Customer Reviews

Creative Labs WebCam Pro eX

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My company has purchased five Creative Webcam Pro webcams, which we sent to out-of-state candidates for engineering positions. We then do a videoconference for the first interview. We also purchased a Creative Pro eX webcam to use at our office for the interviewers.

We were delighted by the value of the Webcam Pro; but the Pro eX with a CCD sensor, the charge-coupled-device that senses the image, is far superior. The Pro model has a much less sensitive CMOS sensor. The Pro eX has much better color rendition; colors are more saturated. Skin tones are much improved. Low light performance on the Pro eX is also far better with an excellent image under normal office lighting whereas the CMOS-powered Pro had images that were quite dark unless special lighting or daylight was available.

Although the number of pixels is the same for the two cameras, the detail seemed better with the Pro eX. A printed page from a book held up to the Pro eX was easy to read, while with the Pro the characters on the printed page were blotchy while still readable.

Both packages included a microphone. The Pro eX microphone was on a headset with earpiece. The Pro microphone had a clip for mounting to a monitor and no earpiece, so your system must have a working speaker. Software was complete with both and had the same features although the Pro eX was a later version.

Inexpensive video conferencing for work or family pleasure has been possible for three or four years. We were surprised that the installation took only ten minutes and that everything worked the first time. With the camera working, we took another twenty minutes to set up Microsoft Net Meeting for the first time. Net Meeting is the videoconferencing software that is included with XP and Windows 2000 and works with Window 98 as well. (Downloading is free.) In the latest XP version, Net Meeting seems to be rolled into Microsoft Messenger.

The only problem for many will be finding someone else on the Internet ready to test an installation. No problem of course if you bought two and give one to a neighbor (perhaps one of the webcams for the gift). Various Internet chat directories show online parties with a video capability; but you may end up looking at unexpected anatomical details if an unknown person accepts an invitation to launch a videoconference.

If you have a DSL or cable modem Internet connection, you will wonder why you did not try this earlier. It is easy to leave a connection open to chat (sound not typing) with full video while you go about your work. Just don't forget that the camera is on.

This small baby is my fifth webcam.

Easy to install in Windows XP. I do not follow the instruction on the manual. Plugin the webcam first, XP reports there is a new device, insert CD-ROM. Do not follow the autoplay of CD-ROM, let XP search the driver, and it's done, 2 minutes is enough.
If u still want to install other software, insert cd-rom again, but unchecked the driver option, and u will install the left.

The picture is clear and sharp, color saturation is good, very stable to stay on my laptop LCDs. Creative has a good product.

It's far better than Logitech Quick Cam Express, and Intel cheapset one. For my point of view, picture quality is better than logitech Pro 4000, which is the comparable product of this one.

Here is some cons: no lens cover, the picture not as good as the Intel pccam Pro, which is the best one i ever use.

This is my first webcam so perhaps some of my joy comes from the simple fact that I can see myself for the first time ever, so clearly, chatting and typing away. It's fun! And the images are crisp enough that I now keep a hairbrush and blotting powder next to my computer -- (yikes! Didn't realize I looked THAT bad in my home office). REally. The picture quality is superb.

I have XP and I have experienced no probs whatsoever.

But a few complaints: - the headpiece for the microphone is great in theory but sized for the head of a 6 year-old. Also, the hole for my mic is on the back of my laptop and the hole for my sound is on the front, and the CreativeWebcam mic cords don't reach that far; they just aren't long enough to plug into both. So I get sound, or I get to be heard by my friend on the other end: just not both at the same time.

A bad early sign was the series of "not compatible with Windows XP" messages at install? "Go ahead anyway" instructs Creative in in the package materials, the website and the PDF manual, and I think that's the problem.

When the cam worked, my keyboard wouldn't; and vice versa. There was no solution. Fixing IRQ problems isn't layman's work in XP.

So for four days of trying I'd start the reinstall again from the disk, in Safe mode because (1) the webcam wouldn't install any other way for me, and (2) the install file wouldn't load into my Temp file so it could be used again. With each reinstall taking 25 minutes, I put seven hours into trying and failing to get the webcam to work!

"The installation will finish in a while" is the wording of the window that locked onto my screen when the installation failed; how long "a while" takes was never explained.

Picture quality was murky and this may have been correctable, but the cam never worked long enough for me to discover its controls.

I've never returned a product to Amazon before. I've ordered a Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 in its place.

With its CCD sensor, this webcam, at is price point is one of the better products out there. It also takes great snapshots (but needs to stay connected via USB Cable to do so).Manufactured by Creative (the sound blaster people). My past experience with Creative's customer support has always been good, so that is a big plus also.
Very easy to install. I had NO PROBLEMS using or installing it with Windows XP Professional.
My only gripe is the lightweight stand it comes on. It is designed to be inverted to clip-on a laptop...and I am sure it clips on a laptop very well and stays there...but getting it to stand and stay on top of my non-flat desktop computer monitor was a different story. You will need to weigh it down with something (I used a cd jewel case). If you don't want it to move.
Make sure you get the "ex" version.

At first, I was about to rip my hair out because I thought I had wasted my money on a POS. Then, I realize that all the static and fuzzyness, goes away with seconds with the full auto mode. In any light, front light, back light, dim light on top of bright light in any position, the image your trying to capture it automatically makes it look more clear then one could hope for. You can aslo select from a variety of compression modes, which means if your sending a video to somebody on dial up, you can make the video file nice and small.

The best part about this camera is the 1024x768 shots, they are clear and crisp, not proffesional looking as it is still just a web camera. But there are features to change framerate, quality, everything imaginable. The only problem I have with it is it didnt come with webcast software, but if you have yahoo messenger you can broadcast to as many people as you like. Also, the base on the camera can clip on to most monitors, and even on notebooks.

I am very glad I bought this camera and would recommend it over the competing logitech ones that run for 79.99 and 99.99. The logitech ones just dont give you the 1024x768 shots.

This is my first webcam so perhaps some of my joy comes from the simple fact that I can see myself for the first time ever, so clearly, chatting and typing away. It's fun! And the images are crisp enough that I now keep a hairbrush and blotting powder next to my computer -- (yikes! Didn't realize I looked THAT bad in my home office). REally. The picture quality is superb.

I have XP and I have experienced no probs whatsoever.

But a few complaints: - the headpiece for the microphone is great in theory but sized for the head of a 6 year-old. It's TINY!!!! What the heck? Also, the hole for my mic is on the back of my laptop and the hole for my sound is on the front, and the CreativeWebcam mic cords don't reach that far; they just aren't long enough to plug into both. So I get sound, or I get to be heard by my friend on the other end: just not both at the same time.

Under normal room light, or even under bright light, the picture is horribly grainy. The picture also suffers from high susceptibility to electrical noise (either that, or the horizontal wavy ripple in the video is just caused by a camera that's cheap... I've seen that before).
Another reviewer said that putting it on "full auto" cleaned the picture right up and got rid of the graininess. It does, to some extent. But then, it can only capture at about 5 frames/sec MAX.

I'll say this for it, at least it can really capture about 28 frames/sec and it can capture 352x288, as well as 320x240 and 640x480. But the video is pretty terrible.

It installed fine on a Windows XP machine. However, if you unplug it, wait a little, and plug it into a different USB port, it won't work. XP can't find the camera anymore. After a reboot, XP said a driver "failed to initialize". Unplugged the cam. Rebooted, plugged the cam in. Nothing.

I basically had to completely uninstall it and reinstall it to move it to a different USB port, which is ridiculous.

This is my first webcam and I was impressed with its picture quality, it was absolutely superb, thanks to its CCD sensor; which I heard that it is better than those that have the CMOS sensor in older webcam models. Anyway I have Windows XP and I'm not having any problems with it. Work well on my Yahoo! Messenger and MSN/Windows Messenger. This definitely worth my money. It's GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Microphobe when using in chat or anywhere when talk all that comes out is a very extreme static, I will never reomend this product to a friend as itis junk luckly wince Logitech requires a credit card to replace it instead of trust which I guess is long gone in the US I have a frien who will put this back on th shelf and give me a refund so I may do as I please in repurchasing what I wany. Logitechs customer service is the worst I've seen iy would be nice to speak with someone who can clearly speak english, this is going back to Spartanburg, SC .store unless Logitech contacts me wiyjin 10 days this will be printed out in th event I need to forward thia info to an authoriyu over logitech such as the federal trade ommission as two friends are having the same exact problem as we do not own a credit card we try and stay debt free. Logitech Quick Cam Pro 4000, Damion2@charter.net Steve Carter 864-962-1273 10 days please let them know