a cut above the rest in the webcam world (Creative Webcam Live! Ultra for Notebooks)

Member Name: rxbeef

Product:	Creative Webcam Live! Ultra for Notebooks
Date:	17/08/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: looks good, does everything it's supposed to

Disadvantages: bit pricey

With the help of some vouchers I managed to snag this cute little webcam for just £35. The main things I was after when I bought this, were a webcam that wasn't too heavy, would look good and would be powerful enough to provide a good image on programs such as MSN messenger. I also like to make videos occasionally so this was extra important to me.

The first thing I noticed was quite how much packaging this came in. While it was well protected and not that hard to get into, I did feel as though it was quite excessive and was probably not doing very much to help our environment. Other than that, the item looked good and more importantly looked as though it was going to be of considerable quality.

The webcam itself is very sturdy and doesn't feel very cheap, because it isn't at all, and the only issue I had was when trying to clip it onto my dad's laptop. His screen is a lot thicker than mine and so there was a bit of a problem trying to stop it from sliding off. Mine on the other hand was absolutely fine.

The quality of the images when using a webcam are very, very good. It's not like watching a live televised news feed or anything, but you can certainly see enough detail and there is very little, if any, graininess. The settings can also be tweaked to get the best out of your situation, for instance the lighting in your room.

As I mentioned before, I also like to make videos and so it was important to me that this would be able to fulfil that requirement. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the camera came with some software, which enabled you to record video. It didn't however, provide any editing software, so that is something to keep in mind. Like the webcam, you can adjust the recording settings to get the best out of your lighting situation.

On the whole this webcam does everything it's supposed to. It looks the part, is sturdy and takes most reasonable videos. If you are a budding movie director, this isn't the camera for you, but it is certainly worth the extra pennies for a cut above the rest webcam.

Summary: a nifty webcam for those who will get a lot of use out of it

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