Webcams Buying Guide
The concept of the webcam was born in 1991 at the University of Cambridge Computer Lab, with a shared coffee pot 
and a group of people who were tired of walking up and down several flights of stairs only to find that the pot was empty. To save themselves a useless trip they set up a camera pointing at the coffee pot, attached it to a video frame-grabber, and wrote a program that would take pictures of the pot every few seconds: now they could see from their computers if walking up and down those flights of stairs would be rewarded with a cup of coffee. Though the coffee cam was shut off in 2001, webcams become more popular every year and are completely changing the way people communicate, teach, and see the world.
How Webcams Work
Webcams are simply small cameras that are connected to a computer via a USB cable. The difference is that, unlike a digital camera which stores images, a webcam transmits the images directly to the computer. The photos are much lower resolution than regular digital camera photos, which allows them to be sent quickly over the internet.
Webcam Uses
Many organizations have webcams that automatically update a picture of a specific location or thing every few minutes. Video conferencing has become popular with companies as it allows for meetings with people who are geographically remote, while universities offer online classes that you can take via webcam. They are also useful for security purposes. Another popular webcam use is video chat : not only can you talk to your cousins on the other side of the world for free over the internet, but you can see them as well! The higher their resolution, the more expensive the cam, but if you want one simply to chat with friends or family, you can get a perfectly good one quite inexpensively. Logitech and Creative Technology are the two major webcam manufacturers.
Types of Webcams
You'll need to decide if you want a streaming webcam or a snapshot webcam. If you're planning on using it for video chat, you'll want a streaming webcam as it will show the images in a constant 'stream': like television, but with jerkier motion and lower image quality. Snapshot webcams take a picture and refresh it every few seconds or minutes, but will not show a continuous video. On the plus side, the image quality is much better.
Quick Picks
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Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 One of the best for image and sound quality, which also makes it more expensive. It comes with excellent software, but unfortunately isn't compatible with Macs. |
Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX A great basic, less expensive webcam. Sound and image quality aren't as good as the more expensive ones, but this user-friendly webcam does the job and has an integrated microphone. |
Hercules Deluxe Optical Glass An inexpensive webcam with solid features, including a built-in microphone and headset. Image quality is not the best, but it's fine for occasional users who want a straightforward webcam. |
Logitech Quickcam Pro for Notebooks This lightweight webcam is designed for use with laptops and has a high-quality Carl Zeiss lens. |
Creative Live! Cam Optia This webcam has some fun extra features, but the drawbacks are a relatively high price and lack of built-in microphone. |
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