Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 Webcam - Black
by Microsoft
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List Price: Our Price: $28.37 You Save: $21.62 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $15.95 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 Webcam - Black
Customer Review: Good, but buy from a source with return policy
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got the 3000 and it's pretty good, more than adequate for video-calls. Some of the Lifecams (vx-6000/3000) have had problems with the audio. Other audio problems deal with placement: My NX6000 would have static on the one side of my laptop, but moving to the other side took that away. On my laptop, some of the noise came from the computer's fan, so taking it off the computer made it better.
For those new to internet video-calls, most are 320x240, unless you have the high-end Logitech to use the HiQ version of Skype's service(normal service was choppy for me). So the mega-pixels don't really matter as much as the "up to 30 frames per second". Works great with Windows Live.
One difference between the 6000 and the 3000 is that the 6000 has an external lens, which I guess acts like a dust cover. Otherwise the tracking was fine, my computer having at least the recommended system.
I got a used 6000 off ebay that I had to ask for some money back on because of the mic problem: self-recording had a loud ground-type hum and barely any pickup, and video chat was fine for a minute then hum and static crackle (probably loose welds).
The 3000 and 6000 seem to track better than the 7000 I have. All the higher res's don't matter a bit when video-chatting, they're really for vlogging, etc.
The solution I used for my bad-mic vx-6000: Remove rear phillips screw and use flat-blade screwdriver to pry-open case. Wear rubber/latex gloves or other anti-static precautions. Remove the mic (look at rear cover holes) which is a drum like thing off to one side. Clip/cut the RED WIRE ONLY. Re-assemble, then plug in your own mic (headset or other) to your computer and re-configure the Audio Properties to use that mic. This solved the problem so far.
For the accidental pressing of the button: search and rename the file that's called "icepick" on your computer. NOTE: this will also disable that extra desktop icon called "Windows Live Call", so delete it.
Like with all the Lifecams, good lighting will give you the best results, especially good front lighting.
Customer Review: one of the best for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
After some search and comparision with couple logitech webcam model I liked vx-3000 the best in it's price range--with or without the coupon. This camera give me exactly what I need for personal online video conference -- low noise, crisp, clear video stream through adjustable focus, and good low-light capability -- without me paying extra for "high quanlity" still image capability which no matter how good, just can't compare with a good digital camera. I personally don't like Logitech webcam despite they are one of the most popular webcam manufacture (one low-end Creative model I tried in the past isn't good either). Several logitech I tried which were in vx-3000's price range come with HUGE amount of noise -- small spots that show up white where there is actually no light --- especially in low-light condition. vx-3000 got one of the best sigal to noise ratio, say you turn off the light to the entire room during night, a webcam with bad noise ratio will have image with tons of white spots flickering (though there aren't any light) while vx-3000 will show the correct pure black. Also I can't understand why some Logitech hi-end webcam came with FIXED focus, which mean you have to sit at a defined distance from camera to get the best picture. For vx-3000 you can manually adjust the focus by turning the knob surrounding the len. There are talks of softwere problem with vx-3000, i did experience that exactly just once while playing with webcam configure softwere when I'm using webcam with another program, but the problem went away after I reboot and nevered occured again (make sure you get the latest driver from internet). On the other hand, Logitech camera often come with this useless bundle software that eats up system resource. The face tracking option with vx-3000 works fine but I didn't play much with it since it's only digital zoom and only have a limited range and is considered not really useful. Overall, it's a excellent buy for the price and has great quanlity in area needed for video conference.Customer Review: Great Little Webcam! Plus, easy way to do the driver install.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great little webcam. Better than any I've ever used. And indeed it works quite well in low light. Hard to beat for the money.
Best of all, you can throw away the Microsoft installation CD with its 50MB of garbageware. Just plug the camera in a USB port and the camera drivers automatically install. Camera installs as a USB Video Camera and as a USB audio device. Skype finds and uses the camera just fine this way.
I had trepidatiously started with the CD, knowing the capacious amount of Microsoft crapware that would be installed, but even worse, without asking, the CD proceeded to try and download and install Live Messenger, which is enormous piece of s**tware that will take over your system. Fortunately, this failed as the Microsoft download server for Windows Live seemed to be down. I gave up and killed the install. Looking around, nothing at all seemed to have installed, but I did a system restore of the restore point I had done immediately attempting this install, having figured that I might regret installing from the CD.
While I was waiting for all of this, I just plugged the VX-5000 into another computer, and the standard USB camera drivers simply autoinstalled, so I did the same thing on the original system after the system restore completed.
The VX-5000 worked just fine, and worked just fine on Skype.
My advice is to throw the CD away and just plug the thing in.
The two systems I tried this on were both Windows XP.
Expertise level: I work on Windows PC software for a living.
Customer Review: Cost-effective Webcam
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a webcam years ago, a cheapie $15 reject that was uber-crap. I wanted to give this a shot again, and I was pleasantly surprised with this one. MS usually makes decent-quality products, and the price was right with lots of decent reviews (except the idiot who posted bad-quality pictures and didn't seem to get the memo that the lens is "manual adjust" meaning you gotta turn the lens to focus).
The software installation was on a Win7 32-bit OS. It seemed to go on fine, and actually gives you the option to NOT install the MS chat software (Messenger, I think). Big kudos for that.
The driver and preferences software work nicely, although I used it for Skype, which auto-selected the camera just fine. I had to manually set the audio i/p to it's microphone, but that is a simple drop-down menu.
The video quality seems very nice. I chatted with my spouse via Skype from my company's ethernet to his AT&T-networked Viliv (PDA/tablet PC). It worked okay, but I imagine that not connecting through a cell carrier would have helped dramatically.
As for placement, the 6-foot USB cable weighs about as much as the whole camera so that can be an issue. It has rubber pads on the bottom ring for sitting flat, but the ring opens up to hook over a flat panel monitor. It swivels 360-degrees and tilts up and down with a fair amount of range.
Overall, I think this was well worth the twenty-five plus shipping.
I am hoping to try my hand at using to make short video e-mails to send to relatives and friends.
Customer Review: Low cost webcam that really works
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought three of these webcams very reasonably to use on the computers in our house. We had some Logitech webcams that were several years old which did not produce such a great picture. The units are adjustable and fit well on the screens and laptop. Be sure to focus the camera by turning the ring on the unit. I did not use the enclosed CDs to load the software but instead went to Microsoft support site and downloaded the right software. The three computers had three different operating systems: XP,Vista, and 7. The cameras worked very well on all three. The resolution for the cameras were very good and required much less light than our old cameras. I was impressed with the microphone that was in the units. I didn't know what kind of sound quality to expect from a microphone placed in the back of the camera. You could not hear your own voice through the speakers ( so no echo or screaching!) but when we connected to Skype, the sound coming from the other Skype users speakers sounded very good. The software has additonal features like the abilty to e-mail photos and videos. Also there is a very good feature which lets you add about 30 various elements to your face like distortions, Afros, pink wigs, sunglasses,etc. The camera has to have face recognition since these various features move along with your face as you turn it. Overall a good webcam for someone looking to pay very little.