Customize your conference video on a budget
Kensington’s webcam is designed for those who want more control over the video feed than Apple allows with its own FaceTime cameras. The W1050 has a relatively lightweight build but feels solid enough, and a hinged foot that can rest on the top edge of a laptop or monitor or be mounted on a separate stand via its screw thread. The body can be moved through 360–degrees horizontally and 37–degrees vertically, covering any angle you’d realistically want to use. A privacy cover can be slid across the lens when required.
The wide lens has a 95-degree field of view which is quite large if you’re sitting a little way away from the camera, but the Kensington Konnect software can be used to zoom in up to 2x to tighten things up, to pan or tilt, and the webcam's fixed focus works well. The 1080p image is a little dark out of the box but does benefit from some tweaking using the app, correcting for ambient light with brightness, contrast and saturation sliders that can be saved as presets. There are also effects presets to tweak the look of the video, which are mostly useful.
The webcam has two microphones for stereo audio and the noise canceling does a good job of isolating your voice, even if the overall audio is a little thin. The USB cable is fixed to the back of the body and at the other end is USB–A, so you may need an adaptor. It’s possible to use the camera right away with all popular conferencing apps, but it’s worth downloading the free software to customize the look of the video. For everyday conferencing this is a definite upgrade for older Macs, though power users should look at pricier alternatives.
Features: 1080p resolution, fixed focus lens, Kensington Konnect software, privacy cover
Price: $49.99
An affordable webcam with handy software controls.
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