Customer Reviews

Creative Labs Live! Cam Video IM Ultra 1.3MP Webcam

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When marketing for a web cam, one of the things that you want to consider are the conditions that you will be using it for. Straight up video conferencing, Lifecasting on a streaming video site, recording your daily class without the use of taking notes and will there be a lot of movement, indoor or outdoor.

For those who want quality, you would want to go 2.0MP or higher but for those who just need the basics, then the Creative Labs Live! Cam Video IM Ultra 1.3MP Webcam does the job but at its price range, compared to other 1.3MP, how well does it perform.

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION: Installation of the software was easy. Install from the CD and it has an automatic update. Installation of the Webcam was ok.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION: Connect it to your USB port and hang it on your laptop behind the screen. I like webcams that have a good grip on your laptop/notebook but it was OK. Not a strong grip but it held on tight, especially when I took it outdoors for lifecasting tests and walked with it attached to my notebook. All in all, it didn't fall off and stayed on without moving.

LOW-LIGHT ROOM: The first test is with little light inside the room. The picture quality was nowhere as clear as 2.0MP camera (ie. Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000) but I was able to myself clearly with your occasional noise and what looked as if there was little artifacting and blurriness.

FULL-SCREEN: Full screen was blocky. Movement was great but picture quality was a bit blocky.

INSTANT MESSAGING: Instant messaging. On the Receiving end was fine, as your picture-in-picture was small and when small, things look much better. But tested things on the opposite end and the Cam Video Ultra again, looked slightly blurry and a bit noisy during low-light and even lit conditions. Background past the person's focal point is very blurry. So, closeup shots of the person in front of the camera works good but not the type of web camera if you are trying to show the background your office or room or outdoors behind you.

LIGHT-IN THE ROOM: This test definitely made the picture quality much better. But the sunlight really looked very bright and made the artifacting much more evident. As long as the camera and person is the focal point, again the camera does its job well. But picture quality was slightly better.

LIFECASTING: For those who intend to use this via the various lifecasting networks, the camera does give out quite a bit of noise. But yet, its comparable with a lot of 1.3MP cameras via lifecasting. It depends on how clear you want things to be. Many people tend to lifecast in lowlight conditions in their room, and thus you will have noise (graininess) to the picture quality.

The camera does come with a long cord and when holding the camera (if your laptop is in a bag), it's convenient that way but not exactly for putting it your shirt pocket and when I was walking, the video kept smooth, no jumping around.

SECURITY WEB CAMERA: The next test was placement of the camera from indoor looking outdoor. Slight blurriness but for anything coming within ten feet, the camera does well in picking up the movement and anything within that distance.

SOFTWARE: Software is easy to use and to adjust your settings for brightness and the accompanying filters are OK but the good thing is you can downlaod a lot more from the Creative Live! Website. Overall, snapshots and video capturing is easy to use. With your camera on, you will see a black bar which you click on to access the camera, settings or filters. Very easy to use.

SCREEN and VIDEO CAPTURES: Just like the picture quality, average with some noise.

So, how does the Creative Live! Cam Video IM Ultra 1.3MP Webcam stack up? Well, compared to my Apple iSight which is around the same or even less MP, the Ultra looked blurry and blocky at full or half screen. When the window was smaller, things looked much better.

Granted, the tests I put this camera through are tests typically done on higher end webcams but with today's technology, people wanting to go on YouTube, lifecast on streaming video sites to basic instant messaging via video should know what types of uses they will want to use their webcam.

The Creative Labs Live! Cam Video does the job in normal everyday, simple function of interaction. It also passes the test if you are using it as a web security camera and even passed the test of lifecasting outdoors while I walked with the camera in hand or camera on the laptop.

This camera is easy to use and it performs its job well. But it all comes down to clarity. Do you want your surroundings to be as clear as you? How is your room situation (very dark, adequate light source?).

I will be truthful, for its price point, $20-25 more will give you much better quality and clarity. But depending on your uses, if you want the simplest form of usage for similar clarity, you can even go a step down to another Creative Labs or similar 1.3MP and get satisfactory results as well. Otherwise, for what it does, its easy of use and what I was able to put this camera through in testing, it passed the test. Picture quality wise, it gets an average score.

Since I've installed and used nearly a dozen Webcams over the years, I have considerable basis for comparisons. There are several things that I like about this Webcam:

1. Versatile mounting. The clip on the base of the camera can mount on the lid of a notebook computer, on the top of a flat-screen monitor or just sit on a level surface.

2. Decent video even on an older computer. I installed this camera on a mid-tower computer that I built several years ago before dual core processors were commonly available. The computer is running Windows XP Pro SP3 with 2GB of RAM. Despite my computer's modest processor speed, the video quality that this Webcam delivers is very good even in low light and it puts only modest demands on my computer's older processor.

3. Built-in noise-canceling microphone performs extremely well and delivers high-quality audio, making this Webcam ideal for services such as Skype. With this Webcam, there is no need to use a headset with Skype unless you want privacy during your call. You can just speak in a normal voice and be heard by the other party clearly without distortion or feedback and, of course, be seen via the Webcam.

4. Ease of installation. The instructions are short and simple: Just insert the installation CD, follow the on-screen instructions to plug in the camera into a USB 2.0 port and then complete the installation by allowing your computer to reboot. Once you reboot, you'll be prompted to register the camera on-line and to check for software updates. (None were necessary during my installation).

There are few things that I don't particularly like about this camera:

A. The camera is so light and the mounting clip is so flimsy that the slightest bump will dislodge it from its mount.

B. The camera doesn't come with a carrying case and it's weird shape would take up extra space in a computer bag compared with Webcams specifically designed for notebook computers.

C. I found the mechanical focusing difficult compared with other Webcams. It was difficult for me to turn the focusing bezel without blocking the camera's eye, which is of course needed for focusing. However, that's a one-time task that shouldn't need to be repeated.

Despite those minor gripes, I am completely satisfied with this camera in my application, and to be fair, this Webcam is not advertised as being designed for road warriors.

In summary what's really important is the good quality of video and audio and how well this camera works, even with older, slower computers. Those features in themselves make this Webcam worth considering.

I am comparing this webcam against the others that I have had experience with: Microsoft LifeCam VX 5000, Logitech Quickcam Pro and the builtin webcam on my HP Pavilion.

Installation of the software and camara went smoothly on my laptop, as did configuration, use with Skype was easy to enable and worked fine, although my wife (on the other end) complained that the default color setting was too orange (tweaking the color settings brought it back to a more normal skin tone). The face tracking software panned off to the side leaving only half of my face on the screen and the video capture software would only capture 4 seconds worth of video (despite explicit settings that turned off the timer and capture length restrictions). Posts to the Creative forums yielded no response, although that doesn't seem too unusual for most of the software and tech products that I have had problems with.

Pros:
- mobile with a long cord and convenient swivel and tilt capability
- stable monitor top mounting
- good sound from builtin microphone
- easy installation
- easy to use software with addon face morphing functions and other fun features
- works well with Skype
- capable of better than 640x480 resolution

Cons:
- video capture did not work well for me
- support staff non-responsive
- face tracking not 100% reliable

Overall verdict, better than the Microsoft Lifecam, not as good as the Logitech Quickcam Pro or my builtin, so, I went back to my builtin webcam for better quality and ease of use.
P-)

This webcam is hands-down the best I have used. The video is amazingly crisp and smooth as I am standing right in front of the person I am speaking with. My kids love letting their little cousins see them on screen even though they live half the country away. If you are in the market for a new webcam, this is a definite must have. The price is not off for what you get.

The Live! Cam Video IM Ultra from Creative Labs offers a variety of features that would make it a potential choice for a video cam buyer. Among these:

the ability to take snapshots from your video;

a 1.3 megapixel sensor;

the ability to password-protect the webcam so your kids can't use it without your supervision;

the ability to set the light sensitivity so you can get good lighting effects rather than the too-dim, foggy pictures often found in inexpensive webcams;

good, clear sound with background noise reduced (although not eliminated entirely); and,

a number of funny video effects you can add to your chats.

However, this particular webcam would not be my number 1 choice.

Why?

I found the lack of autofocus very annoying. When I reached up to adjust the focus, my hand blocked out the item I was attempting to focus on. Eventually, I was able to set the focus correctly, but, I much prefer autofocus, available at very little more money.

In addition, I used the webcam on my laptop and found the mounting unstable.

In this webcam, Creative has demonstrated their expertise in building inexpensive units with lots of features, and they offer a somewhat more expensive video cam outfitted with autofocus. I'd take a good look at that one before making a final choice.

Four stars!

This is a good, solid webcam. It does its job and feels well-built, even though its a little lightweight. The picture quality is good. It is built for flatscreens or perhaps older laptops without built-in webcams. There is a focusing ring on the front and a built-in microphone. I ususally don't install the additional software, but it allows color adjustment and zoom capabilities. As is, it works out of the box without too much hassle. It works with all the major messaging clients and I have heard it works with certain varieties of Linux as well, although I only tried it on Windows XP.

The base of this camera comes with a plastic piece hinged on the back. It is made to clip onto the edge of a flat screen monitor. It doesn't balance very well on the top of a crt monitor or a flat surface. The camera is on a swivel and will move side to side and forward. The camera will not swivel up, so if you stand up you will have to step back, and maybe refocus, to stay in the frame. The USB cable exits from the rear of the camera so adjusting the camera's position means you must adjust the cable as well. There is a focusing ring on the front. When focused on a close subject, the camera picks up the objects in the background clearly with almost no blur. There is separate software that can be initialized that allows for a minimum amount of color adjustment and zoom. The software can also manage snapshots and videos from the webcam. The camera, once focused, tracks movement well and there's almost no jitter in the stream. The microphone is very sensitive. It picks up the noise of my curtains rustling in the breeze across the room. The picture looks better to me when using artificial light and the colors aren't as balanced in natural light.

I bought this camera a couple of weeks ago for use with Skype. Installation was straightforward and using the camera with Skype is not a problem. Video capture rate isn't great, but it's adequate. I've used it to communicate with my family when I've been in Europe and it does a reasonable job. Just don't move too quickly.

However, I've just learned that there's an apparent incompatibility with capturing video from a DV video camera when this camera is installed. Since the install, when I try to use Windows Movie Maker or Nero Vision to capture video from my Sony HandyCam, my Dell 530 immediately gives me a Blue Screen of Death and reboots. It's repeatable--about 20 times in a row.

I've upgraded the driver from 1.0.3.0 to 1.1.3.0 which in itself is a challenge because Creative doesn't even list this model (VF0415) as a product choice in the support section of its website. No matter, the new driver didn't fix the problem.

I have an open ticket with Creative, so we'll see if there's a resolution. Haven't found one through Googgle, though see some evidence that a camera related file, Ctclsflt.sys, is likely the culprit.

Bottom line, if you're just using this for the web and have no other video aspirations, it's ok. Otherwise, caveat emptor.

The Live! Cam Video IM Ultra is a decent web camera. Once you figure out how to focus the camera (you have to spin the lens as opposed to some setting in the software) you can achieve good resolution. Before that I was ready to give up on this camera as a piece of junk because the picture was so blurry! With everything in focus my opinion has changed some, but there are still one or two problems I have with this device.

My main issue is that there is a great deal of lag between reality and what the camera displays, even when I'm simply watching in real-time and not recording or steaming over the web. I have not been able to figure out how to eliminate this slow frame rate, so I must assume it is permanent. Very noticable lag in a camera named "Live!" is a problem.

Aside from that I enjoyed all of the neat features. The effects were entertaining and the clothing options had my niece rolling on the floor laughing. The avatars were a bit strange and some were downright creepy.

Overall I would say this camera might be good for basic use in a college dorm, especially for such a reasonable price, but if real-time feed is important to you or you want to be able to show your changing facial expressions to someone in a video conference, hold out for something better.

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I included a quick video clip of a snowglobe I got to demonstrate the quality of this camera. When I went to upload this same video to youtube I noticed that it is now in HD quality as well. The software which comes with this camera makes uploading to youtube easy as there is a youtube upload thing built right into the software. The camera itself is nice good sturdy construction which I have come to expect from Creative as I have had few of their cameras in the past. The software is fun lots to do avatars, effects, audio effects. Works great with the instant messengers such as MSN and Yahoo. The quality in my opinion is great even on a old dell computer like the one I got it works great no stalling or freezing or nothing. The picture quality is great too as well is the video. This webcam would make a excellent choice for someone looking for one to use with messaging, stuff like youtube, expotv etc. The video quality I can't say this enough is AWESOME!. which you will see from the clip I included crystal clear clarity no fuzzy or grainess like I have had with other cams etc.