30 August,2020 07:50 AM IST | Mumbai | Jaison Lewis
Work from home for most companies has been extended, which means that the little webcam on your laptop is more important than ever. At the same time, you must have also realised that the quality of video from that little dot makes all your grooming for office a complete waste of time. It might be time to invest in a web camera, one that can let you move away from being a blurry blob to the sharpest one.
A lot of camera manufacturers have released software to let you use your DSLRs as web cameras. But, let's face it, those are bulky and are almost always annoying to set up. The Go Pro Hero 8 Black, on the other hand, is tiny, portable and captures excellent video. Plus, once this WFH scene is over, you can use it as an action camera. While it is the most expensive camera on this list and is a little complicated to set up, I think the utility gives it an edge over the competition. The downside is, for now it is only available for MacOS, and Windows users will have to wait a little longer before they can join in the fun.
Price: Rs 32,900
Go Pro Webcam: https://bit.ly/smdgroproweb
If you are looking for quality on a budget, then the Logitech B525 may be right for you. The webcam has a nice fold-and-go design that reduces its overall footprint when not in use. The video quality is very good when you consider the price, and it does deliver Full HD. The sound quality is also very good and the 360-degree swivel is useful, too. Unlike its richer cousins, there is no facility to mount these on a tripod. If you want to cut costs further, Logitech also makes a 720p version of this product called the c525.
Price: R6,599
Razer Kiyo tackles subpar webcam videos with adequate lighting and a top-notch camera. The Kiyo has a great camera at the core that is comparable to industry standards like the Logitech C920. It further boosts this with an adjustable ring of light that will make your face look good in dark light situations. It can be clipped to a monitor or attached to a tripod. The Kiyo, however, falls short where mics are concerned - the voice quality is average at best. The cable is also permanently attached to the device. If anything happens to that cable, chances are you will need to get a professional to replace it.
Price: Rs 26,590
The Logitech C920 is considered by a lot of people to be the industry standard. It is used by streamers and officegoers alike. The C920 is massive with a camera in the centre microphones to capture every sound. The main camera is in the centre of the device, and is capable of capturing Full HD video. The device is fairly simple to use and works out of the box, all you need to do is plug and play. You can either clip the C920 to the screen, or use the tripod. The cord is also fairly long. However, it is permanently attached to the device and you can't replace it without professional help.
Price: Rs 12,995
The Case U HW1 is an ultra-low budget Full HD webcam. This will blow your mind with the video quality. Just like the Pro Logitech webcam, this is also a fairly large device. The build quality of the HW1 is not the best and it has a very cheap plastic feel to it. It comes with a privacy protector that covers the lens when you are not using the camera. The HW1 comes with a built-in microphone that also has some noise cancelling features that improves call quality, but it isn't brilliant either. At the end of the day, despite the flaws this is a really good webcam for the price.
Price: Rs 2,399
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