Microsoft H5D-00003 Lifecam Cinema Webcam
Posted by Notcot on May 30, 2010 in Peripherals & Accessories |
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this is a great quality webcam both for video quality AND sound. We use this at work for video conferencing and works great with Skype. Make sure youckeck out the correct spec for this camera as it’s quite a rareity that you need a high spec PC to run at HD quality!
all in all the quality of the wide angled camera is great and it can pick up sound from quite a distance, great price through Amazon too, by far the cheapest I have seen!
Rating: 5 / 5
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R8USEU635LYW2 I recorded this video in low light, and the webcam coped pretty well. I was recording at maximum resolution (1280 x 720), which resulted in a 63MB WMV file. The camera also supports lower resolutions, which will work better on less powerful computers, and if you don’t want to use up all your internet bandwidth. Microsoft recommends a computer with an Intel Dual-Core processor running at 3GHz or better, which is a pretty big ask – my laptop is a dual-core 2.4GHz, and it worked fine.
I forgot to mention the autofocus – the camera can focus down to about six inches, which is pretty good. There’s a slight whistling sound in the recording. I’m not sure what causes it, but it’s always there.
I find it slightly annoying that the Microsoft software will only support the Microsoft camera, but as it’s such a good webcam, I suppose I can forgive it. I tested using Windows Vista 64-bit. The webcam box claims that the camera is Windows 7 compatible. I haven’t tested this, but I suppose Microsoft are the best people to make compatibility claims.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is perhaps the best webcam I have used by far, the images are bright and clear even in low light and the colour depth is amazing. The unit is very cleverly designed with a rubber mount that flexes to securely fit any monitor. The sleek tubular body is elegant and aesthetically pleasing, yet blends in perfectly so it does not look out of place.
The auto focus functionality works perfectly and fairly quickly when new items enter the frame. And the digital noise-cancelling microphone provides the ideal audio capturing companion to this great HD webcam. As well as supporting a native resolution of 1280x720p, the camera also supports 800×600 and 640×480 which are more commonly used for web conferencing applications.
The camera works incredibly well with the Live Suite of software, especially Live Messenger both with Windows Vista and Windows 7 in both 32 and 64 bit versions. The camera output can be read directly into Expression encoder for live streaming if needed.
Rating: 5 / 5
Firstly, I’m using this webcam with a Dell desktop PC running XP Pro SP3. It doesn’t work with my Mac, as might be expected (the Mac doesn’t even recognise anything has been plugged in).
In the box
… is a small but nicely-weighted painted aluminium cylinder, which is the webcam, and the installation disk. The packaging is the usual over-complicated tough plastic – scissors required to get into it, and care when unravelling the lead – but once you’re in, you have a nice bit of kit in your hand.
Installation
… is straightforward as long as you follow the instructions, and don’t connect the camera until instructed to do so. I had no problems. It took no more than 5 minutes.
Use
The microphone is on the top of the camera, which seems the logical place if you are integrating the mic with the camera. It works well and gives a good sound, but is sensitive to background noise (which is inevitable, I suppose).
The webcam itself is reassuringly solid but still too light for you to be able to rest it on the desktop without its being moved round under the influence of the cable. The webcam has, however, an eyeball-type mounting and this in turn is attached to an ingenious flexible bracket. Mine is mounted on the top of my flatscreen monitor and is secure there (no blu-tack required).
The autofocus works well as long as you have nothing else in the field of vision to confuse it. It focusses down to about 10cm, I reckon, which is probably as close as you will ever need.
The quality of the video is good. You can choose from a number of resolutions. The software allows you to record photos and video; you can then edit this, of course.
The webcam isn’t cheap: the combination I replaced with this, a Creative webcam and Logitech mic, cost about half what this camera costs. But (a) I get significantly better results with it; (b) it’s an elegant, compact, integrated device; and (c) it shows a blue light when it’s working. It’s good value for money.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is an excellent webcam from Microsoft, easily one of the best available. Its party piece is the stunning HD Video quality – truly amazing, lovely colours and it is almost like looking in a mirror! The microphone is also crystal clear, and instead of being one poxy hole like you get on other webcam it’s actually quite large and picks up some minute sounds in the background.
The installation on my 1.73Ghz Core Duo laptop with 2GB RAM was incredibly easy and I encountered no problems. Although Microsoft recommend a 3.0Ghz Dual Core processor (with 1.6 Dual Core being miniumum!), the video was incredibly smooth and still extremely detailed. The recommendation is really a big ask – clearly demonstrating that this webcam is serious, and not aimed at the average joe.
Unsurprising for a Microsoft webcam, Windows Live Messenger is recommended, and Windows is the only platform supported. It does however also support Yahoo and Skype (I however haven’t tested these but WLM works well and some of the effects are great fun, especially seeing the other person’s reaction if they’re on webcam too!)
The webcam comes with a 3 year Microsoft warranty, and the build quality is good. So you’re aren’t paying a premium for nothing! Well worth the asking price for the video quality in my opinion.
Over all, highly recommended webcam if your PC is up to the job and you want good quality video, even in dark conditions. I should also add that the camera clipped nicely to my laptop screen. Great!
Rating: 5 / 5