I am leaving on business soon and I'd like to get a webcam to communicate with family. What is decent for the money and is reliable?

I'm covered with a 1.3MP built in to my laptop, but I'd like to see my son decently clearly with a good frame rate. I'll have access to a dedicated T3, but they'll only have 5-7mbps internet here, if that makes any difference.

8/16/2008 1:11:54 AM

^ 5-7mbps would be fine. However, that assumes that you get anything near that in upload bandwidth. If they're on campus, they actually will. Also, 1.3 megapixel (if that's the image quality with video capture and not just still images) is about HD quality. Obviously, that's not what the capture quality for video will be since most webcams don't look that good.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/38/3056&cl=us,en

If the built-in webcam isn't good enough for you, these (and their slightly cheaper cousin the quickcam notebook pro) would be a good option. You'll notice they are also 1.3 megapixel cameras; its important to note that the video capture quality is up to 720p. This means that you should be able to record HD video with it and get the best video chat your bandwidth can handle.

Should be able to find it for about 75 bucks or less. Hell, even the bookstore has them for 75 bucks.

[Edited on August 16, 2008 at 9:00 PM. Reason : Oops, actually it's a 2 megapixel camera. ]

8/16/2008 8:59:14 PM

thanks man i appreciate your help.

8/16/2008 11:51:31 PM