ago, they have improved on this area very nicely.
If you're looking a for a webcam, I would definitely recommend the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000, you get loads of features at a much lower price that you would expect to pay for the quality.
640 x 480 video resolution and 1280 x 960 photo resolution Built-in microphone USB 1.1 interface Includes a full suite of camera utility software Comp...More at Amazon Marketplace
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