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Purchased January 4, 2009 $11.99
As far as I know this camera is only available through Micro Center (my favorite computer store). I'm not linking directly to the camera purchase page because I don't know how long this camera will be available.
Not the best small camera by any means but, at just under $12, it beats any other camera in its price range. Of course I have only seen a couple of other cameras this cheep.
The box has the "Designed for Windows XP" logo but has an incorrect Windows Vista logo. The logo being used is intended for systems not devices, so I am not sure if this device has truly been certified or not. I have not been able to find this camera on the Microsoft Logo product list. However, while it should work with Vista, I'm not going to install it on my Vista machine because I am trying to keep my notebook clean.
The image is a bit fuzzy and the camera has some clipping difficulty with very bright light.
The lens is just a bit on the telephoto end compared to most of the current cameras. However, for portable use I would think most people would want to use a small image to save bandwidth and have your face as large as possible within that image.
I had some problems with the camera controls. Most 3rd party webcam programs like I use will reinitialize the camera after you change settings. In this case, the reinitialization tended to reset the exposure controls, which I had just adjusted, making it difficult to deal with under very bright light.
This camera is aimed at notebook users. It has a clamp mount that will accommodate flat screens up to 3/8 of an inch. However it does sit on a desktop fine and will rest on a thicker flat panel screen as long as you can get it balanced. Be careful the cord doesn't pull it off your screen. The cord is only about 27 inches long so if you are going to use it on a desktop computer and don't have a USB port on your monitor, you may need a USB extension cord.
Not a bad camera for the price, but unless you are really strapped for cash I would go with another model. This would make a good camera for the little kids or as a first camera gift.
 | Sample images showing how this camera performs under different lighting conditions |
Large images
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