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Comment by dont__panic | Hacker News Reader

In all fairness, I just spent a couple of weeks looking into webcams, and I ended up getting a Logitech StreamCam as well -- I almost got a Brio, but from what I can tell, really nice 60fps 1080p on the StreamCam looks better than 4K 30fps on the Brio.

I really like the StreamCam so far, and I would say it's probably the best camera on the market right now for all-purpose video usage (not quite as expensive as the top tier, but 95% of the way there in quality; better looking than the C920/30 webcams you see around a lot of offices).

Ditto on lighting though. I don't use any kind of video-specific lighting, but just putting more lamps on my desk has made a world of difference. And I think the backlighting effect also makes my monitors less stressful on my eyes.

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Agree, it's really good for a webcam given enough light. Without enough light, it turns extremely mediocre - but that's what I've controlled for - and applies to ALL cameras. (A pro camera would make bad lighting less bad, but would always benefit from improved lighting.)

I'm kind of comparing that part of the setup to what pro youtubers use. I don't have the budget for a proper mirrorless though, and it'd be largely wasted on e.g. Google Meet's compression algos - bearing in mind I don't stream public or make youtube videos.

The narrow front profile of the Streamcam was a nice bonus when I just put it on my new Flex arm. I'm super impressed by how well this works, getting the camera eye level in front of my 32"s. Have gone 15 months without one, kicking myself now that I didn't do it earlier - just didn't think of it.

I will have the Elgatos on low/warm setting in between meetings. They're really nice.

The Anker C300 is an excellent choice as well. My video is noticeably better than anyone else with whom I interact and, after appearing on it for a conference, the organizer asked me about my setup and ordered multiple ones for their people.

Ah, solid alternative! I really like the look of the Streamcam on my workstation, which bumps it up in my subjective view... but I can't deny that a standard USB 2 connection would be convenient as well. And some folks even think the C300 has better low-light performance.

I just wish there was an easier way to preview my perceived stream quality over Zoom from a teammate's perspective -- the preview I get in Zoom seems a little bit too perfect to be compressed.

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