| Product: |
Microsoft Xbox Live Vision |
| Date: |
22/07/09 (50 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Easy to use, plugs in and nothing further required, adjustable focus, long cable.
Disadvantages: Expensive, not so great at colours on some of the games it works in conjunction with.
We have had our Xbox 360 for around 18 months now and never had it previously occurred to me that there might be a camera (read - webcam) available for it and it wasn't something that I would have been bothered about buying either.
I found this Xbox Live Vision Camera in HMV with the You're In The Movies game for just £14.99 and this prompted me to flutter my eyelashes at my fiancé and see if he would be willing to buy it at such a cheap price. The answer was yes and I was babbling away about what a saving he'd made compared against the buy alone price of around £34.99 in most Xbox 360 accessory selling stores (good old iPhone!).
The camera is off white and grey in colour and there is an adjustable lens which you simply twist to get the picture in focus. It can be swivelled 45 degrees left, right, up or down and this is ideal for when you have a taller or smaller person who wants to be in the picture for a game or chat and you don't want to have to keep adjusting the camera. The camera is simple to set up and you just need to plug it in to the Xbox 360 on the USB port and then it's ready for use in a few of the Xbox 360 games or to chat on Xbox Live with friends, relatives or people you don't even know.
The games that I have used it with are Uno (Xbox Arcade game), Viva Pinata - Trouble in Paradise & Tiger Woods 08. In Tiger Woods it is possible to take two photographs of you self (front shot and side shot) and then have the game put your face on to a character in the game. I find that my face looked very grey and then if I edited the colour I ended up with green or dark looking patches around my eyes. I was disappointed that the character didn't look like me too much (my fiancé agreed) but as I didn't actually get the camera for this purpose it wasn't too upsetting.
I have used the camera for chatting with friends and family on Xbox Live and will continue to do so as it's great to be able to see friends and family around the world and show them where I am (I house sit sometimes and it's nice for them to meet the pets I'm looking after) and who I'm with etc. I also love seeing my friends little ones running around in the background and even just have a few games against my nieces and nephews! I'm quite pleased with the picture and whilst it's not as good as the best webcam I've ever used.
The camera can also be used for adding a photograph of yourself to your gamertag but I haven't bothered with this :D
Overall I am going to rate this 3/5 as it's great for the price I paid but overpriced at the full price. It's useful for chatting to friends and it can be used in a few Xbox 360 games now for additional features such as recording your face when you get beaten in a game of Burnout Paradise. One of its redeeming features is the very long lead which allows it to be moved almost anywhere on my desk or shelving and means I don't have to worry about damaging it when doing so.
Summary: A relatively average gaming camera that works well as a webcam for Xbox Live chat.
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