Logitech 720p Webcam Pro 9000
by Logitech
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech 720p Webcam Pro 9000
Customer Review: Great investment!
Summary: 5 Stars
Recently bought this webcam after starting to use Skype. My brother-in-law had purchased an HP webcam at Bestbuy and at the time I was so impressed by the picture we got, I immediately got online to research webcams. Based on reviews on [...] and here on Amazon I purchased this Logitech cam that day, received it 2 days later. Setup is extremely easy EXCEPT, I must say, for putting the camera on the monitor. Nowhere are specific direction given for it and to me (and several family members) it just wasn't obvious - there's no clip, you kind of have to just prop the swinging arm up in back into what seems like a pretty tenuous balancing act. I found it surprising I could find no mention by anyone on the internet on how to do it! Maybe I'm just dumb. Anyways, in terms of functionality, picture quality, ease of use...all rate A or A+. Was just talking to my sister-in-law on Skype last night, and now the picture from their webcam is obviously NOT very good, quite fuzzy, and the microphone apparently doesn't work well so they have to use a separate microphone! Additionally it is difficult for them to access the controls whereas the Quickcam utility is very easy to use, and the ability to manually control everything from brightness to contrast, etc. is very useful. Did not really understand in my research, or care, about the avatars and other special graphic effects, but in fact those have been very fun and everyone has enjoyed them immensely. Picture quality is so good that I was able to hold up architectural plans(which contain small font and fine lines) and explain in detail about possible additions to our home. That was so cool! Microphone quality is also excellent, picks up my husband's voice from the next room. So last night, during our conversation, my brother-in-law went and ordered one for themselves online and will be returning the HP camera! My mother-in-law was also impressed with the quality and will probably be getting one as well.
Update (1/2/11): Now not only do I own this webcam but, based on seeing the images from mine, also my husband, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother. Now we all see each other in high-quality video on Skype!
Customer Review: Best camera on the market...suffers from some moderate issues
Summary: 3 Stars
Even though this is the best camera on the market, I have to give this camera 3 stars. It claims a 2.0 megapixel resolution, and it may actually be that, but the picture (even for still photos) is about as good as a high-end cell phone camera picture.
Other issues are:
The software updates reset some of your configuration settings and default folders. So everytime I allowed the updates to install I had to reassign my default folders for pictures and video from the Logitech defaults to the ones I wanted to use. I also had to reconfigure the microphone settings every time it updated.
The microphone would inexplicably switch from the built-in one to the mic input on my soundcard. (My wife has the same camera for her computer and we have both experienced this problem on our desktop, and both of our laptop computers). It would be fine on a video call and then ten minutes later on another call there would be no mic. The first time it happened it took me a day to figure out how to get it working again. It still puzzles me as to why/how it happens.
The update software is too obtrusive...it is too persistent in begging to download the latest updates...there is no option to tell it to ask again in a specified amount of time. Maybe some people like this, I don't like to be constantly reminded by pop-ups when I am working on other things.
The Logitech software also does not play well with some other software. If you use Mozilla Thunderbird, the Logitech software will prevent Thunderbird from installing it's own updates which puts Thunderbird into an endless loop trying to install it and then saying that it can't install it. So if you use Thunderbird, you will need to remember to manually shut down the Logitech software BEFORE you go to update Thunderbird.
In all, the camera works well, but the software and image quality issues drag an otherwise outstanding product down a couple of notches. But like I said before, this is the best there is on the market and I do recommend it to friends with the aforementioned caveats.
Customer Review: Vista issues
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought two of these for two machines, both with Vista 32 operating systems. After having initial problems and updating the drivers, both worked somewhat well with Skype, although there were spontaneous though infrequent losses of the USB connection. This is an issue if you are not sitting in front of the computer to plug/unplug and the person you are talking to is technically challenged (elderly, baby, etc.). It was still acceptable due to the good image quality, though frustrating at times. Then I installed the Logitech Vid application on both computers. One computer hasn't been the same, not sure if it was the Vid application, a subtile conflict it had with Skype or just a failing camera. But one of the camera is being lost by the PC (Dell Quad core) and the only way to regain the USB connection is to unplug it and plug it in again. Unfortunately this is not an option for my use on that end. To add insult, the video quality itself had degraded significantly in that camera. Not sure if it is related. While the cameras have been used for about a year, the usage is light. I already have exceeded the threshold of don't like it due to the quality worsening. And can't recommend it. Clearly the bugs are not worked completely out with Vista, Skype and Logitech Vid, even if you are super careful never to mix the later two where you might cause the conflict (stick to one at a time and close when not in use). I cannot recommend this camera as a durable or reliable camera for these reasons. If you need flawless on one end - look elsewhere for a more stable camera, at least with Vista. Also while some may like the "clip" that comes with it as fairly massive, I am not impressed by the engineering of it for hugging a generic LCD flat screen monitor. I mention one of the cameras. I should clarify the other one's reliability is worse as well, but not to the degree of the first mentioned, but its image quality still seems ok. Oh, I am not satisfied with the low light performance. But that under more optimal circumstances would be more tolerable, if not for the big picture.Customer Review: Good Optic but Waiting for Software/Driver Upgrade
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros
Pro 9000 has Carl Zeiss lens. The image quality, if adjusted, is very nice even in poorly-lit room. This is obviously the most important for webcam.
It does everything automatically, but I stop autofocus and adjust the image manually in order to avoid frequent image disturbances by auto-adjustment. I usually adjust only exposure and gain.
It captures technically up to 1600x1200 pixel movie, but actually it depends on your PC's spec. My PC (XP, Pentium-M 1.4GHz, 1G RAM) can capture without any trouble up to 640x480.
Cons
You should be cautious when you Skype using this camera. If both your PC and your chat-partner's PC are powerful enough (at least above my PC's spec), there will be no problem. Otherwise, your Skype and your OS itself may become unstable and unfunctional in a few minutes. In other words, Pro 9000 is NOT perfectlly compatible with Skype and may cause annoying trouble. (I also tried Yahoo Messenger and this camera didn't work well on it.)
It is my understanding that this defect at least partially stems from Logitech's poor driver or software. Plus, there is no shortcut-key in its software, which may disappoint those manually adjust the image. I believe many users are waiting for Logitech's upgrade of the driver and software immediately.
Built-in mic is I think a junk. If you speak near the mic or speak just a little bit loudly, the sound easily cracks. My old cheap mic doesn't have such a problem. So, you need to use your mic or headset separately.
The stand soundly rests on display but not so on table.
Anything else
Video effects are fun just once and you'll never use them again. You need to get rid of the webcam software from startup by yourself. Don't expect "High Definition" video chatting unless you and all your chatting-partners have powerful Core2Duo PC.
The optic itself is great. I recommend the webcam if Logitech would listen to users' voice and improve the driver and software.
Customer Review: Awesome when works, worse then useless when doesn't (which is most of the time)
Summary: 2 Stars
**** Update ****
Have now been using Version 3.6.0.216 & Version 11.5 of the QuickCam software for about 3 weeks. So far there have been no problems and I think the combination is just great. Thoroughly recommed and would now rate at a solid 4. Only because the product is not perfect!
******** Previous expereince with old versions of software and drivers below.
I have a completely up to date Windows XP Pro machine (all windows updates as at yesterday) and the latest version of Skype 3.5.0.214. Before the install of the Quick Cam my machine ultra stable and completely reliable.
At the begining of the Quick Cam install it asked if it could check for the latest software. I said yes and it said that there were no updates. (The cd had version 11.0)
Once the install was complete and the cam plugged in, the problems started. Skype kept freezing up and becoming unresponsive. It would not even die when the skype process was killed from task manager. As soon as the cam was unplugged from the USB port, the machine and skype jumped back to life and caught up with all the queued key presses. Plug the cam in again and it would work again for a short while.
Now the worst bit. And it gets much worse. I checked the Logitech website for updated drivers even though it said there weren't any at the beginning of the install. What do you know there was version 11.1 available and it seems so for 2 weeks. So I downloaded and installed them. Now I was able to get a Skype video conversation going for about 2-3 minutes then Blue Screen!!! I haven't had a bluescreen on one of my machines for years.
Anyway, I gave two stars becuase I think the hardware is just great. It does have the slight distortion issue (as mentioned by others on the web), but at the end of the day this is a webcam, and it is the best output I have seen from ANY webcam yet. I will hold on for one more update to the webcam software (11.2?) and if it doesn't work then, I will take it back.