Money well spent for the extra features and resolution
Pros:
high resolution, great picture quality, excellent light gathering, simple setup.
Cons:
Poor quality base (as is the case with all webcams) and no image tracking.
The Bottom Line:
Buy it.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
After doing quite a bit of research on webcams and seeing the difficulties that people have had with Logitech, I decided to purchase one of the Creative Labs products.
This webcam uses higher resolution video imaging (640x480) and does it well. It uses a CCD sensor to improve picture quality and color, and the light gathering is excellent. I have yet to use MSN messenger for video conferencing without having someone comment on the fact that my picture is so much clearer than theirs. The video imaging is also very smooth at 30 frames per second, so that the image is less "choppy".
Setup was easy, and most of the software that it comes with is unnecessary for video conferencing; the monitoring tools would be useful to anyone purchasing for that purpose.
The package includes a headset/microphone, and I highly recommend having this if you're doing videoconferencing, as it eliminates echo from the speakers.
I would love to see Creative Labs add the image tracking features that the Logitech cams come with, so that it tracks your face as you move around. As with all webcams, it seems that no one gave much thought to the base, although this one is fine for anyone using a laptop. I have mounted it to the top of my computer monitor with velcro.
All in all, an excellent product and I would certainly spend the extra $30 to have the higher resolution and better light gathering, as well as the headset.
