Gadgets and Gizmos

Logitech QuickCam pro

Logitech has announced the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks, featuring Carl Zeiss lenses. Developed for laptops, the webcams come with lenses that have been created with the help of Carl Zeiss, which offers image-perfect detail and clear quality of video calls. The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 features a 2MP sensor than can capture up to 8MP photos (with software interpolation), as well as Right Sound and Right Light 2 Technology.

The Right Light 2 Technology automatically adjusts for low and uneven lighting environments, such as when a window creates harsh backlighting. Logitech said its autofocus system refocuses images in less than three seconds and helps ensure that images remain crisp even in extreme close-ups (up to 10 cm from the camera lens).

It works with popular video messaging applications, including Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and AIM.
For high-definition video capture, the QuickCam Pro 9000 records video at up to 30 frames per second. It supports the 720p high-definition (HD) video format, recording to disc at a resolution of 960 x 720 pixels.

The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 features a 2 mega pixel (MP) sensor than can capture up to 8 MP photos (with software interpolation), as well as Right Sound and nightlight 2 Technology, all working together to enhance the video calling experience. Right Light 2 Technology automatically adjusts for low and uneven lighting environments, such as when a window creates harsh backlighting. Logitech’s improved Right Sound Technology reduces background noise, with new noise suppression, in addition to reducing echo.

Logitech Video Effects, which include avatars, face accessories and the new Fun Filters, make video calling more entertaining. The Video Effects software allows people to transform themselves into three-dimensional animated characters (avatars), or add accessories such as glasses or funny hats to their on-screen image. The second webcam launched by Logitech in India is the QuickCam Pro for Notebooks also uses a premium autofocus system for fast and fluid focusing, without the hassle of manual focusing.

The main benefit of this webcam is that it is meant for people who are on-the-go. Further, it even comes with a protective travel case and adjustable, spring-tension clips that can accommodate even large laptops with panels up to 20mm thick. The QuickCam Pro for Notebooks also includes a stylish stand that sits perfectly on one’s desktop, raising the webcam to eye level. You’ll also need the latest Skype 3.6 for Windows (Mac owners need not apply), because HQV is purely a Logitech-Skype concoction.

That’s quite a list of prerequisites. But in return you’re rewarded with a video chat experience that’s so good you’ll find it hard to go back to dark low-res images and “stutter vision". On to the camera itself and the QuickCam Pro 9000 sports a 2 mega pixel sensor with a Carl Zeiss lens. The result is a crisp clear image that will really pick up you, text and your surroundings. The mega pixel quality also means that you’ll get a video resolution of 960 x 720 pixels (theoretically HD), and you’ll also be able to shoot 8 mega pixel still shots with the use of Logitech’s accompanying software.

In use and you’ll get a wide angle shot that means if you’re trying to get in you and the family you won’t have any trouble. The auto focus functionality works well and overall the image quality is very good as you would expect.