A good percentage of the working population used to run their businesses online. Now that most people have to work from home to pay bills due to the pandemic, then it is no question that everyone must invest in a good home workstation. Among the numerous requirements of a work from home setup, a webcam is essential, especially if you have to hold meetings or demonstrate a thing or two to your accomplices. Webcams are also common amongst gamers or social media enthusiasts who would like to record videos and get their followers in touch.
Even when most laptops come with an inbuilt camera, it doesn’t mean that it’s unreasonable to invest in a quality upgrade to enhance your game streaming or video-conferencing experience. Speaking of a quality webcam, Logitech has been producing these ever since the company started dealing in web cameras. One of the most exciting items on their portfolio is the Logitech C920 camera.
The Logitech C920 was the first camera to deliver 720p video resolution on Facetime and Google Hangouts and 1080p on Skype at the time of its release in 2012. Its then-superior video quality over other webcams created a strong demand, especially from Skype users, who sought to improve their quality of video calls. The outstanding video quality of the Logitech C920 was undoubtedly the primary reason for its groundbreaking success.
However, a lot has changed lately, and 1080p has now become the standard video quality. We have newer 4K resolution webcams in the market, but these are expensive and exceed the requirements of many webcam users. Is the Logitech C920 still a viable webcam choice nine years after its release? Let’s find out.
Before we look deeper into the Logitech C920, why don’t we first glimpse into what qualities a good webcam has to have.
Qualities of a good webcam
Megapixels/picture clarity
Megapixels are tiny colored dots that combine to create a visual image. Any webcam with a good number of megapixels will undoubtedly give you a quality image or video footage. Unlike the past, where the number of megapixels was not too much to consider, things have changed. It is a prerequisite requirement before anyone purchases any product to use for either photo or video. In recent times, a 1280*720-pixel resolution is considered the standard for webcams so that you can have that HD quality on your videos.
Frame Rate
While megapixels control the brightness and colour of your image, the frame rate controls your video quality. It is what determines how many pictures are going to be displayed per minute. A good webcam should have at least a 30fps rate, as anything below is typically out of date. A higher frame rate will be appreciated, as it results in smoother and better-looking videos.
Autofocus
Since there could be so much happening during your webcam session, a webcam with an autofocus feature tends to leave distractions aside and concentrate on the main subject, even if it is moving around.
Low-Light Performance
Do you have to reschedule emergency meetings just because the light is too low for an excellent video-conferencing session? The answer should be NO! A quality webcam should be reliable even in low-light conditions, as Logitech has developed a Right Light feature that improves video quality in low light.
Resolution
The resolution of a webcam is the product of all these other features mentioned above. Most webcams support 720p and 1080p(HD) resolutions, which are always reliable in most conditions. Nonetheless, we have 4k and higher-resolution webcams in the market, but most of them come at a premium price.
Those are some of the basic features you may want to check off your list before purchasing a webcam. Let’s look into how Logitech C920 checks against the above features.
Logitech C920 Review
Build Quality
The C920’s build quality is purely fantastic. Even after being in the market for all these years, few models have made it to offer better quality than its. However, that doesn’t mean that it is the prettiest webcam, but you’ll also admit that it was well designed.
The outer shell is constructed using durable plastic that prevents damages from accidental falls or scratches. The lens is also protected by a durable scratch-resistant glass panel. You can attach your webcam to your laptop’s screen using a clip mechanism. The clip confidently applies enough pressure to attach itself to your monitor, ruling out any instances of accidental slips or falls. Moreover, the clip allows for angle adjustments to make sure you get everything right. The plastic clip is versatile, too, to enable the propping of the Logitech C920 on a tripod, using the bottom-located mount.
On the downside, the C920is a little bulky and can eat up a little space on your laptop’s screen for laptops with thin bezels.
The build quality of the Logitech C920 instills confidence in the user and acts as an advantage to those who are not overly careful about things here and there. If you’re looking for a standard web camera with an excellent build quality, the Logitech C920 might be your next stop.
Video Quality
A webcam is only considered to be a good webcam if it delivers quality video. The C920 premiums at 1080p video quality, which is far more than enough for basic video-based operations. The 1080p is achieved via Skype, without even adjusting Skype or camera settings. Moreover, the Logitech C920 has an onboard H.264 compression technology, which means that video compression is done on the webcam rather than in your computer’s CPU. That ensures that the webcam doesn’t affect your computer’s performance and that videos appear as snappy as possible.
Apart from delivering a quality video resolution by 2020’s standards, the Logitech C920 offers significant light correction and autofocus. You should not worry about moving around your room when recording a video, as the camera lays focus on you. The light adjustment on the C920 is excellent too. It uses Logitech’s RightLight 2 technology to adjust colour settings, brightness and contrast, keeping the main subject well-lit.
The C920 gives a 78-degree wide field of view, which is decent, considering the price point and year of manufacture of the webcam. Nonetheless, the field of view can be adjusted. The Logitech C920 offers a 5* digital zoom, which retains image clarity at any zoom level. It is worth mentioning that the Carl Zeiss Tessar glass lens used on the C920 also plays an essential role in shaping its video and image quality.
Microphone Quality
The microphones on the Logitech C920 are not the best, to be honest. Nonetheless, they’re not terrible in any way. If you’ll need a webcam with exemplary mic quality, then investing in a separate mic will be a better plan. There are two in-built microphones, which provide stereo sound. These mics pick up sound, but ambient sound also finds a way to creep in. in most cases, your voice will be heard clearly but will lack the precision of a high-quality mic.
Webcam Software
Logitech uses the Logitech Vid HD software, which provides an array of quality functionalities, even at its old age. The software is available for both Mac and Windows. You can adjust the usual video settings and set up the webcam for conference calls outside Skype. The camera settings are displayed on an easy-to-use interface, where you also get options for tweaking the brightness, colour intensity, contrast and white balance. If you’re having problems making manual adjustments, you can turn auto-adjustment on, and the webcam will calibrate them for you. Easy!
Interestingly, you can also turn the mic into a security camera, as it can be used as a motion detector camera.
| Key Specs | Supported Resolution – 720p at 30fps/ 1080p at 30fps Focus Type – Autofocus Diagonal FOV – 78-degree Lens Type – Glass Cable Length – 5ft, USB-A Built-in mic – Stereo |
| Pros | Adjustable Good image quality Durable Affordable Reliable Auto-Focus Value for money |
| Cons | Low availability The microphone could be made better 30fps is not the best frame rate these days |
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a webcam that does not cost an arm and leg, the Logitech C920 is your ultimate option. Its affordability, teamed up with a great build and quality video, makes it one of the best webcam choices, even when it’s almost a decade old. It serves as the perfect replacement to your inbuilt laptop webcam if you seek to improve your video conferencing experience.
The webcam is easy to use, easy to handle, and you’re almost set to go as soon as you have the webcam. You’ll get to enjoy a wide diagonal field of view to accommodate as much ground as you’d like, and the autofocus feature gives the primary subject attention even when it happens to be moving around. The only downside of this web camera is low availability for the time being and a below-par microphone. Nonetheless, if you manage to acquire the C920 and equip it with a separate microphone, then you’re bound to improve your work-from-home experience. Check out more essential items to include in your work-from-home setup here.
Jeremy has been running several online businesses behind his laptop for the past 5 years and he has worked as a freelance web developer previously. A trained marketer by profession, he also has Ruby on Rails and web development knowledge. His forte lies in eCommerce, SEO and content marketing. He’s been featured on Vice, Thrive Global, YFS Magazine, Forbes and several other publications. He prefers to connect with people on LinkedIn.
