I find the C910 most appealing among all webcams out in the market today. Logitech has made a smart move with the evolution of their webcams from the traditional sphere shape to a more contemporary and stylish rectangular shape. The sophistication in C910’s form together with Logitech’s classic combination of matte and sleek black design makes it eye candy.
The C910 is equipped with high-precision autofocus Carl Zeiss Tessar optics glass lens which makes it stand out from the rest of Logitech’s latest HD lineup. Its auto-focus capability is quite slow, with barely 3-5 seconds of delay, as it adjusts to varying light settings. The camera automatically zooms in the subject and pans around as the subject moves within its viewing field.
Picture quality is okay. It somehow falls short in vibrancy and contrast under bright light. Nonetheless, the 10-MP camera can produce really clear and detailed snapshots. To best test this skill, I took a few snapshots of texts in documents. Surprisingly, each and every letter on the document was remarkably visible on the captured images. Quality remained the same regardless of which angle you’re shooting from.
Just like the C600, the device works well even with the lights completely turned off (and the monitor as the only source of light). Thanks to Logitech’s RightLight 2 Technology, the device can automatically balance out light sources, especially in places with poor lighting conditions.
With RightLight 2 and higher specs combined, the C910 is a lot more comfortable to use in the dark compared to C600 as your face can still be clearly projected on the screen even at 1 foot away from the camera. In the case of the latter, you cannot move farther than 6 inches away should you use it in the dark.
Webcams generally do not perform up to par with camcorders or even with digital cameras, not for this one though. In 1080p HD mode, I can say that this device produces best video quality among all webcams up to date. Artifacts are not evident when videos are played in the bundled video application as it automatically reduces the size of the video.
Compression artifacts become fairly noticeable when played in full screen using Windows Media Player. Nevertheless, recorded images appear sharp and smoothly animated. Uploading pictures and videos can be done in just a snap using the webcam’s software.
For live chats (as well as HD video recording), it is recommended to use 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip or faster, 2GB RAM, USB 2.0 port and 1MB/sec upload speeds. The device works well in 720p only when 1MB/sec connectivity requirements are met. I noticed that video quality was impressive both in Skype and Yahoo! Messenger and optimal in Logitech Vid. Nevertheless, the differences were only minimal.
I immediately had great expectations on the unit’s sound quality when I saw the two microphones margining the lens. High quality sound may not be the device’s core feature, but for me, it’s C910’s strongest feature. Powered with RightSound technology, the embedded microphones can greatly pick up voices and other sounds no matter how soft the sound is.
My friends were able to understand my words even when I just whispered. They also had no issues hearing me even when I moved farther away from the device.
One thing I found most appealing in C910 is its Face-recognition Login feature. Using Sensible Vision’s FastAccess facial recognition software, you can protect your PC or laptop without using codes which can be very confusing at times – especially for forgetful people like me. The program may be used together with other login tools (ex. Biometric login, etc). However, it is not recommended.
I was excited to give this feature a try. I downloaded Sensible Vision’s 60-day Free Trial three times using three different sources, but unfortunately, it did not work on my laptop. Including FastAccess “101” in the manual probably would’ve been very helpful.
Overall, I find this ideal in presentations and demonstrations, especially when it has to be done online. With all of its amazing features, expect it to be a bit pricey.
For as long as you come complete with all of the system requirements, it’ll all be worth it.
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