Now that video calls and streaming services have become commonplace, purchasing a webcam is becoming, if not mandatory, then desirable.

Even if you are not a blogger or streamer, it is always pleasant for you and him to just see someone dear to you, who is many miles away. Of course, you can't do without a webcam here. And if all laptops, with rare exceptions, are equipped with such devices initially, then being the owner of a stationary computer, this device will have to be bought separately.

If you decide to do this, then the variety of models can plunge you into a little shock, as their number is overwhelming. Therefore, choosing a camera can turn into a long journey through the sites into an endless comparison of prices and features.

In this article, we will make our list of the best webcam models from different price points for users with different requests in order to narrow your search circle. We'll start as usual with inexpensive but high quality models and end with models used by professional streamers.

Price table

WebcamPrice
MICROSOFT LIFECAM HD-3000from 1400 rub.
Logitech HD Webcam C270from 1200 rubles.
SVEN IC-950 HDfrom 1150 rub.
A4Tech PK-910Hfrom 1400 rub.
Logitech HD Webcam C525from 2500 rubles.
Logitech C922 Pro Streamfrom 6500 rub.
LOGITECH BRIO 4K11 600 RUB
Livestream mevo plus~500$

Microsoft Lifecam HD-3000

Price: from 1400 rubles.

Microsoft Lifecam HD-3000

Description

Let's start with one of the best cameras in this segment, which is the brainchild of Microsoft. This company may not be as famous for its devices as, for example, Logitech, but it also has quite interesting copies.

This model will be an excellent solution for skype, Viber and other messengers with the ability to make video calls. The resolution is 1280x720, which allows making calls in HD. FullHD is not here, of course, but for the price it is acceptable.

In addition, you can manually adjust the white balance and focus, if the webcam cannot do it automatically for some reason.

The microphone works great and has a noise canceling function, which makes the sound clear and with minimal interference.

The device is made of sturdy plastic and has been designed with the optical sensor recessed deep into the case to prevent accidental damage.

The device's operability is indicated by a blue indicator, and the connection is made via a USB cable.

The mount is made of elastic material, which will allow you to easily install it on any screen.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • Good sound and noise reduction;
  • Great picture with decent color rendering for this price segment;
  • Nice build.
Disadvantages:
  • Only 720p resolution;
  • Noise cancellation still does not cope completely and there are small interference.

Logitech HD Webcam C270

Price: from 1200 rubles.

Logitech HD Webcam C270

Description

The next on our list will be a model from the more famous manufacturer of such things - Logitech. Cameras from this brand always have good technical equipment, but their cost is usually quite high.

Nevertheless, there are models designed for the low and medium price segment. And this model has excellent characteristics at a low cost.

First of all, it should be mentioned that she shoots only in HD, which will be more than enough for most users.

The camera can change the aperture depending on the lighting in your room. This system works so well that you will be visible even when there is no light at all.

In addition, you can take photos on this webcam and send them to friends, and the software function of image processing will make them even better.

It has a built-in microphone with RightSound noise canceling technology, which more than does its job well. When you speak, your voice will sound loud and clear, and the background noise will not be heard at all.

The mount on which the camera is installed is plastic. It can be used as a table stand or mounted on a monitor. The webcam itself can only be moved up and down.

It is connected via a standard USB connector, so there shouldn't be any connection problems.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • Excellent noise reduction, the camera completely concentrates on your voice and completely ignores other noises;
  • Shooting in any light;
  • Convenient mount;
  • Price.
Disadvantages:
  • The inability to change the angle of view, since the camera moves only up and down on the stand;
  • The 720p image looks crisp, but lacks saturation.

SVEN IC-950 HD

Price: from 1150 rub.

SVEN IC-950 HD

Description

The Finnish company Sven can rightfully be considered the leader in the budget periphery market. And webcams are no exception.

This model is equipped with a CMOS sensor, which allows you to get high-quality HD images with good color reproduction and automatic light focusing.

By the way, in addition to automatic, there is also manual focusing. By rotating the lens, you can significantly sharpen the image. This will be useful if you need to shoot small objects, because with the help of manual focus, this camera will clearly capture even small letters on the edge of a coin.

Moreover, you can photograph them in high resolution 3200 × 2400 pixels, which will allow you to later print these photos even on large sheets.

The built-in microphone does its job well. It does not require installing any additional software, and there are also several built-in sensitivity and volume settings.

The sound is audible clearly, there is no extraneous noise, and it sounds soft without unnecessary harshness, perhaps a little quiet, but this can be corrected by the settings.

The mount is made in the same way as in the previous model, except that it looks more impressive. The case is rubberized, thanks to which it is firmly attached to the monitor and does not slip.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • Manual focus that controls the sharpness of the image. Especially useful for shooting small subjects and for focusing on a specific subject;
  • The ability to take photos in a resolution of 3200 × 2400 pixels;
  • Clear sound without extraneous noise;
  • Price.
Disadvantages:
  • The white balance is slightly shifted towards red, but this is not particularly noticeable and is regulated by the settings;
  • There are minor problems with recording HD video via Skype;
  • The microphone is still quite quiet, it is enough, but if you record video for youtube, for example, it is better to take something louder.

A4Tech PK-910H

Price: from 1400 rubles.

A4Tech PK-910H

Description

This time we'll look at a budget creation from A4Tech.

The first thing that catches your eye is the appearance. The webcam looks very impressive, as if it were part of a video surveillance system.It attaches to an equally impressive stand with a swivel mount that allows it to be rotated 360 degrees.

The mount itself is tightly twisted and moves quite rigidly, but it is designed in such a way that it can be mounted on any monitor.

The main advantage of this model is the ability to shoot FullHD video in a resolution of 1920x1080 with a frame rate of 30 FPS. There is a special software for setting parameters.

This model has good autofocus and built-in image enhancers that automatically adjust to lighting and surroundings. At the same time, it allows you to take photos with a resolution of 16MP, which are suitable even for printing on large sheets.

It works from the standard USB 2.0, which has become an ageless classic and practically GOST for cameras. But despite the seemingly not too high data transfer rate via USB 2.0, the image in FullHD is displayed well, without lags and freezes.

The built-in microphone is also good. It has an automatic noise canceling function that does its job perfectly.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • The ability to shoot FullHD video in a fairly good quality;
  • The ability to take pictures in high resolution;
  • Autofocus;
  • Special automatic settings for image enhancement;
  • Price.
Disadvantages:
  • The camera is not sharpened for MAC and only works on Windows;
  • There are complaints about the loss of sound, and in general, the reviews about the microphone are not very good (although this applies only to certain models, you should bear this in mind);
  • When shooting in high resolution, the frame rate may drop. However, this is usually solved by changing the shooting format in the settings.

Logitech HD Webcam C525

Price: from 2500 rubles.

Logitech HD Webcam C525

Description

A more expensive model from Logitech, which can already be attributed to the middle price segment. It already has those features that are not and cannot be in cheaper models.

But let's start with the very quality of the shooting. The camera shoots video in HD resolution of 1280 × 720. A nice feature is also autofocus, which stabilizes the image on its own without manual adjustments, which are also there. Along with the camera, the kit comes with special software, thanks to which you can turn off autofocus and adjust the focus of the image manually.

For the convenience of shooting, it can be rotated 360 degrees, which is useful if you suddenly need to change the angle of view or take a panoramic shot.

Manual focusing makes it easy to focus on small text and small objects. There is also a face recognition function. So if you suddenly do not want someone other than you to use the device, then this can be arranged.

The built-in microphone is also pleasing, the sound is loud and clear without interference. It is quite enough for recording sound, if you are going to upload videos to YouTube and to communicate with friends.

It is worth mentioning separately about the length of the cable, which is as much as 1.5 meters, thanks to which the webcam can be attached quite far from the monitor if you suddenly need it. The connection is via USB.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • Autofocus;
  • Convenient software for manual focus adjustment, it also has many settings for color and sound correction;
  • Good built-in microphone;
  • Face recognition system;
  • The ability to rotate the camera 360 degrees.
Disadvantages:
  • Due to the design of the mount, it may be inconvenient to attach it to large monitors from 5 cm thick, so you may have to use scotch tape;
  • Autofocus does not work perfectly and from time to time you still have to use manual focus;
  • A slight flicker may appear in a dimly lit room, but this is corrected by the firmware.

Logitech C922 Pro Stream

Price: from 6500 rubles.

Logitech C922 Pro Stream

Description

By paying another 100 Belarusian rubles or 4000 Russian rubles, you will receive an elegant solution from Logitech with impressive characteristics. This camera is positioning itself as the best tool for streamers and podcasters in its class.And she adequately copes with the burden imposed on herself.

Firstly, it is worth noting its unsurpassed shooting quality, which allows you to shoot the most real FullHD 1920 × 1080 at 30 FPS without squeezing images.

If there is a desire to write video at 60 FPS, then the camera provides such an opportunity, but the quality drops to 720p.

A viewing angle of 80 degrees allows you to cover a fairly large radius when shooting. You can select the background or remove it using the zoom settings, which can be found in the included software. It is worth noting that image detail does not drop at all when zooming in.

The fastening here is quite common and is made in the form of a movable plastic plate with three bending sections. Thanks to it, you can easily install it on any monitor.

It is worth noting separately the build quality, which are just on top, nothing backlash, no creaks, no staggering, everything is tight and monolithic.

An interesting feature of the mount is the presence of a tripod cutout, and this cutout is standard and will fit any tripod, not just the one that comes with it.

Two built-in microphones are responsible for the sound, which are designed to provide stereo sound. They can handle everyday tasks well, but for recording studio videos it is only a stretch due to the palpable echo.

The software suite includes an interesting utility called Personify. It allows you to replace the background with another image of your choice (like a chroma key). With the help of a special sensor, it cuts out your outlines and after that you can replace the background.

However, there is a small nuance here. It will only work properly if there is a solid area behind you. This is so that the sensor can detect the edges of your image in contrast to its surroundings.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • One of the few cameras freely available in Russia in this price segment, capable of recording video at 60 FPS; Though you have to switch the recording quality to HD for this;
  • Mountable for mounting on a tripod;
  • Excellent software for adjusting focus, lighting and many other parameters;
  • Personify technology.
Disadvantages:
  • The microphone picks up noise well and creates an echo effect. For studio recording, it doesn't work very well;
  • Autofocus is often reconfigured in the process, however, thanks to good software, you can completely switch to manual control.

Logitech brio 4k

Price: from 11 600 rubles.

Logitech brio 4k

Description

For those who have recorded streams, podcasts and video blogging as their main activity, there is the appropriate equipment that allows you to shoot in the highest quality.

And this camera is specially designed for such a segment, as well as for those who, due to some circumstances, need high image quality.

Let's start with the fact that Brio can shoot in 4K resolution, which is rarely seen even in the premium segment. How important it is, you decide, but it is worth considering that among the users of the same youtube there are not so many owners of UltraHD monitors, and without it, the difference between FullHD and UHD will be completely indistinguishable.

By setting the Brio resolution to 2K, you can get a beautiful, realistic and clear image without any loss of quality, since the camera is connected via USB 3.0, which provides much faster data transfer than 2.0.

Besides, setting the resolution to 1080p, you can shoot at 60 FPS.

Additional settings include manual and automatic RightLight 3 lighting technology and HDR mode. Plus, it has a 5x zoom and the ability to choose the desired angle for wide-angle shooting.

The presence of the Windows Hello system allows you to identify the user by face using built-in Face ID technology. For a clearer and more accurate determination, optical and infrared sensors are used simultaneously.

The developer promises the presence of two omnidirectional microphones to provide high-quality sound, but judging by the reviews, they still do not do their job well enough.

The camera is installed on the monitor using the so-called dimensionless mount made of very dense and high-quality plastic, and it also comes with a special shutter to hang the optical sensor, if such a need arises

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • The ability to shoot in 4K;
  • High image quality in all modes without lags and freezes due to data transfer via USB0;
  • The ability to shoot at 60 FPS at FullHD resolution;
  • The ability to authorize by face.
Disadvantages:
  • The inability to rotate the camera on the stands to the right and left, only up and down, however, the angle of view during shooting can be set programmatically;
  • Classic complaints about the microphone, this time due to too active noise cancellation the voice seems a little distorted.

Livestream mevo plus

Price: ~ 500 $

Livestream mevo plus

Last on our list will be the rather original camera from Lifestream, which is currently owned by Vimeo.

This nice little gizmo can stream professional-grade videos to various streaming services such as YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and of course lifestream and vimeo.

The main difference of the camera, which sets it apart from others, is the function of the so-called "live editing".

With this truly amazing tool, you can edit live video right away. Now you can cut, pan and scale your video without any additional editing tools.

Also the built-in AI automatically edits the video stream to achieve the most impressive video quality possible.

Another useful feature is the ability to create up to 9 preset angles between which you can switch. It will look like you are shooting multiple cameras at the same time.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
  • High quality shooting;
  • Live Edit function, which allows you to edit video on the fly;
  • The ability to shoot from multiple angles at once, simulating shooting from multiple cameras at the same time.
Disadvantages:
  • Price;
  • Not for sale in Russia.

A comment

It is too early to say anything more specific, as this model appeared on the market quite recently, but it has very promising features that can revolutionize the world of online broadcasts.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether you are engaged in online broadcasts or just want to talk to friends or family through video calling services, we hope that our article was useful to you and you will choose a good webcam that will serve you faithfully for many years.

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