Web cam technology has advanced since the early days of video conferencing, and as new technology rolls out the variety of quality web cams is growing. Most new desktop and laptop PCs now come with an integrated web cam in the monitor or bezel, but the quality isn’t always that great so naturally you’ll want to improve upon the original. Logitech is a trusted brand who has perfected the art of building a picture perfect web cam, literally. I was fortunate enough to purchase their latest web cam at my local Best Buy, and I’ve been very pleased with the picture clarity.
The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 is one of the most expensive web cams that I have purchased, the retail price is $99.99 and while that may sound a bit steep the quality more then makes up for the initial sticker shock. Logitech has done everything right with the QuickCam Pro 9000, including connectivity for Windows Vista and Mac OS X. This right out of the box means that most users will be able to enjoy the Pro 9000 without having to worry about connectivity, something that we all fear when we head into the electronics store.
I was initially impressed with the technology that went into the making of the Pro 9000; the lens was designed by the legendary Carl Zeiss, who is famous for designing stellar optic lenses for camcorders and photography cameras. This technology alone was enough for me to seriously consider purchasing the Pro 9000; it wasn’t until I actually got to test the device out that I was awe struck by the exceptional picture quality of this little device.
The 2-megapixel lens has a feature called auto focus; this alone makes the picture quality far better then competing web cams. The auto focus technology automatically adjusts when your face moves; this helps to alleviate blurriness that is so common among web cams. Unfortunately for most users the most popular Voip clients haven’t kept up with the times, and they cannot stream the high-definition video (960 by 720 pixels) that the Pro 9000 is capable of shooting.
Until then the best method for experiencing the high-definition shooting capabilities is to record your own videos and burn them to a DVD or Blu-ray disk, naturally this web cam is exceptional at shooting video blogs and other social media experiments. The Pro 9000 also allows you to shoot still images in 8-megapixel resolution, so for instance if you are trying to shoot a head shot for an online community the Pro 9000 will excel with no problem.
So with all the good news your probably wondering what exactly the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 comes with and it actually comes nicely equipped. Inside the box you’ll find a 6-foot USB 2.0 connection cable, QuickCam Software CD, and a manual. The included CD comes jam-packed with all of the major video instant messaging software, so you won’t need to download anything off of the internet. The QuickCam is also plug-and-play which means that you don’t need to install anything, just plug the device in and start video chatting.
Using the internet to communicate is still a new concept, and video chatting is an amazing technology, so to enjoy it you’ll need a stellar web cam with exceptional quality.
Luckily the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 fits this bill with extraordinary video quality, and the added features that make this one of those must have purchases for the holidays.
List Price: $99.99
