WEBCAMS are one of those things which have suddenly became an extremely in-demand piece of kit, due to a lot of people finding themselves working from home or with a lot more free time and deciding to more video stuff on the internet as a result.
There’s a lot of them of webcams on the market, and sometimes you just want something simple, effective, and straightforward.
Enter the Logitech StreamCam (RRP: AUD$229) – which ticks all those boxes and is an excellent piece of equipment for getting you into the world of content creation or remote working.
The StreamCam was simple to use, easy to set up, and just generally really good all round. Logitech have been making webcams for a long time and this latest product clearly builds on their expertise in this area, offering a straightforward, no-nonsense but solid experience.
The picture quality was excellent, it was easy to connect up to things like Discord, Skype, Google Meet, and Zoom, and is specifically designed to work with streaming software like OBS (Open Broadcasting Software) too.
The Logitech Capture software that’s included with the camera also does the job well and includes a really neat auto-framing option, which basically zooms in on your head and shoulders region – which is great for ensuring your pile of dishes, bong or sex toy collection, or bookshelf full of shameful trashy romance novels in the background doesn’t inadvertently become a discussion topic.
The camera smoothly captures 1080p video at 60fps (it can also do lower resolutions, if you want) and has two microphones built into it as well, allowing you to record voice and audio from the one unit. The auto-focus and auto-exposure elements worked well too, and there’s a visible white light to let you know when the unit is recording.
You can record in both widescreen or portrait format – important if you’re doing stuff for Facebook or Instagram, which a lot of content creators are.
While reviewing the unit I put it through a range of tasks including editorial video meetings with the GOA team, video chatting with friends, Zoom and Google Meet video calls and just recording myself doing test pieces to camera, and it functioned exactly as I expected with no problems at all.
The StreamCam is quite a stylish bit of kit too, with the fabric covered front and graphite colour (in the review model). It mounts on a swivel that can hook over the back of an existing monitor quite happily – even the 27” curved Samsung monitor my desktop rig uses – and is easy to adjust. There’s also a mount included that’s designed to go on a tripod, so you can use it while on the go or even as a second camera for a different perspective, depending what you’re doing.
The only major criticism I have is that it solely uses a USB-C connection, which was not helpful for connecting it to my desktop PC (which only has USB-A ports). I was able to get a USB-C socket to USB-A plug connector and it worked just fine, but it was still a trip to JayCar I would have preferred not to make, especially since the adaptor would be an easy thing to include in the box.
I also would have liked a physical shutter you can slide over the lens, but I appreciate the main target for this product is people who are Extremely Online and therefore probably not worried about it.
Otherwise, if you’re looking for a really good HD webcam – whether it’s for streaming, web meetings, or general content creation – it’s hard to go past this.
Indeed, they’ve been so popular actually finding one on the shelves may prove a problem, but if you can get one, I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed.
