Kensington VideoCAM Web Cam

Pros: large capture size
Cons: Lousy resolution, poor software, terrible color control, poor construction

I had to stop using this camera to update my site's webcam after a while because the color and brightness control was so off that the picture was unrecognizable. Even before this degraded, I found the overall image quality to be poor, and the software...

Pros: Great resolution, good video performance
Cons: Only works with Windows 98/ME; Camera is not sturdy, falls apart after repeated normal use/adjustment.

The previous reviewer gave you a hint, but not the important details: this camera does not, and never will support Windows 2000/XP. They say so on the support site, and they mean it. NO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT PLANNED. It cannot be made to work with anything but Windows 98/ME. So unless you never intend to upgrade, don't bother buying this.

In addition, the part of this camera that swivels for vertical directional adjustment is not very sturdy, and both of the cameras that I have used have come apart and will no longer hold their position.

Also, the software is indeed very difficult to use.

Pros: Next to free
Cons: requires 98 box to flash firmware (so they say)

Kensington released a beta driver. It's good enough to get the thing working. Worked from me on 2K and XP. You'll need a win 98 box to flash in the new beta firmware! It installs the camera as generic windows imaging device so you can use it with any video application (windows built in, chat, netmeeting, etc...). DO NOT use their video cam software that's available (unless you like rebooting)!

*use the link below* or just search for "videocam" on kensington's online support site...

files (read first, flash later):
ftp://ftp.kensington.com/pc/imaging

See what a little diggin' gets you!

Pros: good quality, internal mike
Cons: software difficult to use, incompatibility

I used this one for a while on my Windows Me system. Turns out, the camera software is not compatible with Windows XP. I don't know if they came out with any updates for the drivers though, my guess would be yes.

The quality is very good though, better than the Labtec Webcam I have reviewed. And the flat bottom and added weight makes it stay still, making it good for video playback.

A noteworthy advanage this camera has over the Labtec is the internal microphone, which is great for video recording.

The problem with this camera, as opposed to the Labtech, is that it won't work in the Windows Cameras Wizard, but rather you need to use the software that came with it. I personally find the software very difficult to use, so I never explored the advanced features.

Pros: The best web cam image i have ever seen: large and very clear
Cons: That quality wont last very long..color cycles and now fuzzy images

Hi guys,
Andyman is very correct with his review of this camera. I have owned it for about 2-3 years now and i have the same problem that he has with the color control. It cycles between red, green, yellowish, then very dark (almost no image) then a perfect picture. It repeats this or similar cycles constantly. However, I have had no problem with the build quality of the cam. It is still in tact and looks as good as the day i bought it but the image has degraded to such a level that it will be in the trash by nightfall. Thanks Epinions for having this forum because for a year now i thought there was something wrong with the computer that made my cam go nuts...now i know its just the cam.