After a couple years of hybrid work and video conferencing being a normal part of our everyday life, we’re all looking for ways to up the ante. How are you improving your video conferencing? Have you invested in a ring light? Or made the perfect Zoom background?
Sometimes the best enhancements come with the tools you’re using. And if you’re still working with the built-in webcam on your laptop in 2022, you’re not utilizing the best tools.
Investing in a quality webcam means you’re investing in clarity in your meetings—in sound, vision, and in the purpose of the meeting. Whether it’s great video quality or top-of-the-line video annotations, we’ve researched the best webcams for your hybrid work experience.
- Meeting Owl 3
- Poly Studio P15 Personal Video Bar
- Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam
- Anker PowerConf C200
- Razer Kiyo Pro
- Elgato Facecam
For video conferencing
Meeting Owl 3 ($999)
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When you want all the people gathered on your screen to feel like they’re gathering together in the room, you need a video conferencing solution that creates an immersive experience.
The Meeting Owl 3 fits in any space with an intelligent 360° camera, mic, and speaker that gets smarter over time. Sit your Meeting Owl 3 in the center of the room and it will zoom in on whoever is speaking for organic face-to-face interaction. Holding a meeting in a larger conference space? You can even pair two Meeting Owls for a more expansive view of all the speakers in the room.
The Meeting Owl, in its newest form, helps enhance large-scale working meetings. The new Expansion Microphone extends your audio range by 8 feet to catch clear audio on even the longest conference room table. Add-on features like the Whiteboard Owl put your visual aids on clear display no matter where your meeting attendees are.
Poly Studio P15 Personal Video Bar ($449.95)
Gathering a few people in your office for a meeting? Poly Studio’s P15 Personal Video Bar is designed, in their words, to “put your best face forward.”
The Video Bar’s automatic camera framing makes sure the focus is on you, not the busy office behind you (or the chair you’re swiveling in). And with powerful 4K video and a focus on sound technology, this webcam has everything you’d expect from a large-scale conferencing system at desktop size. The P15’s beamforming microphone array lends itself to surround sound conversations with echo cancellation and a background noise blocker.
Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam ($299.99)
Source: Logitech
f you run meetings of all sizes, you need a flexible solution that works for every scenario. While the Logitech may seem like space-age technology, its camera height extender, and omni-directional microphone make it a versatile fit.
The ConferenceCam comes with a remote control that allows you to answer and end calls, control the video pan, tilt, and zoom, and set or mute the volume. With a 78º field of view and a 180º video pan, this webcam is great for small meetings of 5-10 people.
For your personal workspace and streaming
Anker PowerConf C200 ($59.99)
Source: TOMSGUIDE
Anker’s PowerConf C200 is a powerful webcam that provides quality 2K video at an affordable price. The adjustable field of view between 65, 78, or 95 degrees helps you keep the focus on you or include a pal or two on screen. The PowerConf’s dual-stereo microphone includes AI noise cancellation to pick up every syllable while reducing every crinkly paper.
Bonus: PowerConf is portable and easy to use. The easy-latch clip and USB port lets you plug and play no matter where you are.
Razer Kiyo Pro ($199)
Source: BestBuy
The Razer Kiyo Pro is so nice; we’re highlighting it for the second year in a row. It is quickly becoming a favorite for streamers due to its smart adaptive light focus that provides clear image quality in all levels of light.
The Kiyo Pro makes use of Razer’s Synapse software for added touches to your image quality, including brightness, contrast, and white balance. So when the focus of your meeting or webinar is all on you, the Kiyo Pro can help you stay in the spotlight.
Elgato Facecam ($169.99)
Source: Elgato
Elgato’s Facecam is built for webcam users who love video quality. While the FaceCam doesn’t come with a microphone, it can be easily paired with built-in microphones on a computer or with external microphones alike. Plus, the Facecam’s onboard memory helps recall the image settings on each computer you use, making it a portable option for hybrid workers.
Inspired by DSLR cameras, the Facecam image quality can be fine-tuned through the Elgato Camera Hub app, controlling features like field-of-view, contrast, and brightness. The Facecam also pairs with Elgato’s Stream Deck to switch a variety of video settings at the touch of a button. If you’re hosting webinars on the regular and want an easy solution, the Facecam may be right for you.
Whether you’re looking for a webcam for the office or for your home office, quality options are easier to find than ever. Still looking for an all-in-one room solution? Don’t forget about the Meeting Owl 3, which is built with large spaces and small offices in mind.
