I am generally pleased with this product, although now I only use it for video calls on Skype.
Some reviewers reported audio feedback which made their Skype sessions insufferable. I have not experienced any such problems despite having the cam in front of my speakers and I suspect that these reviewers have an older version of Skype installed which pre-dates the call quality and feedback reduction improvements. For reference, at the time of writing I was using the manufacturer's driver version 5.7.19.121, and version 4.0.0.206 of Skype.
The only problems I have had with this item are as follows:
- Dead pixel. There is one dead pixel on the sensor which is annoyingly right in centre frame and appears as a white dot on video, which leaves a faint trail when there is movement.
- Flexibility. A very minor issue, but the neck is not as flexible as you might hope. It does not like acute angles, and will topple over if it becomes unbalanced.
- Focusing. Can be tricky to focus accurately with the manual focus.
- Whine. When the microphone and video capture are used at the same time, I have noticed a whine in the audio playback. I think this is EM feedback in the microphone caused by the image sensor being powered up. The problem is not evident when using the microphone on its own.
Apart from that, the quality is great. It has great resolution and a whole raft of video effects which can be very fun. Installation is really easy too.
At this price, it's recommended for both Skypers and Youtubers.
** Update: 27/06/09 **
I contacted the manufacturer through their web site and reported the dead pixel. By the end of the day they had shipped a replacement head/neck to me at no charge, as well as prepaid packaging to send the old one back. What excellent service!
Shame the new camera head has three dead pixels as opposed to one, but they are in less prominent places. Also the neck is a lot more flexible and holds its position more happily.