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Nefsis – Hardware Review
March 12th, 2009
Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000
Introduction
Nefsis Video Conference
Logitech have long had a reputation for producing good quality webcams and the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 is no exception. With its slick design and high quality Carl Zeiss lens, the video quality from this webcam is truly exceptional.
One of the first things you will notice after removing the webcam from the packaging is its unique mount design. The adjustable mount fits LCD screens of various thicknesses, and allows the webcam to sit firmly on many LCD panel. On my test computer with a 24” LCD screen, I only found two or three webcams on the market that could fit the frame of the LCD screen.
The next prominent feature is the placement of the camera and microphone. With its elongated body, the camera and the microphone are aligned horizontally, giving it a nice professional look and feel. The body sits on a bevel allowing the user to adjust camera angle vertically only. This is a workable design but personally, I prefer having the flexibility to adjust the camera in both directions, vertically and horizontally.
Installation and Configuration
With the mounting challenges out of the way, the next step is to connect the Quickcam Pro 9000 to my PC. Following the instructions in the manual, Logitech suggest installing the drivers before connecting the webcam to the PC. This seems to be a standard procedure when installing new computer hardware. After inserting the CD in the CD-ROM, the install process ran very smooth. The instructions were straightforward. It appears the developers at Logitech designed the install wizard to be clear and concise. It definitely addresses the issue for users who have a tendency to click the ‘Next’ button without reading the instructions on the screen.
As with previous version of the Logitech software, the installation program reaches a stage where it requires the user to connect the webcam to the PC. The animated image in the installation program actually shows a user what to do, really helpful if you are a novice user. Going back to my installation, I routed the cable through the rear of my desk and to my PC’s USB port. Connected the webcam and within a few seconds, the Logitech software detected the webcam. Everything appeared to work the first time around. A very positive experience considering I did not have to do anything special on my PC or even reboot it.
Now let’s go to the fun stuff. Logitech provide users with advance camera control through its system tray program. This is one way you can adjust your video settings prior to joining a Nefsis conference. Alternatively, you can adjust the clarity of your video image, contrast, color and brightness while you are in a Nefsis video conference sessions. Simply right click on your video image in Nefsis and select Camera Properties.
Using the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 in a Nefsis Conference
The Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 uses auto-focus technology by default. The result is a clear and crisp image without manual adjustments on the physical webcam. Another big plus with the Quickcam Pro 9000 is the number of resolutions it supports. There is little information in Logitech’s documentation or website about resolution in general. A quick look at the camera through the DirectX layer, we see this particular webcam supports many video resolutions. The results are quite astonishing actually; the Quickcam Pro 900 is capable of using a wide range of video resolutions ranging from 160 x 120 to as high as 1600 x 1200! This alone makes this webcam stand out from its rivals.
The complete list of resolutions supported by the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 is displayed below.
160x120, 176 x 144, 320x240, 352x288, 640x480, 800x600, 960x720 and 1600x1200
Verdict
The Quickcam Pro 9000 is one of the best webcams I have tested in Nefsis. It produces fantastic video image quality and offers a wide array of video resolutions. It is easy to mount on a LCD screen and the body style is not intrusive – very sleek in design. This price is really affordable, $99 list but you can find this webcam for under $80 on Google Shopping. Again, this is a great webcam and highly recommended for users wanting to video conference in Nefsis.
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