Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000

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As is often the way with Logitech’s webcams, this is the most expensive camera in the test, but the justification is a Carl Zeiss lens that fully featured digital cameras would be proud to house.

The Logitech QuickCam’s most interesting feature comes to the fore when you fire up Skype (www.skype.com). The internet telephony service has recently increased the resolution available to use for online video chat to up to 640 x 480 pixels. However, this won’t work with all webcams, whether they can handle the resolution or not, but only with a handful of Logitech models. The QuickCam Pro 9000 is one of them, and the improvement is dramatic, bringing what’s effectively better-than-TV image quality to your internet communications. As long as your computer and your broadband connection can take the strain, full-screen video chats are a reality with this device.

The rest of the features are impressive, too. It has a proper autofocus, which provides crisp, sharp images. You have to sit relatively still though, as it can take a while to catch up with you if you’re dancing around the room.

Although the physical features of the camera are great and the software that comes with it is very easy to use, it lacks some of the other extra-curricular features of its rivals. As has been the case with Logitech for a few generations of camera now, the focus is on communication and fun, and its ability to drop in funny faces and avatars is second to none. The flipside is that you can’t use it straight out of the box for some of the monitoring or security options that you have with competing products from the likes of Philips and Creative.

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