The best web camera game

Check out our full Elgato Facecam review. The StreamCam was designed with content creators in mind, as it can easily switch from landscape to portrait by merely rotating the camera. The smart autofocus and exposure take a lot of the guesswork out of setting up the perfect shot too.

Logitech essentially made a better, upgraded version of the C The fact it records at a steady p at 60 fps means this webcam will help produce some genuinely great-looking video. The StreamCam manages to focus consistently, even in low-light environments, like a bedroom or a closet. We don't judge here. Even though the StreamCam is one of the pricier non-4K options out there, the picture quality alone is worth every penny, especially if you're serious about your game streams or video content.

Read our full Logitech StreamCam review. Most readers can stop here. Unless you're looking for specific features in a webcam, then there is no better value than the Logitech C HD Pro. Its sharp p images, paired with a wide field of view and great autofocus, make it a fantastic video conferencing choice.

Low-light performance is great; the noise level didn't shoot through the roof when I turned off a few lights. White balancing was accurate most of the time, too, although the default saturation can make the scene look a little washed out in bright lighting conditions.

Most of the settings can be adjusted through Logitech's Camera App. Streamers should also appreciate C's excellent compatibility with the background replacement app, ChromaCam. All in all, the Logitech C performs its core duties exceptionally well and won't break the bank.

There's also the Ce, for the titans of industry among us, but we prefer the cheaper option. The most important factor when it comes to video image quality is lighting. Good lighting can reduce the need for exposure compensation and curb noise.

The Razer Kiyo Pro has an adaptive light sensor, making it suitable for any lighting condition, even pitch black. It's pretty good if you stream out of a bedroom or any place where you can't rely on decent lighting. The Kiyo's p sensor boasts excellent sharpness and captures plenty of detail. Autofocusing is speedy and its white balance is on point, too. Out of all the webcams I've tested, the Razer Kiyo has the highest color saturation. When lighting is good, it can help add a great deal of vividness to your images.

In darker scenes, however, the saturation boost can make images look pastel-like. We also noticed at wider FOVs, the image takes on a weird fish-eyes quality which might be a bit too distracting for your viewers. Read our full Razer Kiyo Pro review. Dell's new webcam is one of the best 4K webcams you can buy.

As expected, UltraSharp's support for 4K recording gives it videos and pictures wild impressive detail over your standard p webcam.

Its degree field of view can easily capture your entire room and any pets asleep in the corner of your shot. The UltraSharp works well in poorly lit or overexposed rooms. You should note that if you're only using this for work calls, the webcam's picture quality might be nerfed by certain apps like Meet or even Zoom, as you will fall victim to those platforms' video compression.

Best microphone for gaming : make sure you're heard Best capture cards : lessen the load with a dedicated card. Its mount also folds around the camera to protect the lens, making the C a solid portable option. With its unique light ring and p resolution at a faster-than-common 60 fps, the Kiyo can provide a flattering image as you stream video games.

The adjustable ring light can help you get clear video in low light situations—our panel of testers noticed that video samples from this camera were more flattering for faces than the other cameras we tested.

Before joining Wirecutter as an editor and writer, Andrew Cunningham spent more than six years writing about PCs and other gadgets for AnandTech and Ars Technica, and before that he spent five years in IT helping people buy the best tech for their needs. Wirecutter staff writer Melanie Pinola has written about technology and home-office topics for more than 12 years for sites such as Lifehacker, PCWorld, and Laptop Magazine. But a USB webcam can provide better quality and additional features like autofocus for video calls, recording videos, and streaming games to help you look more professional.

We evaluated 13 current webcams for the update to this guide, including our previous picks, new webcams released since the last time we tested, and best-selling cameras from Amazon. A good webcam for most people should meet all of these basic criteria, which we used as guidelines for our research:. Once we narrowed down the field, we took multiple pictures and videos with each webcam under controlled conditions so we could compare them directly.

For each contender, we captured the following:. We then had four Wirecutter staffers—three of them members of our audio and video team—compare the images and videos from the different cameras, without knowing which was which, and rank their quality from best to worst. We used that data, our findings from the previous version of this guide, and notes from other professional reviewers to settle on our picks. All of these webcams are automatically detected by Windows 10, macOS, and other modern operating systems, but fine-tuning certain settings like the field of view is made easier with the help of this software.

The Logitech HD Pro Webcam CS is the best option for most people who need a standalone webcam, thanks to its superb image quality, ease of setup, and helpful but optional software. Its video—p at 30 frames per second—was crisp and clear in our testing, and the autofocus and auto white balance features worked better than those of any of the other webcams we tested.

Logitech introduced the original C back in and updated it in to add the handy privacy shutter. It did just as well as or better than the more expensive Logitech Cx and the Logitech Brio in our previous tests. By comparison, the less expensive C produced darker, less detailed images with overly saturated colors. Like the other webcams we tested, the CS works right out of the box on Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS—just connect its USB-A plug to your computer directly or via an adapter and launch your video-recording or video-chat software of choice.

The CS sits on top of your screen: A fold-out foot braces against the back of your laptop or monitor, while a plastic tab sits in front to hold the camera in place.

More than a few Wirecutter staffers use our previous top pick, the C, as their primary webcam, which is essentially the same as the CS but without the privacy shutter.

We continue to recommend this webcam based not only on our formal research and testing but also on our extensive experience using it every day. However, it still maintained the color balance, and none of the webcams we tested did particularly well in low light except for the Razer Kiyo because of its built-in light ring. Still, there's no denying that this camera probably produces the prettiest images and video on this list.

Assuming you can find a use case for it. What it does have is p 60 fps recording, a fixed focus lens, and live ISO information in its software. But if you spend hours in front of a desk broadcasting to viewers every day, they might be plenty useful for you.

This lets you quickly move about your space and bring new objects on screen without waiting for autofocus to catch up. Read: Elgato Facecam Review. What makes it unique is its zoom. The Ausdom AW shoots zoomed-in video that fits about one head in frame, making it ideal for video chats, but not much else.

But in a nice touch that gives it some added versatility, it will swivel degrees. Its price still makes it cheaper than other options on this list, and while it might not be as reliable as the Logitech C or even the Logitech C, it will work well if you don't want to break the bank. This camera produced bright footage with accurate colors when we reviewed it, in part thanks to its ability to capture at p.

If you prefer to shoot at p, you can also capture footage at 60 fps with this device, which will be useful for game streamers. HDR is another feature here, and in a nice touch, this camera comes with a tripod and can also rotate degrees. Its tilt is a bit more limited, ranging from degrees when pointing down to 30 degrees when pointing up.

If money is no object, then yes, this camera probably takes the best photos and video on this list. Sure, the camera sensors themselves are powerful, but the real magic is the small edits your phone does in real-time to beef up an image before you even see it.

The result is stunning, and even if photography purists will decry the lack of neutrality that comes with your camera editing your photo before you even see it, it does a great job of showing you in your most flattering light. Read: Opal C1 review. Colors were a little warmer than real life in normal lighting conditions, but the angle for my shots was nice and wide while texture was impressively accurate.

This camera also has a few features the c lacks, namely its robust vertical tilt and degree horizontal swivel. Audio recorded on its built-in microphone was clear and loud, though a little sharp and prone to picking up background noise.

But with fidelity that frequently beats the Logitech C and lots of customizability, including multiple field of view options, this is a great choice for those who like to tinker. Whether you're shopping for one of the best webcams or one that didn't quite make our list, you may find savings by checking out the latest Logitech promo codes , Newegg promo codes , Amazon promo codes , Razer promo codes or Micro Center coupons.

Michelle Ehrhardt is an editor at Tom's Hardware. She's been following tech since her family got a Gateway running Windows 95, and is now on her third custom-built system. Her work has been published in publications like Paste, The Atlantic, and Kill Screen, just to name a few.

She also holds a master's degree in game design from NYU. Included in this guide: 1. Specifications FOV: 78 degrees. Video Resolution: p 30 fps. Megapixels: Focus: Autofocus. Reasons to avoid - More likely to sell out - Colors often washed out. Microsoft Modern Webcam. Video Resolution: p, 60fps. Reasons to avoid - Monitor stand can feel insecure. Dell Ultrasharp Webcam.

Video Resolution: 4K, p, p. Focus: Autofocus, Digital Manual Focus. Reasons to avoid - No microphone - Monitor stand can feel insecure. Razer Kiyo. Specifications FOV: 81 degrees. Being at home, you could have fun at play by moving your hands in the atmosphere as if you were playing the Wii but without contraptions in your hand.

Hands-free games are the ones that exploit the monitor webcam or the camera connected to the pc. Thanks to a method of movement detection, webcam matches, although very simple, they are very enjoyable to perform for both children and adults. These games are playable only in the home and not in workplaces or in the workplace as they have the negative effect of making the players that go before the screen look mad.

The sites offering online games using the webcam are numerous, but people who make fun and adorable games available that are not just crap are very few.

In any situation, the webcam has to be connected to the personal computer, or the screen must work. You can check game server hosting. Filming is never visible or recorded on the outside. To select the games, you have to flick through the list with your hand and then press okay with your hand on the bottom left button.