Logitech QuickCam Cordless (USB)

Rating:
Summary: Great Idea, works, mediocre video quality
Review: Compared to other Logitech cameras, like the Pro 3000, 4000, or QuickCam For Notebooks, this camera is definitely a big step down in video quality. The picture is much grainier and always has a greenish cast to it. The latter cannot be corrected (probably caused by office fluorescent lighting), because unlike their other cams, this one doesn't have a white balance adjust, and this is especially odd since all the cameras use the same driver.

The camera will do 30 fps at 320x240, but only on the default brightness/contrast settings which are way too dark for normal interior lighting. When you boost them to get a reasonably bright image, you'll get only about 20 fps, and the picture is very grainy.

Usability is excellent: A base unit plugs into your USB port on your computer, the Windows XP hardware wizard works properly with this cam (after you install the software from the Logitech installer), and the camera can use any one of 4 wireless channels, so you could have 4 of these in close proximity to each other without interference.

User interface problems:
There are no instructions, and it's not immediately obvious how to turn the stupid camera on in the first place. The camera is powered by a 9-volt battery or a plug-in wall wart (supplied). But you must power it up. When I first installed everything, the Logitech control panel kept saying 'no signal', and I couldn't figure out how to turn the camera on. There is a silver button on the top of the camera, which you must depress and HOLD for several seconds until you see the LCD display on the camera turn on. There are also 2 other small round silver buttons whose function is unmarked, but which appear to control which channel you are on, and what mode you are in (still-image or video).

Range and stability:
The range is very good. The camera is rated at 75 feet. I went around about 30-40 feet through several walls, and it still works. But as you move the camera, expect lots of glitches and breakup. Once you stop moving the camera, it cleans up and the transmission is reliable.

There is a mic built-in, which is a nice plus. It had good pickup and decent quality (about the same as the mics in their other USB cams).
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Summary:
It depends on what you really need. If you really need a wireless camera, this fills a niche that I don't think another camera quite fills. Unlike 'network' cams that plug into your Ethernet cable or WiFi network and operate as a low-frame-rate web server, this thing acts just any other USB video capture camera. As such, you can use it for video conferencing, or a web cam from your computer, with the added bonus of being able to move it around and locate it far from the computer.

On the minus side, the video quality isn't so hot, so unless you absoltely HAVE to have a wireless camera, the Pro 4000 would be a much better choice.


Rating:
Summary: Works great, but video image is not crystal clear
Review: I purchased 2 of these webcams, thinking that I could use them for a home surveillance/security set-up.

Here are the problems I experienced:

1) As with any webcam, your light source should not be behind the object; when pointing the webcam out a window near my front door, the bright background lighting caused the close-up image in my entry way to be dark. On the other hand, when viewing my backyard, it worked fine. You can adjust the image/lighting with the software, but that also has its limitations.

2) When I hooked-up both webcams to my PC, I received an error about not enough bandwidth; this was disappointing because I had hoped to hook-up 2 or 3 webcams to one PC (one for each side of my home). Maybe someone knows how to solve this problem?

3) The video quality was not crystal clear. It was a little fuzzy, especially for distant objects.

The good stuff:
The cordless feature performed great! The unit is attractive and small. You don't have to use a 9V battery for the camera since it includes an A/C power cord. With the 9V battery, the camera will shutdown after 10 minutes if it does not sense any movement (powersave feature); with the A/C power cord, it stays "on" all the time unless you turn it off. Although the included instructions were minimal, I really didn't need them to figure-out how to use the webcam; just make sure that the webcam and the software are set to the same channel (1, 2, 3, or 4). There is a button on the top of the webcam that you need to hold down for a couple of seconds in order to power-up the webcam.

Conclusion:
If the image quality was better and if I could hook-up 2+ webcams to one PC, then I would have kept these webcams instead of re-selling them. If you don't need a crystal clear image and you want cordless, then you'll be happy.

Rating:
Summary: Almost a home run
Review: This thing is great, runs long on a single 9 volt, or use the little power cord wherever you take it, USB powers the base station. Picture is definatly worth the price. I would only recomend one thing, get a rechargeable 9 volt battery (or more) because even though you can do alot with this thing, you cannot recharge it. so before you go bonkers buying a few batteries, break out the cash and get some rechargeables, because the kit does NOT contain one, nor the means to recharge one. other than that, Logitech hit this one out of the park, but it swayed just a bit out side of the right field line.

Rating:
Summary: Barely works 2 feet from antenna
Review: when i bought this cam i was very excited because i was under the impression that it was a WIRELESS webcam and that it could be positioned almost anywhere in the house and still work, assuming it didnt have to go through too many walls or anything, it took me days of emailing the Logitech people back and forth to finally even get the thing to work (they dont give you instruction manuals) and when it did "work" i couldnt move the cam more then 2 feet from the wireless antenna without it stopping. and if you have WIRELESS internet too? forget about it! the channels constantly conflict which makes it work even less, GOOD IDEA not a good product