Webcam problems

[Blaise Douros]

When I Google this webcam, it shows up with a $72 price tag. I think the problem is that it’s a cheap, crappy webcam.

The footage looks slightly out of focus, if anything. If there’s a focus adjustment possible in the software, I’d start there.

[Neil Orman]

Thanks very much Blaise. I’d actually asked B&H for their recommendation, and the Logitech c922 was one of the ones they suggested. We were looking for a good but simple webcam that non-technical people here could operate, which would look good for our Facebook Lives. But as you described this webcam, the image looks cheap and crappy to me. For you and anyone else seeing this, I’d be grateful for any feedback on these two questions: what’s the least you can spend to get a nicer image in a webcam? And could you please recommend any?

The balance we’re trying to strike is simple solutions that laymen can operate, but with a decent image. For example, I’d be satisfied with the quality of my Macbook’s internal camera, which is the second half of this short sample clip with the password ‘webcam’: https://vimeo.com/331848730
My Macbook isn’t an option for these events, so an external webcam with similar or better quality, which, if possible, costs no more than a few hundred dollars (I work at a nonprofit). And finally we want to keep this in the world of USB-connected webcams, rather than more complicated set-ups with prosumer camcorders.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Neil

[Blaise Douros]

I have one other suggestion; if you have an existing decent video camera, you could pursue one of the solutions listed here: https://filmora.wondershare.com/webcam-recording/use-dslr-camera-as-webcam.html

The CamLink seems particularly affordable.

You’ll get much nicer results if you use a real camera, and convert the HDMI signal via the CamLink.

[Richard Crowley]

The main difference I see is that the webcam seems to auto-focus on the very busy backdrop, and misses the presenter which throws him out of focus. Lack of control over things like focus is one of the main differences between a simple web-cam and a more sophisticated camera.

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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.