Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2009
The Quickcam Pro 9000 is probably the best webcam on the market, and Logitech has done a great job making it both high-quality, and easy to use. Granted, the camera is one of more expensive out there, but you'll be getting your money's worth.
Unboxing:
When you first get the box home you'll be able to see the camera sitting at the very top of the box encased in plastic. The box opens from the bottom, and all of the packaging slides easily out. Inside you'll find: the camera, installation Disc, a quick start guide, and an "Important Information" slip. The quick start guide will walk you through the installation in 12 easy steps in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, as well as providing support numbers should anything go wrong. The Information slip has some FCC warnings, and Warranty Information inside. No true "manual" but I hardly read those anyway. The camera itself was still inside it's plastic enclosure, and once that was removed, the camera easily came out.
Craftsmanship:
The camera itself seems very sturdy. All of the hinges seems strong, and have a very stiff rotation, something thats nice considering that this will be sitting on top of my monitor. On one half you have the camera, with a small button which takes pictures automatically, on the other side you have a microphone. Everything seems to be of the highest build quality, and I would fully expect this thing to last for a very long time.
In terms of setup, I messed around with a few different configurations to see what was the best way to actually set the camera up. Logitech has made a nice system to use the camera on top of monitors. A small catch sits on the front of the monitor, while the hinged leg props it up to the proper angle. Even with my hefty 2" thick monitor, I found that the camera sat stably. I also tried to use the camera as a stand, and attempted to use it sitting on my desk, this did not go so well. A combination of the single leg, and the bulging camera made almost every setup on my desk unstable. The leg does not have enough width to keep the camera from falling over, and even when I tried using the camera to stabilize against the desk, the bulging camera caused it to still tilt slightly. In the end I had to resort back to the standard top of the monitor setup, a tad bit disappointing, but absolutely nothing deal breaking.
Software:
Just as a test, I plugged the camera right into my system, just to see how well it works as a Plug and Play. At the time, I am running Windows 7, and found that within a moment, my camera was up and ready to use. Starting up Skype to double check, the camera was indeed working. I then unplugged it and decided to run the instalation disc to see what it included. The disc came with drivers, Logitech Webcam Software, and a program called Logitech Vid (essentially Logitech's version of Skype). The included software was excellent, far exceeding my expectations. The Webcam Software will be your main way to access anything to do with you camera. That includes settings, camera, video, video effects, as well as links to programs (like Skype, GMail video, video editing software, and even YouTube). I was overall impressed with the ease of use of the software, as well as the many settings that can be changed. Also a fun side note is just how fantastic the video effects are.
Logitech included effects that change the way the video outputs. The video filters will pinch, twist and warp the video like a fun house mirror, as well as invert colors, or posterize the image, something Mac's have done for a while with photobooth. However Logitech has also included filters that go a bit further then that. The first one adds props to the image, such as add glasses, hats, eye patches, and other fun things to whomever is in the frame. Also added are Avatars, which tracks your facial movements and transfers those movements to a 3D character, such as a shark or a stick figure, then overlays that character over the video, making it seem like the avatar is the one making the video. And the last filter Logitech added is one that cuts your eyes and mouth out of the video and places them on a still image, such as the Mona Lisa. The result is a talking, blinking Mona Lisa. I should mention that some of these filters worked best with one person, centered in the shot, with good lighting. They did work with multiple people, but the camera had a little bit of a hard time deciding who to put the props on, or where the face actually was. However in the end, It still worked fantastically well. These are great little toys, and I enjoyed messing around with all of them, especially with friends around.
Image Quality:
This is where Logitech really hit the nail on the head. The image quality is astounding. You can take up to 8MP images, and 720p video captures. The images were sharp and clear, and the video was excellent. Color-wise, Logitech also exceeds expectations. Colors were clear and vibrant, and thanks to some clever software, lighting was always just right. The images were also always in focus. I really couldn't ask for anything more from a webcam. Logitech also allows you to manually adjust the color levels, brightness, and focus on your own, but the software did such a great job, I found it wasn't really necessary.
On skype I found that I came through great. I was told the video looked great, and there was no choppy image. Also, Microphone quality was up there, they had no problem hearing, or understanding me on the other side of the line.
Conclusion:
Overall Logitech impressed me. With such a high price tag, my expectations were admittedly very high, but they managed to meet every expectation, and in certain areas exceed them. Image quality was top of the line, video capture was excellent, and build quality was impressive. The software was where Logitech really surprised me. rarely do the manufacture's put so much effort into making a satisfying software suite. This will be one of the few that I will use on a day to day basis. In the end, if you can afford the price tag, and really want the best from your webcam, Logitech's Quickcam Pro 9000 is the best choice.
Pros:
+Video/Image Quality
+Build Quality
+Great Software
+Sturdy Stand
+720p Video Output
+Built in Mic
+Looks Nice
Cons:
-Hard to stand up on a desk/table top.
