What is this?
Logitech has dropped the $99 QuickCam for Notebooks Pro, and replaced it with the aptly named $99 QuickCam for Notebooks Pro, sans Mac support. Sporting a new compact body and features galore, one can only hope that Mr Joe Consumer can see the blatant difference between the two. Whereas the older model only took pictures up to 1.3 megapixels with software interpolation, the new one can take authentic 1.3MP photos.
Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro ReviewDecember 12th, 2005
Pros: Compact; excellent clip; 1.3MP sensor and wide field of view makes for great pictures; awesome color accuracy in well lit and not lit environments; echo cancellation; fun video effects.
Cons: 15fps bug(?) at medium/large resolutions; no longer for Mac.
Verdict: The echo cancellation, image quality and color accuracy alone are enough to justify the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro's street price, but the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro offers so much more to make it as entertaining as it is useful.
Not content with the way things were, Logitech took another jab at creating a high-end webcam for laptops and ultimately deciding on replacing the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro with the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro. No, it doesn't make sense to us either, but since it's boasting new Video Effects features to play around with and a 1.3MP sensor with RightLight all crammed into a smaller enclosure, we just had to put this new revision to the test. Read on to see how it fared.
Redesigned Look
While the new QuickCam for Notebooks Pro bears the same name as its predecessor (which surprisingly is still being sold despite the naming conflict), there is a striking difference between the two. Whereas the older QuickCam for Notebooks Pro had a wide arched design that placed the lens towards the top, the new one is much more compact: approximately 1" wide by 2-3/8" tall, similar to a pack of breath strips. The extruding lens has been placed lower on the body to position it closer to the monitor in order to improve eye contact, and is now a fixed piece - there's no focus ring but it seems the sweet spot is about 22" from the lens so focus shouldn't be an issue in most situations.
Besides providing contrast to the black lens and sides of the QuickCam, the brushed metal body acts as a heatsink for the unit, and gets quite warm to the touch. This isn't a negative however, I'd much rather have a warm unit than a noisy fan-cooled one, and even during hours of continuous use as a webcam there hasn't been any heat-induced damage. Right above the lens is a mirror-finished Logitech logo, and a blue LED indicator to remind you when the camera is active. There's no shutter button for taking still pictures, although this feature isn't missed much since still photos can still be taken through the included software.
The clip of the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro has also been thoroughly redesigned, replacing the hooks for a spring-loaded clip similar to the QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe I reviewed in the past, but it works much better. The clip is hinged onto the back for vertical tilting, with the two edges of the clip opening to accommodate laptop screens 5-15mm wide. I managed to take the QuickCam to the local computer store, and found that it was placed easily with one hand and fit securely on practically every laptop no matter the curve of the screen, occasionally dipping slightly into the screen for notebooks with thin bezels. The rubber insides of the clip are more than enough to keep it from sliding around, and are just strong enough to keep the unit mounted upside down on the support beam of my desk.
Intuitive Software The QuickCam software (v9.0.2 at time of review) uses the same intuitive interface as the one I reviewed previously, providing large shortcuts to downloading or launching AIM, MSN, and Yahoo! messengers. There are also shortcuts for launching QuickCapture, Windows Messenger, and creating a WMV-based video email, as well as getting help, checking for software updates and tweaking the driver settings.
I was happy to see that QuickCapture has retained its familiar interface as well, with two oversized buttons for taking videos and still shots under the video preview, along with options for scaling the capture size and tweaking output settings. QuickCapture has a total three resolutions for capturing video: 160x120, 320x240 and 640x480. Unfortunately while the new version of the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro has a native 1.3MP resolution (1280x960 - great for taking eBay photos), only still shots may be taken at this level of detail and the preview window is still limited to 640x480. Additional resolutions of 2, 3 and 4MP are available although these are done through software interpolation and degrade picture quality. If your hands are tied, videos and pictures can also be taken via timed shots.
Like the QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe, videos are recorded using the Indeo Video 5 codec, so before sending them to any Mac user you must convert them to another format since Indeo isn't supported on OS X - a likely reason why this revision of the camera is not Mac friendly unlike its predecessor. Thanks to the USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro is also able to attain a 30fps frame rate, crucial to removing motion blur from shots. However, when taking video with QuickCapture I found that 30fps was only achieved when shooting at 160x120, the frame rate scaling back to 15fps at higher resolutions. This is strange because when capturing video in Windows Movie Maker I can specify 30fps at 640x480 and the video comes out fine without blurring. Other programs like MSN and Skype keep the cap around 15fps unfortunately, although that's around the limit of most internet connections anyway.
Toys to Play With
The new QuickCam for Notebooks Pro has carried over the rather entertaining Logitech Video Effects from the QuickCam fusion, and it makes for quite a laugh on unsuspecting audiences. Contained in the drivers so it'll work in any application via the QuickAssistant, the software tracks 22 points on the face such as the eyes, brows and mouth and translates them into expressions for a 3D avatar. There are multiple avatars to choose from such as an alien, dinosaur, pirate or stick figure, and several more can be downloaded freely at Logitech's website. The avatars occasionally lag and are quite finicky about lighting and posture, but when they do work they're sure to make you chuckle... I mean can you seriously resist a cartoonish gorilla trying to carry a conversation? This should only be enabled for faster computers however, as on my AMD64 3800+ test machine CPU usage would take a drastic 30-44% hit depending on the avatar.
Even better are the numerous free facial accessories also available from Logitech's website. With one click I can instantly have a monocle, gas mask, eye patch, beer can hat or the infamous unibrow along with many extras. Accessories are more CPU friendly than the avatars are, taking 17-22% CPU time depending on the model.
Face tracking is also making an appearance with the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro, and it's been greatly improved since I last tinkered with it. Not only did the camera solely focus in on my face as opposed to zooming in on John Belushi's face like the Deluxe cam did, but it also did a better job at tracking faster movements and refraining from zooming in and out constantly, although I noticed it would zoom out entirely if I were to remain still for a while. The face tracking has also been updated for use with multiple users, although the camera liked to zoom so often that I found it best to just disable tracking entirely and manually zoom and frame the picture.
QuickCam Quality Color accuracy on the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro is superb thanks to Logitech's RightLight technology, well surpassing my expectations stunning the minds of those on my buddy list. The camera was quick to adjust the white balance and exposure to match the lighting of the room as I moved around in the room and , doing an exceptional job capturing flesh tones in moderate lighting. In low light scenarios the camera can still make out my features, albeit with a blue overcast. With no lighting except the monitor you can see all my features in a deeper blue tone. Enabling Low Light Boost in the drivers will increase the exposure time (and kill frame rates) to make myself appear more clearly, but what's amazing is it's able to match my flesh tones in this horrendous lighting - absolutely incredible.
Caption from top left to bottom right: Backlighting only, back and front lighting, monitor lighting, monitor lighting + low light boost
I cannot stress enough the image quality of this webcam. Click the thumbnail on the right to see a still shot taken at 1.3 megapixels. If you can look past the mess left by my roommate, you'll see that colors are vibrant as evident by the book shelf and the detail is high enough to make the titles legible despite the fact they're 7 feet away from the lens. There is a lot of noise and grain visible and a blue overcast in the shadow left by the green table, but remember that this is still exceptionally good for a webcam. If you click the thumbnail on the left, you'll see the same shot taken by the 640x480 QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe. Not only are the colors faded, but you can see a lot less of the same picture. This is because the new QuickCam for Notebooks Pro has a 78 degree field of view, allowing you to fit more people in the picture.
Left, 640x480 taken with Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe; right, 1280x960 taken with Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro
Another feature carried over from the QuickCam Fusion is RightSound, which effectively eliminates echo. Traditionally, when placing a call over the computer it was required to use a headset to distance the microphone from the speakers otherwise there would be echoes and feedback for the other party to get annoyed with. With RightSound's echo cancellation properly configured and the cam's built-in mic selected as the default audio input device, no one heard the slightest bit of echo even when my speakers were turned way up. Ah, it's good to be free of the headset. Audio picked up was crisp and scratchless, although not without background noise from the television in the next room.
Two other goodies Logitech threw into the mix are a zippered hard-shell carrying case for the QuickCam, along with a comfortable cell phone inspired headset that uses standard 3.5mm jacks for making private calls. The case has a pocket to keep the camera and headset from scratching against each other.
Recap Overall I was very impressed with the quality of the new QuickCam for Notebooks Pro. Colors were vibrant and skin tones were replicated nicely, the camera was quick to automatically adjust exposure time and color balance to match the lighting, echo was non existent, and the small sucker can clip onto just about any laptop imaginable. Video Effects were fun to toy around with, although they still need some work. The only complaints I have are the mysterious 15fps cap at high resolutions that Movie Maker can somehow get around, the naming conflict with its predecessor, and the vanished Mac support. Other than those squabbles it was a pleasure to work with and well worth the $76 street price.
- Scott Clark, Consumer Technology Editor
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User Review(s)
We're currently upgrading our user review system; so we won't be accepting new reviews for now. QuickCam for Notebooks Pro Specs
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