Computer Related > New webcam? Seperate microphone? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Fenlander Replies: 7
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New Sun 28 Feb 10 15:55 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - Fenlander
Kids have broken our old Microsoft VX1000 webcam. Don't want to spend more than £20.... anyone here got a favourite?

I see Comet are doing the VX3000 version of ours for less than £15. Also a Phillips at about the same.

Kids are asking for a seperate mic as they want better sound quality. As the webcams have built in mics what do you do... plug a mic into the mic in socket... then does it auto detect and replace the cam mic?
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New Sun 28 Feb 10 15:59 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - Zero
you need to select the other sound source (mic) using the settings on whatever programe you use to video conference.
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New Sun 28 Feb 10 17:54 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - smokie
Just ordered a non-brand webcam for £3.88 inc postage from China, or Hong Kong. Spec seemed good enough, better in some respects than some at 10 times the price. It says it's 12 mega pixels but max dynamic resolution is 3 mega pixels, and it has LED lights for night time!! However as I didn't pay much so I'm not expecting much!!

Here it is tinyurl.com/ygjgk6v
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New Thu 4 Mar 10 23:49 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - Stuartli
The highest resolution I've ever come across on a webcam is 1.3MP (mine!) - you don't need any more for web use...:-)

Glad you are not expecting much as, on its own, it would prove a very useful specification for a digital camera.....

I use a headset with a built in mike, which offers convenience and potentially maximum sound quality.

If you use Skype, make sure you check out the Sound Help pages at its website as some of the configuration may prove very surprising:

www.skype.com/help/guides/soundsetup.html
Last edited by: Stuartli on Thu 4 Mar 10 at 23:52
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New Thu 4 Mar 10 23:51 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - rtj70
Sounds like it interpolates the 12MP. But I hope it's actually 1.2MP. My dSLR is just over 10MP so I'd hate to think a tiny crap sensor is 12MP!
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 4 Mar 10 at 23:51
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New Fri 5 Mar 10 09:14 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - Zero
But its very shiny
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 5 Mar 10 at 09:15
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New Fri 5 Mar 10 10:50 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - Fenlander
Thanks all. In the end I just went and bought the Microsoft VX3000. It's not exceptional but at least I know the Lifecam range works OK with our setup.... I know quite a few MSN user friends of the kids have very buggy cameras that only work half the time.

Gave up on the seperate mic and told the kids to put up with the sound... didn't want another device with a lead on it cluttering the desk.

As for the 12mp ones... when looking I did notice many budget brands with daft claims for their resolutions.
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New Fri 5 Mar 10 20:20 
 New webcam? Seperate microphone? - smokie
Well the Chinese £3.88 webcam arrived today - only ordered on 23/2!!

To me, at this end, the quality looks quite staggering - better than the built-in camera on my Acer netbook. I don't believe for a minute that it is 12Mb but it was certainly a good buy. (Although I haven't yet tested the onboard mic)

And it's shiny...
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