Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 Webcam

Having scanned the web for all current alternatives I settled on this Quickcam Pro 4000, because it uses a CCD (cheapest one I could find with a CCD), was reported to having a long lead, and it came with a stand specifically designed for attaching to a TFT.

Now that I have used it for a few days (with Yahoo messenger) I can say that I am very happy with its general performance. I get good quality pictures in a dimly lit room (100W bulb covered by lampshade) and can confirm that colour reproduction is very good too. The lead is long enough, and I have had none of the problems noted by other reviewers regarding the weight and thickness of the lead, though I could envisage problems if the majority of the weight of the lead was hanging unsupported on the universal positioning joint. The privacy cover is badly designed but then again what's the point of it in the first place? - a non issue. The bendy TFT stand is very good and fixes the camera securely.

I can confirm that the face tracking software is great for about 5 minutes after which the novelty wears off and the option gets switched off for good.

My only complaint is with the clip that attaches the stand to the webcam - on mine it stuck out slightly too far and allowed the camera to wobble slightly on the stand - I had to unscrewed the grub screw and file a bit off - now its perfect. I'm assuming that this was just a manufacturing problem on my particular webcam as the mechanical design is very good/well thought out.

So as I said previously I am very happy with it and it does deliver everything it says it should in the specification. Value for money - well that depends on how you look at it. If you have suffered bad picture quality in artificial light, a short lead, and a webcam that keeps popping off your TFT when it feels like it, for as long as I have - then yes its definitely worth the money.

Even in a darkened room with a background light, the quality is very good. But the real beauty of this versatile cam is the auto-zoom and the face following feature, a little unnerving at first, but it makes for excellent quality video-streaming.

I have it sat on top of my flat screen LCD monitor, the included bendy-hook is most welcome, as flat surfaces are a premium on most work desks.

The included software is adequate, and the ability to take video or still image, with a timer is also a boon. I haven't installed the movie editor, as I don't want to make movies, but the basic camera manager is more than adequate for most needs.

The only complaint I have, is that the picture quality is so high, warts and all is the only way to describe the effect. A great camera at a more than reasonable price for what you get. Logitech have done it again!

I can't comment on the microphone as I've not yet had chance to use it. The little bit of testing gives the impression that its *adequate* at best.

Now, a word of warning... My cam with with 8.0.2 drivers for Windows and the install went rather awry on my XP Pro (SP-2) PC. The nice quick fix is a trip to the logitech site and get the new driver installers before you let it near your PC, but I can forsee it causing a couple of headaches for the more technically nervous...

So - fab camera - naff install which is easily resolved and shouldn't put you off too much.