Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000
Manufacturer: Logitech Part number: 961239-0403
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Bottom Line:
- The Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 balances great Webcam video with an affordable price.
Read more
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CNET editors' review
Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 price range: $117.99
- Reviewed by: Jay Munro
- Reviewed on: 12/08/2002
- Updated on:12/11/2002
- Released on: 08/14/2002
The good: Solid photo quality; nice low-light capability; consistent exposure/color balance; produces smooth video; comes with decent software.
The bad: ImageStudio live view can't be resized; mount comes apart too easily; flimsy privacy cover.
The bottom line: The Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 balances great Webcam video with an affordable price.
Installing the QuickCam Pro 4000's software is easy: simply drop in the installation CD to grab Logitech's ImageStudio 7.0, Yahoo Messenger, and IM Video Companion. The CD also installs the new Desktop Messenger, a small agent that runs on your machine and automatically updates you about new products. While it's an interesting substitute for spam in your in-box, we still find the occasional pop-up window annoying. The big news here is the IM Video Companion, which lets AIM and MSN Messenger users add video chat. Both participants must have the program installed for this capability to work, though. The service functions with dial-up and broadband connections, but it has trouble when both ends have routers or firewalls. A beta of a new version fixes some of the problems. You can install the IM Video Companion from the QuickCam Pro 4000's installation screen, or you can go directly to Logitech's Web site. Either way, the installation comes from the Web site, and it's free for anyone--not just Logitech camera users.
As with most PC cameras, the majority of the QuickCam Pro 4000's features are in the software. The camera sports a VGA-sized (640x480-pixel) CCD sensor, a glass lens, and a built-in microphone. The top-mounted shutter-release button lets you click off a snapshot using the ImageStudio software, though we found it too easy to hit by accident when positioning the camera. This Webcam also includes a privacy shade that you can flip over the lens if there's someone or something that you don't want the camera to see. This cover is mounted by the dimples on either side of the unit, though, and tends to fall off when bumped.
ImageStudio offers camera settings and control; still or video recording; time-lapse and animation photography; and a nice motion-detector utility. A notify tray icon brings up ImageStudio, as well as the camera control. You can view saved photos as you create them using the My Gallery utility, which also includes some modest editing capabilities. Still images are saved as JPEGs, while video is stored in the AVI format. If you click this QuickCam's E-mail Video button, the software compresses your AVI file into the Microsoft Windows Media (WMV) format. Interestingly, ImageStudio saves compressed videos to a file rather than firing up your default e-mail client. However, you can specify an alternate e-mail client from the Settings dialog box. You can also choose Compress from the QuickView window's Save As dialog box and select any compression codec that's present on your system. Our 2.1MB test clip shrank to 86K as a WMV file. While quality suffers in the compressed version, it's fine for sending baby pictures to Grandma.
As previously mentioned, the My Gallery utility provides very rudimentary image editing and the ability to add text to video. For more involved editing and special effects, you'll want to load MGI's bundled VideoWave SE 4.0 and PhotoSuite SE 4.0 applications. For a USB camera, video performance is good. You can capture 160x120 and 320x240 video at 30 frames per second (fps) with a reasonably fast PC. We tested the QuickCam Pro 4000 with a 1GHz machine and produced a 30fps video with a well-synchronized audio track. Audio quality with the camera mike is fine for normal speech. At 640x480, the frame rate drops to 15fps, though movement still appears smooth. We noticed very little blurring on normal movement in videos, something that has dogged all of the Veo cams.
When taking photographs, we found a delay of one to two seconds using the camera's Snapshot button. However, the Take A Picture control in ImageStudio grabs a shot at once. In both cases, the audio shutter sounds immediately, which is misleading when using the button on the camera since the photo is captured a second or two later. The VGA image sensor and the lens produce generally sharp photos, with the ability to focus down to 0.25 inches. The barrel distortion that plagued the earlier Logitech 3000 is gone, though the angle of view has been reduced slightly. The automatic white balance gives consistent color between different light sources, but overall color balance tends toward cool. Logitech has reduced the default color-saturation level, which more accurately reproduces colors but with less pop. If you are used to the rich color of the 3000, the QuickCam Pro 4000's photos will appear flat. Logitech claims that it has heard complaints from men who looked like they were wearing lipstick in the overly saturated images.
The camera's autoexposure performance is impressive. When going from dim to bright light, the QuickCam Pro 4000 recovered quickly and with a minimum of exposure bounce, providing better results for video recording. We also found consistent exposure between still images shot from at 4 to 500 foot-candles (40 to 5,000 lux) of lighting. In some of our tests, we got slightly better photos with the 640x480 setting than we did at smaller resolutions. The interpolated Megapixel setting (1,280x960) produced pleasing photos, though in lower light, we saw artifacts and streaking--especially in darker areas.
User reviews
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'Simple' Redefined!
by faraztariq on December 3, 2005
Pros: Quality Picture, Durable, Stylish, Good Sized Image
Cons: Image quality affected by lighting at times, Face-Track feature not Perfect
Summary: I bought the camera over one month ago for use in Video Conferencing with my parents back home, since I am a student. I researched webcams for over a month ...
Summary: I bought the camera over one month ago for use in Video Conferencing with my parents back home, since I am a student. I researched webcams for over a month before I selected this one - and the reason was simple - it had the best reviews both my users and experts, and if you even run a CNet search of webcams you will note it is the best webcam listed. It is very cheap, especially on Ebay, if you were to buy a refurbished one without the LCD Clip.
The Face-Track feature isn't that great because when the camera zooms on your face the image quality reduces. At other times, the camera zooms or tracks some other part of the face, so that the face is always towards a side.
To summarise: A good webcam for video conferencing and at the moment, no better webcams available in the market for even three times this one's price.11 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Buy, but MSN IM Audio is a pain!
Pros: This is a product from the Jetsons! I never would have expected something this cool to be so affordable and fun to use. I also like being able to send video clips via email.
Cons: Getting it to work can be difficult! The ONLY WAY I can get a video conference (with sound) using MSN Messenger is to bypass my router (both parties must do this to work) and connect directly to the cable modem. The firewall on the router for some reaso
9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Conflicts with my TV tuner card but still an adequate Webcam
by johnysavage on September 3, 2005
Pros: Pretty much average quality in all areas but that's to be expected from a webcam.
Cons: Installation not for novices. Just hope you don't have any technical difficulties with it. It's a pain to get any support. It conflicts with my TV Tuner card
Summary: This was my first webcam purchase. I decided to listen to CNET's reviews even though the User's opinions showed a completely different score. I actually read one user'...
Summary: This was my first webcam purchase. I decided to listen to CNET's reviews even though the User's opinions showed a completely different score. I actually read one user's opinion that said it might conflict with a TV Tuner card but I thought that wouldn't apply to my tuner card. I have a Hauppage WinTV 350 installed in my pc.
I installed the software the first time and everything seemed to go great. There are two steps to the installation, one of them comes after a reboot. The installation is not very straight forward, I was somewhat confused and I consider myself to be above average in my knowledge of computers.
Everything worked great for a few months. The image quality is pretty good for a webcam and the microphone is above average in my opinion. My friends all have webcams and this one beats theirs hands down.
I moved just a month ago and when I set up my computer with the webcam, it stopped working in MSN messenger which is the service I use. Instead of the camera turning on when I tried to have a video conversation, I got video from my TV card. There are no input options in Messenger to change to input so I can't figure out how to fix this problem.
It seems to work fine in Yahoo! Messenger, but none of my friends use Yahoo, so I'm pretty much screwed. I'm hoping Google's Messenger will add video service soon.
Other than this minor conflict, the camera seems to be adequate in all other areas. I would recommend it if you don't have a tuner card and if you aren't a novice computer user.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Logitech Lies About USB 2.0 Compatibility!!!
by richard_smaglick on August 15, 2005
Pros: none none none
Cons: NOT as USB 2.0 Camera
Summary: This camera is described as USB 2.0 compliant on the box. High resolutions and high frame rates are specified. After about 15 hours of setup time with this camera (...
Summary: This camera is described as USB 2.0 compliant on the box. High resolutions and high frame rates are specified. After about 15 hours of setup time with this camera (I'm an embedded systems developer who designs networking hardware), a call to Logitech, three hours on the phone with the manufacturer of my USB 2.0 interface card and two hours on the phone with Logitech customer support (they swore up and down that you could establish a USB 2.0 high speed connection but wouldn't set one up on their end despite the fact that they had a camera and a USB 2.0 equipped computer in the office), I called logitech engineering. They told me flat out that this camera never was and never will be capable of USB 2.0 operation or the smooth high resolution operation that goes with it.
This is a cheap camera. False claims allow them to sell it for a premium price.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good camera, need software to run it with ichat but good for the price
by Dragoth on June 13, 2005
Pros: Good color, fast responsive cam, clear images
Cons: Not the greatest of webcams for a laptop, would be nice to have a different mount.
Summary: This is a good cam if you want just that, a good webcam at a good price, however this isn't some isight or anything like that. Despite that the ...
Summary: This is a good cam if you want just that, a good webcam at a good price, however this isn't some isight or anything like that. Despite that the quality is good, offers true and accurate images. My only complaints however is it's mount, you can't switch it out for one that'd work better with laptops, or purchase a simple stand.
Lasting impressions are that it is a good cam, does it's job well, and hasn't generated any serious complaints from me. For it's price is does a good job at delivering quality pictures and you wont be disapointed.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good clear pics
by jimst2258 on April 8, 2007
Pros: cam is good but
Cons: theres no adjustment for HUE in the downloaded software
Summary: Can not figure why Logitech did not have a way to adjust HUE with this cam ,you could do so with earlier Qucikcam version
Summary: Can not figure why Logitech did not have a way to adjust HUE with this cam ,you could do so with earlier Qucikcam version
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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One of the Best
by pdaug on April 12, 2006
Pros: Great little camera
Cons: It would be nice to have a clip for the iMac
Summary: I use this on my home iMac and it works great. Most of the negitive comments I read on this are folks using MSN or Yahoo IM. I say to ...
Summary: I use this on my home iMac and it works great. Most of the negitive comments I read on this are folks using MSN or Yahoo IM. I say to that. Get a real VoIP service. I use it on Skype and it works perfect. The only thing I would like to be able to do is clip it to the side of my moitor. This would require the camera to rotate the video but would be a nice feature.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Sometimes, simple is better!
by cplair on January 4, 2006
Pros: Great for both novice and pros! Excellent software!
Cons: No negativity about this at all!
Summary: The Quick Cam Pro 4000 is reliable, easy to use and inconspicuously discrete.
It comes stocked with image studio software that has everything a person needs for a web cam....Summary: The Quick Cam Pro 4000 is reliable, easy to use and inconspicuously discrete.
It comes stocked with image studio software that has everything a person needs for a web cam.
I paid a little more for this web cam than my friends were willing to spend for theirs, and they envy my decision everytime we meet for a web conference!
I had never owned a web cam prior to my purchase, and the simplicity of the Quick Cam Pro 4000 made my introduction to web cams a no brainer!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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It does the job I bought it for
by J C Schaefer on March 7, 2007
Pros: It is Logictech, and it is a Pro
Cons: Lens cover needs improvement
Summary: I purchased this to use for photographing small Items for a catalog, the megapixel function workes well with the tripod mounting ability.
Summary: I purchased this to use for photographing small Items for a catalog, the megapixel function workes well with the tripod mounting ability.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great camera for the money
by adonn78 on December 26, 2005
Pros: nice still pics, good in low light, okay micriphone.
Cons: flimsy stand that falls apart easily, usb1.1 inrerface
Summary: This camera is good. I have been using it for about 3 years now. the micriphone is decent, the image quality is good even in low light conditions. The stand ...
Summary: This camera is good. I have been using it for about 3 years now. the micriphone is decent, the image quality is good even in low light conditions. The stand is awful and the camera often falls off the stand. And the video is not jerky free! BEcause it uses the old USB 1.1 interface. get a newer logitec camera with USB 2.0 and a noise cancelling micipphne like the Orbit MP. get it only for just over $100. Why buy old technology?
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Logitech
- Part number: 961239-0403
- Description: Video enthusiasts get ready... this QuickCam was made just for you. By combining a digital zoom, built-in microphone, and high-quality VGA CCD sensor, the QuickCam Pro 4000 lets you express your creativity like a pro. Now you can create amazing videos and shoot 1.3 megapixel still photos with ease. Or add live video to Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, and AIM while you chat. You may also make live video calls, set up a video monitoring system, or send photos and video along with your email. You can even add video to your eBay auctions. Enhance the way you communicate and animate your life.
General
- Device Type Web camera
- Connectivity Technology Wired
- Optical sensor type CCD
- Software Included Yahoo! Messenger,
SpotLife VideoSnap,
Drivers & Utilities,
Logitech IM Video Companion Camera
- Type Color
- Max Digital Video Resolution 640 x 480
- Still Image 1280 x 960
Image Sensor
- Type CCD
Lens Construction
- Focus Adjustment Manual
Interfaces
- Computer Interface USB
Expansion / Connectivity
- Interfaces 1 x USB - 4 pin USB Type A
Miscellaneous
- Microsoft Certifications Certified for Windows Vista
Software / System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP,
Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000 - Min Processor Type Celeron 500 MHz
- Min RAM Size 64 MB
- Min Hard Drive Space 200 MB
- Peripheral / Interface Devices Sound card,
USB port,
Speakers,
CD-ROM - System Requirements Details Windows 98/2000/ME/XP - RAM 64 MB - HD 200 MB,
MacOS X 10.1.5 - 10.2.6 Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 2 years
- Service & Support 2 years warranty
Product series
-
Manufacturer: Logitech
Specs: Web camera,
1 x USB - 4 pin USB Type A,
Drivers & Utilities,
MGI VideoWave III,
MGI Photosuite SE,
1 x USB cable - 9 ft,
F/2.0,
Metallic silver -
Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks
Manufacturer: Logitech
Specs:
-
Manufacturer: Logitech
Specs: Web camera,
1 x USB - 4 pin USB Type A,
Yahoo! Messenger,
SpotLife VideoSnap,
Drivers & Utilities,
Logitech IM Video Companion -
Manufacturer: Logitech
Specs: Web camera,
1,
300,
000 pixels,
1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A,
Logitech QuickCam,
1 x USB cable - 9 ft
