[mummybee]

Want to get a good-quality webcam for msn messenger / skpe. Shop guy recommended POLAR and v-gear brands but I was not happy with POLAR, and v-gear isn't compatible with my computer. The latter worries me as I got into huge argument with shop as they refused to refund based on the reasoning that it is my computer that is at fault cos it doesn't recognise it (we have a hp Pentium 4 from Fortress).

I have several questions:
(1) Any such thing as computer-webcam incompatibility? IF so, any brand I avoid / go for?
(2) I wasn't happy with POLAR webcam as it cannot zoom OUT ie I see my face exclusively even when webcam is placed on the furthest wall (room is not big). I want the webcam to see myself and baby
(3) I want a webcam that is not gonna cost a bomb eg less than HKD150, is this unreasonable?

Many thanks.

[KnowItAll]

what do you want to use the web cam for? just chatting with friends and family? Or do you want to use it for monitoring the house / office etc?

[mummybee]

God forbid, can you use webcam to monitor home? In any case, my computer is in the computer room so I can't see how I can monitor other rooms.

I just want a webcam so that my family overseas can see me and my toddler. Just want something that can zoom out (as my room is very small) and project high quality video so that everyone can see how adorable my toddler is.

I was told to steer away from generic ones cos they spoil easily, and to go for Logitech models ($500 up ones). Are these information correct?

Thanks

[discobay]

You are going to be hard pushed to get high quality from a sub-HKD150 webcam. I've seen the new V-Gear models that offer SVGA resolution as opposed to the VGA that we have had up to now but they are around HKD500 each.

[siumai]

I don't know why you should be stingy on such low cost item, on absolute terms this money is peanuts compared to many other items you buy.

I've been using Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe for more than half a year now and all people on the other end (when using Skype video call) have been praising the quality of the video.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...ONTENTID=10168

You probably need to pay something around HKD500 for it but since it's not their latest, latest product you may find it cheaper somewhere.

[sylvesterjay]

i also have the logitech quickcam and I bought it because of the great reviews i read. works great, i notice my other friends cams have video lag, the logitech doesn't

[mummybee]

Looks like it is logitech then. Being a tech dummy, I wasn't sure how much to anticipate and friends / family members of mine (who bought their webcams in other asian cities) use the generic ones with great satisfaction. I often get cheated so they cautioned I should not pay more than the equivalent of 200HKD. Indeed, a cousin bought a Logitech webcam for my parents from Malaysia and he claimed he paid less than 250HKD. Impossible??

[siumai]

not impossible: Quickcam for Notebooks Deluxe (VGA/15fps/24bit-true color) is US$59.99 ~ HKD 495 on Logitech website, basic Quickcam for Notebooks is US$39.99 ~HKD 330, and QuickCam Chat is US$29.99 ~ HKD 235. No experience of the cheaper models, but they seem to go down in spec from the "deluxe" model.

[discobay]

Anything less than 30fps (frames per second) is going to be unbearable.

[siumai]

Originally Posted by discobay

Anything less than 30fps (frames per second) is going to be unbearable.

I don't think that's true for e.g. Skype video call use. Quickcam 'Deluxe' is 15fps and works fine. But for recording video and playing on TV I'd go for 30fps+...