Logitech 720p Webcam Pro 9000
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech 720p Webcam Pro 9000
Customer Review: Blows away the rest - best video AND audio
Summary: 4 Stars
Update - This item is the BEST product I purchased in 2007! The images seen half way around the world are just astonishing (I posted one such image).. People can read the time on the clock at the opposite end of the wall - such clarity!
I used to not care much about Logitech - since I'd associated them with the cheaper type of keyboards and a 3 button clumsy mouse that I could not care for. I guess the company has really turned around and is bringing into the market great products at reasonable prices. Now when I see "Logitech" - I'm reasonably confident that I'll find something I like.
I have a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse (works flawlessly) and a speaker/subwoofer set - that also work rather well.
This webcam though has exceeded expectations when used with Skype and a high power computer. Skype automatically detected that I have a "high quality webcam" and set me up for "high resolution" video.
Costs less than what my CS330 Intel webcam did (and which I used all these years - since no other webcam quite gave me the same level of performance - a creative VGA webcam I tried gave me skin color that was dyed pink - awful).
Until now that is -
Whats to like -
1) Great image quality (good color, contrast, brightness). Its basically like a decent quality 2 MP camera. The color is a bit washed out at the default setting, but the saturation levels can easily be adjusted.
2) Has a mic that is extremely high quality and very sensitive. If a sound can be heared at its microphone - it will be transmitted to Skype with full fidelity. We are always being surprised by what the other parties are able to hear - like a baby sucking on the bottle - even though the baby is many feet away.
3) I don't know about "RightLight" but I do have to do manual adjustments to brightness/contrast..
4) Captures video directly into WMV - if you need to. Video quality is quite good actually. Probably better than an SD camcorder.
5) Autofocus seems to work well.
6) I loaded the latest software/driver from Logitech site - clear instructions and everything worked first time around - no issues at all. You do need the software+drivers to make full use of the product.
7) Lens is much wider angle than my earlier webcam. Make a big difference.
8) Echo cancellation is perfect (Apparently Logitech software also has some kind of Echo Cancellation built in).
9) Used with Skype - we've had no problems with high resolution video half way around the world and we don't even notice a lag.
Flaws and negatives -
1)The stand is flimsy. Unit topples over easily if kept on a table. I'll be modding the stand a little bit with a "heavy" weight.
2) If you place the camera alone on the table, the perspective is tilted because the mic end is lower than the camera end. Camera cannot rest horizontally. I'll be sticking some foam to the Mic end of the camera to make it rest horizontally instead of giving grandparents a tilted view of our home. I need to make the camera rest on a table sometimes - because of the stand issue (point 1 above).
3) Loading just the driver (sans software) - there weren't any options for camera adjustments.
4) Logitech webcam software installs itself as a startup. This is un-necessary and I'll now have to "disable" this rotten feature by wading through the registry. Why does software not give me the option of whether it should run anytime the computer is started? One star taken away for this issue!
Inspite of the minor flaws - product exceeded expectations. I'd have bought this earlier if I'd known about it!!
(Update - I just obtained another webcam - a refurbished logitech messenger - this qualifies as the worst product purchased in 2008! The CD supplied with the product had the wrong software version, the logitech website gave me incompatible driver/software and finally a 3rd party site suggested by a forum gave me the correct drivers ).
The 9000 pro may be good - but this does not apply to all their webcams.
Customer Review: Grandma and Grandpa Love It!
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this webcam as an upgrade from the really inexpensive bottom-of-the-line Logitech we picked up on Black Friday and we're very glad we did!
The old one wasn't horrible. We used it almost exclusively for Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) once our son was born. The picture quality wasn't great, but you could tell who you were talking to and the microphone worked pretty well. The big problem was movement. As soon as you started moving, the picture would stutter. If you moved your hand across the front of the webcam, you would see the hand move about 6 inches at a time, then pause, then repeat. That worked OK while our son was very little and didn't move around much, but now that he has gotten to the age where he can roll over and start crawling, it just wasn't cutting it. Grandma and Grandpa were really starting to miss out.
I wasn't sure if the problem was the webcam itself, the USB 1.1 port on my 5-year old laptop, our internet connection, or some combination of the 3, so I was leary about spending a lot of money on a replacement. I didn't want to buy a more expensive webcam only to find out that the webcam itself wasn't the problem. So I checked out almost all of the webcams out there and after reading all of the really good reviews for the 9000, I figured I'd give it the first shot. I wasn't sure if all of the fancy terms like Carl Zeiss optics, RightLight2, and AutoFocus made that much of a difference or just added to the price, but I wanted to find out.
Turns out, this little guy delivers on every front. We didn't tell my parents that we had purchased a new webcam and when we did our first video call with the 9000, they were blown away. They said it was like watching a DVD. You can move around almost as fast as you want and the picture won't stutter at all. Everything was crisp and focused. The RightLight technology works great. Our basement has some very uneven lighting (some very bright recessed lighting, a big glass patio door, and a ceiling fan light) and on our old webcam, things were either washed out or too dark. With the 9000, everything looks exactly like it should, all they way from the front of the room to the back. The microphone works like a pro too. It picks up the noises my son makes and at the same time it also picks up what my wife and I are saying even though we sit further away on the couch.
The only small problem we've encountered when using Skype is that if you zoom in during a video call and then try to zoom back out again, you won't get as good of a picture as when you started. I'm not sure what causes that problem, or if there is a way to fix it, but it can be avoided by not playing around with the zoom during the call. We just move the webcam closer to our son or vice versa if we need to and it works out great.
In fact, it works so well that we actually use it instead of our video camera when we're shooting a video that doesn't require you to walk around much (i.e. putting our son in the high chair and taping him while he eats). It's a snap to turn those videos into movie clips since the file is being captured directly on the computer. No need to hook any wires up to the camcorder or worrying if the camcorder battery is charged or if there is a tape in the camcorder.
The adjustable stand/clip that comes with it can be manipulated into just about any position to fit your need. We've used it in a variety of places because we can walk around with it when it's connected to the laptop, and I don't remember ever having a problem finding a place to attach it.
So, if you're in the market for a quality webcam for video calls and even for capturing videos, go ahead and give this one a shot. Grandma and Grandpa will be glad you did!
Customer Review: Blows away the rest - best video AND audio
Summary: 4 Stars
Update - This item is the BEST product I purchased in 2007! The images seen half way around the world are just astonishing (I posted one such image).. People can read the time on the clock at the opposite end of the wall - such clarity!
I used to not care much about Logitech - since I'd associated them with the cheaper type of keyboards and a 3 button clumsy mouse that I could not care for. I guess the company has really turned around and is bringing into the market great products at reasonable prices. Now when I see "Logitech" - I'm reasonably confident that I'll find something I like.
I have a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse (works flawlessly) and a speaker/subwoofer set - that also work rather well.
This webcam though has exceeded expectations when used with Skype and a high power computer. Skype automatically detected that I have a "high quality webcam" and set me up for "high resolution" video.
Costs less than what my CS330 Intel webcam did (and which I used all these years - since no other webcam quite gave me the same level of performance - a creative VGA webcam I tried gave me skin color that was dyed pink - awful).
Until now that is -
Whats to like -
1) Great image quality (good color, contrast, brightness). Its basically like a decent quality 2 MP camera. The color is a bit washed out at the default setting, but the saturation levels can easily be adjusted.
2) Has a mic that is extremely high quality and very sensitive. If a sound can be heared at its microphone - it will be transmitted to Skype with full fidelity. We are always being surprised by what the other parties are able to hear - like a baby sucking on the bottle - even though the baby is many feet away.
3) I don't know about "RightLight" but I do have to do manual adjustments to brightness/contrast..
4) Captures video directly into WMV - if you need to. Video quality is quite good actually. Probably better than an SD camcorder.
5) Autofocus seems to work well.
6) I loaded the latest software/driver from Logitech site - clear instructions and everything worked first time around - no issues at all. You do need the software+drivers to make full use of the product.
7) Lens is much wider angle than my earlier webcam. Make a big difference.
8) Echo cancellation is perfect (Apparently Logitech software also has some kind of Echo Cancellation built in).
9) Used with Skype - we've had no problems with high resolution video half way around the world and we don't even notice a lag.
Flaws and negatives -
1)The stand is flimsy. Unit topples over easily if kept on a table. I'll be modding the stand a little bit with a "heavy" weight.
2) If you place the camera alone on the table, the perspective is tilted because the mic end is lower than the camera end. Camera cannot rest horizontally. I'll be sticking some foam to the Mic end of the camera to make it rest horizontally instead of giving grandparents a tilted view of our home. I need to make the camera rest on a table sometimes - because of the stand issue (point 1 above).
3) Loading just the driver (sans software) - there weren't any options for camera adjustments.
4) Logitech webcam software installs itself as a startup. This is un-necessary and I'll now have to "disable" this rotten feature by wading through the registry. Why does software not give me the option of whether it should run anytime the computer is started? One star taken away for this issue!
Inspite of the minor flaws - product exceeded expectations. I'd have bought this earlier if I'd known about it!!
Customer Review: Incredibly easy to use and high quality -- glad I took the plunge
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've 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: What Do You Know? I DO Need This!
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Despite being a computer programmer for... longer than I can now apparently remember, I have never been someone with much desire to be on the leading edge of computer technology. Let somebody else try it out, help work out the bugs, and come up with a convincing argument for why I need such and such a thing, and I'll THINK about it... for a few years. Thus, I was late to get on the Internet, late to buy a home computer, and laughed out loud at the thought I might ever want or need a web cam... until now.
As a still camera, the QuickCam Pro 9000 can take better pictures than my old and long gone digital camera, though at maximum resolution you'd better content yourself with emailing them one at a time. However, it is not a complete substitute for it because even with a very long extension cord that desktop will get heavy in a hurry.
As a video camera, the QuickCam Pro 9000 is truly amazing! At maximum resolution people only familiar with older generation web cams will be openmouthed with astonishment, and viewers of the resulting videos will be able to make educated guesses about their dental health. It has a "Face Tracking" feature that can be set to follow one face or multiple faces and will do so quite well no matter how the subject(s) move, though the resulting video is not recommended for anyone susceptible to motion sickness.
In short a person who did not think he needed a webcam now wonders how he ever did without it.
Defects? Well, the software that comes with it is more than a little buggy; you WILL want to download the latest software from their web site, which cleared up my problems. I also don't like the fact that you can select only a single image size for both still and video because only the three smallest image sizes work for both still and video. If you select any of the five larger image sizes for taking still photos, you will have to reset it for taking videos and vice versa, which since the newest version of the software finally saves my settings between runs, is more than a little annoying. (Note: the latest version of the Logitech software has added two more video image sizes: 1.3 and 2 megapixels, leaving only the three largest image sizes as still photo only.)
A nice accessory would be a tiny protective carrying case because it is small enough to haul with you on trips. The original package will do the job, if you opened it carefully enough, but it is too bulky to fit well in a suitcase.
Note: a more expensive Mac version (apparently because certain features available to PC's in software must be replaced by hardware) is now available: Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro. Word is that there is some cross-compatibility, but I wouldn't count on it. Purchase the one that is compatible with the machine you will mostly be using it with.