If the webcam has a wide FOV, then it will likely have distortion that makes straight vertical lines on the sides curve. If that will bother you, look for a narrower FOV, or for a webcam that uses multiple lens elements, which can combat distortion. Microphones Elgato’s Camera Hub app also offers DSLR-level granular control over your video feed. Exposure compensation, contrast, colour temperature and saturation are all adjustable and you can even take full manual control of the camera’s shutter speed and ISO. In fact, for many, it's as vital as having the best PC or the best laptop. And you’ve been relying on your phone camera or your laptop’s low-resolution webcam for video calls, it's high time that you upgrade to a stand-alone webcam that offers better video quality and perhaps a higher resolution - particularly if you’re using it for work meetings.

It’s a brilliant camera for bog-standard video calls, too, with sharp image quality, good audio via integrated stereo microphones, decent natural colours by default and excellent overall build quality. The only slight gripe we have is that the cable is a little on the short side. The Logitech HD Webcam C310 is a solid option for those who just can’t splurge on a webcam. It's perfect for anyone just needing to get onto that Zoom or Skype call and be seen clearly.

Resolution & Frame Rate

You want something for content creation: There are fairly affordable webcams out there that offer better quality videos for content creation and streaming. With crisp 1080p HD resolution and fantastic lighting and color detection at an affordable price, this fan-favorite webcam hits a spot in the market that struggles to see any substantial competition and is still one of the best performing webcams on the market today, though we feel the Razer Kiyo Pro is the new top dog when it comes to webcams right now. It's got a built-in mic, though the audio quality is disappointing. The mic performs noise cancellation, but you can't turn it off or adjust it, and I heard quite a bit of popping and tinniness on my end.

Even 720p is perfectly adequate for general video chat purposes – until the iPhone 7, it was the resolution for all iOS FaceTime calls. However, 1080p makes more sense for making videos or streaming purposes and allows you to take advantage of zoom and pan features without completely ruining the image quality. As webcams don’t have zoom lenses, these functions effectively just crop part of the 1080p image and expand it to fill the screen, thus lowering the effective resolution. 4K is better still, but it remains overkill for most of us. In fact, while there are some 4K webcams targeting boardrooms and YouTube streamers, you might not want others to see a close-up of your face in that much detail. Does a high resolution guarantee good image quality? You need a cheap webcam: This is an expensive webcam and there are certainly cheaper products on the market for anyone who can't stretch their budget. You need higher-resolution footage: Limited to 720p, this isn't going to offer the sharpest image quality.You need a wide field of view: The StreamCam is set to a 78-degree FOV, so you can't get any wide room shots.

Since more communication is happening online these days, it’s crucial to have your zoom calls with friends and video conferencing meetings that are crystal clear. And, that means you need to invest in one of the best webcams for your computer setup. It’s true that most laptops or all-in-one computers already come with a webcam installed but having a dedicated one will offer more features and higher resolutions. Nexigo's software isn't pretty, but some of it's a lot more functional than much of what I've used. For instance, the manual white balance actually works well along a continuum rather than just giving you a choice between too pink or too green. It also allows you to save presets for all the adjustable settings. It doesn't currently work with MacOS Monterey, so I couldn't test that, but the company promises an update to support the latest version of the OS within the next couple of months. The magnetic mounting, for example, not only makes it easier to handle - it just snaps onto the included mount - but also allows you to switch between landscape and portrait modes, the latter of which should be ideal for social media content creation. There's also Auto Framing, which we found to be incredibly intuitive and responsive, ensuring that you're very much in the middle of the frame no matter how much you're moving. Some webcams are designed primarily for desktop use, while others have been built to attach to a monitor or laptop lid. This will impact everything from their size and weight to the length of the cable and the way the webcam is supported or mounted. On the desktop, you want something really steady that allows the camera to sit at a comfortable position tilting upwards to see your face, plus a cable that allows you to position the camera wherever you need it. A tripod mount is a useful asset here, as it enables you to place the webcam on a desktop tripod at approximately the same height as your face. With a laptop webcam you want something light, with a shorter cable and some kind of tilt adjustment, so that you can angle the lid upwards or downwards and still keep your face in view. What other features should you look out for?We found its picture quality to be incredibly high for a webcam. Its light detection is especially good while its dynamic range wide and noise handling to be excellent, which makes this particularly great if you are streaming in low light. You can choose between three different fields of view for different scenes in your Livestream as well, and select either a smooth 1080p 60FPS option for gameplay or a high-res 'HDR' mode for improved video quality during Zoom sessions. Its quality proved to be decent during testing, above average for a webcam. But, it's the mic customizations that really impressed us, allowing you to alter the recording volume, or switch between different optimization modes such as 'Wind’ and 'Music’, as well as a manual Audio Gain Control. For some people, the Logitech Mevo Start will be overkill, offering features that just aren't needed. But for people live streaming events, for example, the Logitech Mevo Start is a brilliant investment. One thing to consider when buying a webcam for a Mac is that there are no controls built into the operating system and Windows doesn't really expose the settings (for good reason). If you want to adjust exposure, zoom, white balance -- anything really -- then the support needs to be built into the specific application or into a utility that comes with the camera. And autoexposure can be wrong at unexpected times. With no autofocus, no microphone and no HDR it isn’t going to be the ideal fit for everyone. However, for quality-conscious streamers looking for a middle ground between a standard webcam and a full-blown DSLR streaming setup, the Facecam is well worth considering.

The Logitech C920 has been one of the best webcams on the market since its release in January 2012, consistently beating out rival products that promise more affordability or better performance – and for good reason. This is a beloved favorite across the entire spectrum of streamers, content creators, and office professionals alike. You need one for meetings and personal video calls: This is a pro-level tool whose prowess and features will only be maximized by pro users. If you’re just a casual user, this is overkill. You already own a decent mirrorless camera: If you already own a camera that would be suitable for streaming with then there's a better choice.Logitech, Razer and other well-known webcam manufacturers can provide a product that is more likely to work well across a wide range of different machines, so whether you're looking to run your camera on a new gaming desktop or an old Chromebook, you should see similar results. Keep in mind that 4K and above webcams can generate a lot of heat, which might be an issue for you if you work in hot environments (prolonged heat may decrease image stability). The metal bodies may be sturdier and sometimes look more attractive, but they also draw heat away from the inside and get hotter to the touch than plastic. The one odd thing about the UltraSharp is that it doesn’t come with a built-in microphone, although that shouldn’t be a problem if you already use a headset or USB microphone on video calls. And improving your environmentwith good lighting or a better angle can frequently enhance the quality of your webcam video more than upgrading the camera itself. And even in an ideal environment, the best webcam won't necessarily deliver great video and audio quality on the other end -- that can depend on the consistency and quality of your network connection as well as the software you're using.Videoconferencing software, for example, tends to aggressively process the video for smoother and more consistent transmission over the network rather than looking great. Price As a result, the Facecam is beautifully optimized for the streaming community, with some of the best software we've ever seen on a webcam to boot.