IPEVO P2V Macro Webcam Review

Macro & Autofocus
Remember the Connectix QuickCam of the mid 1990s? Perhaps not, but the Internet-enabled digital video camera has been around almost as long as the world wide web. These days, miniature cameras can be found embedded in the display bezel of nearly every notebook and netbook, as well as a good portion of LCD monitors. Because of this rather blatant flooding of the market with little digital eyeballs, webcams are not a hot topic, although internet telephony sees widespread use in business and home settings. For most users, the little cameras that shipped with their computer are just fine for light, one-on-one videoconferencing use with applications like Skype or NetMeeting and WebEx, and some even have little infrared "low light vision" capability.

However, IPEVO believes there still exists a good portion of users who need something a little more flexible, and higher quality. Enter the weirdly named Point 2 View (we'll abbreviate it P2V here) USB camera, which gives users 6 feet of USB cable freedom with which to capture the world. Being detached from the screen is a real benefit for getting the camera eye-level for more realistic and flattering camera angles. To this end, IPEVO ships the P2V camera with a fully articulating, weighted stand with 3 mounting points on the top - for a top mount or left/right mounted view of the world. The camera itself is a barrel-shaped implement about 3.5 inches long about 0.75 inches in diameter, tapering down to about 0.5 inches in diameter at its slimmest end.

Finished in a silver-painted plastic with chromed lens ring, the IPEVO P2V itself is very light, perhaps half as light as the USB cable it is attached to. Build quality is average, with the plastic housing showing a prominent center seam and eliciting a few creaks when torqued and squeezed. The chromed lens ring encircles a matte black lens surround, with an absolutely tiny lens in the center. By tiny we mean about 1.5mm in diameter. IPEVO puts no markings around the lens like some of its competitors, and so it is plainly obvious that the P2V has no Zeiss optics (unlike the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks) to boast about. However, this does not hold the P2V back at all in its intended uses.

On the surface that is usually pointed skywards are 2 buttons: the shutter button for taking still snapshots, and the focus button, to manually invoke the auto focus mechanism. At the far end is a switch which allows the user to select between single shot AF or continuous AF.

The bottom of the P2V contains a receptacle for the stand mount, and thoughtfully the receptacle itself rotates in place, allowing the camera to be turned while the stand remains stationary. This receptacle allows the camera to be mounted sideways using the side mounts on the stand. The integrated USB cable emerges from about the halfway spot on the bottom of the camera, and can be captured in the thoughtfully included "well" or channel that runs down the back half of the camera for a bit of cable management.

And now the stand. It is a supremely well-bit piece, with 2 hinges that allow the user to set any range of camera heights from about one inch off the desk to about a foot high. White in color, it contrasts nicely with a typical computer setup, and surprises with its hefty weighted circular foot stand and usefulness. At the front of the camera, one finds the lens and two little LEDs - red and green. Green means the P2V is plugged into a USB port and getting sufficient power, and red means the camera is on and the image sensor is sending video data.

P2V webcam stand's hinges in action...

Included in the box is a little spring loaded clip mechanism that smartly allows the camera to clip to the top of most flat panel monitors, or even laptop screen bezels. Although it works as advertised, I'd prefer a stronger spring because it does seem a bit of a loose fit.

This is the size of the IPEVO P2V relative to the 15" MacBook Pro.