Logitech 720p Webcam C905
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech 720p Webcam C905
Customer Review: A great little notebook camera, works well for chat not for action video webcasts.
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Logitech has always been at the forefront for making web cameras and their products are plug and play. This one is no exception. You just plug it in and go! I've had the opportunity to use this product as my friend had it and now through Amazon's Vine program and I was impressed by the image quality.
The image quality on the Pro series has always been better than some of their other cheaper models and is perfect for people who may be using it for live meetings. The colors for this cam are true to life and the images are sharp. It's small (2.5 inches by 1 inch) and extremely portable and easily hooks on to the top of your notebook. I own the older version of this QuickCam Pro which has thinner prongs to hook it on the top of your notebook that caused the camera to fall over more easily. Logitech has improved the clip design that attaches the camera to the notebook for this model and it now stays securely on the top of the screen even if you are moving your laptop.
I've not had focusing problems with this webcam like some other reviewers have commented. In fact, the camera focuses automatically on you and performs very well in the night in low light conditions (you need to turn on the "Rightlight2" feature for the low light optimization). Just give it about 10-15 seconds to refocus if you move more than a foot away. It can be set on auto or manual focus through the software and you can also zoom in or out on your face with the same software. Sometimes, I just have had to adjust the focus a little bit to make the image sharper if I want to focus on a specific object (other than my face) that is not right in front of the webcam. You can set the camera to follow you and it keeps panning in that mode which can get a little too much for chat. I've used this webcam on Windows Live Messenger with surprisingly good image quality (really crystal clear) over a cable internet connection. There is one caveat though, if you want to use this webcam to perform some fast action in front of the camera it will be pretty blurry even though the refresh rate of the camera is up to 30 fps (30 frames per second). There may be a fix for this problem through the settings, but I have not found it and I got the same blur even when I turned off the auto focus.
The better resolution requires greater processor speed and works best with USB 2.0 so if you have an older laptop with a slower processor this will make your other applications freeze or slow down. They bundle the HP Photosmart software with this camera, which I don't use. I usually turn off the mic on the camera as my notebook has inbuilt mic.
It also has a video-effects feature in the software, where you can substitute a shark or an E.T. like creature (there are 2 more options) instead of your face and it mimics your facial expressions, so the people on the other side will see a shark saying "Hello" and winking!. That will funny to use once in a while but it does not work too well in low light, you'll need to have a brighter light on your face for this feature to work well. It comes with a softcase which is nice for travel and helps protect the lens. The included stand that comes in 3 pieces to increase portability is a nice touch as you may sometimes not want to have the camera on the top of your notebook, especially if you work at a desk. Like other webcams you can broadcast yourself live with this camera or even take quick pics upto 8MP but since there is no flash the pics will not be too great in low light. You can also make video clips of yourself for youtube or Amazon video reviews.
Customer Review: Unbelievably easy to use, high quality too, and very small
Summary: 5 Stars
If I could give this product six stars, I would. I've purchased a couple of webcams over the years. All turned out to be just hard enough to use and just low enough quality that they eventually went in a drawer. Then, three weeks ago, before a trip to India and China, I decided to give webcams another try so that I could stay in touch with home. Based on Amazon reviews and previous good experiences with other Logitech products, I purchased a Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks for my laptop and a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 for the home computer.
Both cameras are beautifully designed. The notebook version is very small (even smaller than it looks in the picture) and takes up about as much space than my mobile phone in my briefcase. Both units fit onto the monitors very easily (the Notebook version clips on, while the 9000 just sits on top of the monitor with a counterweight in the back). Installation of the software was a breeze -- took just a few minutes and installed without a hitch.
The real news for me, though, is the Logitech Vid software. At first, I didn't load the software, because it wasn't on the CD (I had to download it). However, after trying video chat on gmail (which was a bit confusing and kept crashing my computer), I downloaded the Logitech Vid software on both my laptop and my home computer. It's incredibly easy to use. All I had to do was register an email address on each computer, after which call from system to system was as easy as clicking on the picture of the person on the other system. No exaggeration, it was easier than dialing a phone number.
For the last two weeks, I used the Logitech Quickcam to call home nightly from both India and China, using the regular internet access from the hotels. The process was incredibly simple -- a few seconds after clicking on the icon for the other computer, I was connected with home. The video quality was excellent, even in very poor lighting conditions, and the autofocus worked very well to keep us both sharp. The audio quality was also very clear; in fact, it was clearer than phone calls back to the States.
Given that calls back to the States normally cost $1 to $3 a minute from Asia, I figure I made back the cost of the cameras in a single trip. Since the video calls involved no incremental cost, I was able to talk as long as I wanted. Also, being able to see the family, rather than just hear them, was huge.
In a nutshell, I couldn't be more pleased. I promptly bought two more cameras for someone who works for me and also travels a lot internationally. I'll soon be ordering a camera for the grandparents; installation and use was simple enough that I'm confident my 80-something parents will have no problem setting it up and using it.
As I mentioned at the outset, I've tried webcams several times before, without success. Maybe they've simply gotten better since the last time I tried, or maybe Logitech finally cracked the code of extreme ease-of-use combined with very high picture and sound quality. In any case, the outcome was a true blessing for me when traveling internationally. I highly, highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants to stay in touch with family and friends who are far away and who wants a solution that's as easy as (or actually easier than) a phone call. I couldn't be more pleased with this product.
Customer Review: A good go-with-you webcam
Summary: 4 Stars
I have the Logitech C905 for about half a year now. Usually I use it with my Windows 7 laptop, when on the go, to make Skype video calls.
I choose this model for the portable size, with the zip-pouch, it is really easy to take with me. There is a stand in the package included, good for recording product reviews, monitoring a room, or such. For video calls, it is not much use, because when I look onto the screen, the camera will show me as looking away (a general problem for all webcam video calls).
If the bandwith is high, Skype turns on high quality video mode, which is somewhat better then the standard quality (but is far away from a usual sense of "high quality"). In Gmail chat, I just got the standard picture resolution.
In low light, it gives a softer, warm image, which is good, I even prefer it vs. my Microsoft LifeCam Cinema, which also has a superb low light picture quality anyway. I think that low light features are the most important characteristics for a webcam, as many of the video-skype calls I make are in the evening. In bright sunlight, during the day, usually all webcams make a good picture, but in the evening, with some lamp giving light in the room only, cheap webcams make only very high noise pictures.
Note, that a good dual core CPU is recommended to use the webcam for video calls. This is because this generation of webcams doesn't have circuitry to compress the picture, it is done by the CPU alone. Also, a decent upload speed is needed, like 512 kbps, with low ping. Calling worked over 3.5G, but sometimes the call was dropped or flanky, so I tend to talk on a regular phone. If you want video calling over the mobile networks, it's better you try it first.
In the Logitech Webcam Software there are some funny features, which I only used when I installed the software, like making funny distorted faces (uses lot of CPU power), privacy mode (fills in a standby picture), face tracking, pan and tilt, zoom, etc. Video recorded trough the Logitech Webcam Software can be directly uploaded to youtube (useful for blogging), e-mailed, or printed. You can also take still pictures.
What I liked:
- Small size
- Pouch
- Good resolution
- Good low light performance
- Focusing was robust, no playing of autofocus
- Has good built-in microphones
What I didn't like:
- Driver is running all the time in the background
- Logitech Vid software is of not much use, only useable if both ends use it
- Camera settings software always pops-up by default when the camera is turned-on
All in all, I am happy with the camera, and will be using it for quite some time. I would only change it, when the new crop of cameras arrive with built in video compression chips.
Customer Review: Impressive quality and perfect size
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
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.
Customer Review: Handy portable webcam with great video quality
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
DEVICE INSTALL/SETUP
Once again, Logitech makes install a breeze! The install and configuration wizards made setup a simple and quick task.
MANUALS/DOCUMENTATION
The documentation was complete and simple to navigate. I spent little time to find the correct installation steps for the device.
FUNCTIONALITY
The camera is as easy to use as it was to setup, and was easily accessible through both the Logitech software and 3rd party components that I have installed that are compatible with webcams (Skype, Comcast Videomail, Yahoo IM).
The size and weight of the webcam is ideal for use with a notebook, and comes complete with a travel case to protect the webcam while in a laptop case, etc.
My only disappointment with the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks is the notebook clip. Made for use with laptop PCs, the webcam has a clip that affixes it to the top of the notebook monitor. I found the clip to be somewhat flimsy in the way it secured the device to the laptop. If the attached USB cable is positioned a certain way, the webcam is easily pulled downward, rather than facing straight ahead.
The video quality is superb, as are the many features the camera is equipped with. Features include powerful color and brightness enhancements as well as more unusual additions such as upside down and mirror images.
EASE OF USE
The interfaces for the webcam are intuitive, promoting ease of use. Integration with 3rd party software that support webcam use is seamless.
QUALITY/DURABILITY
While this is a well-made device, it is a small portable unit, and the durability will depend largely on the abuse or care rendered by the individual user. Cautiously returning it to its travel case will prevent scratching of the camera lens. Tossing it loose in a full laptop case will likely cause undue wear and tear on the webcam, shortening its life.
VALUE
If you are in the market for a great webcam that is portable and light, then this is a perfect value for you.