Logitech StreamCam

The Logitech StreamCam is a rather high-end webcam designed for live content creators. It can film in Full HD (1080p) at 60 frames per second and has two built-in microphones.

 

Presentation

Logitech offers nearly two dozen webcams on its official website, but where does the StreamCam fit in with the others? As its name suggests, it's primarily aimed at live video streaming and content creators on YouTube and Twitch, to name just two platforms. For this purpose, it is compatible with software such as OBS and offers a Full HD (1080p) image as well as a good fluidity with a bit rate of 60 fps. Equipped with built-in microphones, it can of course be used for video conferencing.

 

Construction & Ergonomics

The StreamCam adopts a design quite different from other webcams of the manufacturer with a cubic format, less elongated and deeper. Available in gray or white, it has a textured fabric coating around its lens to give it a little more character. It mounts easily to the top of a monitor or laptop screen, but its stand also allows it to be placed on a desk. For more stability and fine tuning, an alternative tripod-compatible stand is also included. If a small white LED lights up when the webcam is in operation, it does not have a cover for more security.

The webcam can be oriented vertically and horizontally, but, a little originality, it can also be detached from the base and reclipped to switch from landscape mode to portrait mode. The image will automatically follow the orientation, and the portrait mode is therefore similar to the format of a smartphone recording. Regarding the connectivity, it could not be simpler: just plug it in using the USB-C cable. It films at an angle of 78 ° with an aperture of f/2: we are on a relatively tight framing, far from ultra-wide angle models.

On the software side, you need to download Logitech Capture to take advantage of all the StreamCam's possibilities. Available on Mac and PC, it is easy to use and offers some interesting features. You can change the exposure, contrast and white balance settings from the menus, for example, or activate image stabilization or automatic framing (subject tracking). These two tools work well, but it is done digitally and not optically, with a cropping in the image finally very important.

Note that the small "moon" and "sun" symbols at the top right of the program allow you to activate or deactivate the dark mode, which is very useful when working at night. Other submenus offer the possibility of applying some effects or text under the image, to manage several sources at once or to set the definition and the number of images per second, which brings us to the next part of our test.

 

 

Image quality

The definition can be set to 1080p, 720p or 360p, and we can go up to a maximum of 60 fps. This high speed, which allows videos and lives well fluid, is one of the main arguments of this webcam because many models cap at 30 fps - which is largely sufficient for simple video conferencing.

In use, the image quality is really good, whatever the conditions. Of course, when the light is lacking, the image gets noisy and is smoothed out in a software way, but the result remains quite acceptable. The automatic white balance correction is also quite effective, and the Capture software can compensate for exposure and contrast up to a certain point.

 

Audio

The StreamCam has two built-in microphones that will enhance the recording quality of a laptop, but they are not up to the level of a dedicated microphone. In general, creators and streamers are equipped with the latter, so this should not be a problem for them. Logitech's ambient noise reduction is in any case very effective and removes almost all the background noise from our protocol.

 

 

Conclusion

The Logitech StreamCam is an excellent webcam for those who want good Full HD image quality and a high bit rate (60 fps) suitable for live streaming. The Capture software that comes with it is intuitive and allows rather complete settings, even if some tools such as face tracking require significant cropping. However, you'll have to opt for a dedicated microphone if you want to enjoy a better recording quality, and some would have preferred a slightly wider field of view.