Customer Reviews

HP KQ246AA 8.0 MP Deluxe Webcam

5 star:		(138)
4 star:		(85)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

Good product at a compelling price, small and compact, good if you need to travel with it. The hinge bracket used for placing it on a monitor/ laptop is ok, but it's a bit awkward for laptops and has doesn't secure very well.

I don't recommend installing all the Arcsoft s/w components, as this isn't needed for general operation, and it's horribly irritating and hard to remove; just install what you need to run the webcam with Skype/ video IM, if you are on Windows, this probably means you don't need to do anything.

4 stars - good price, good product, good picture, plug-and-play, not the best mount bracket for laptops.

The older style Apple monitors lack an iSight. And many monitors have no camera option whatsoever. Personally I use a Samsung high def TV as my monitor and of course it has no camera at all.

So I've been on the hunt for a well priced USB Video Class (or UVC) camera for a while. This was my choice and I couldn't be happier.

Plug it in, it works like a charm with iChat, Skype, Photo Booth, etc. The video is crisp, it works fairly well in low light, and it's more than enough camera for video conferencing and the like.

The camera, optically speaking, performs as promised. The picture quality is decent and it is small and light, easy to pack up and carry in my computer bag. I guess my one reason for not giving this a bunch of stars concerns the way the unit mounts on the screen. I wanted something that was versatile and able to fit the depth of several different screens and indeed it does that; however, the mechanism for holding on to the screen - does NOT! It opens and closes to fit but doesn't clamp via springs or any sort of tensioning apparatus so any movement of the usb cable will move the camera and has to be repositioned. Now you probably won't need to do this much unless you're moving things around you work area a lot, i.e. books, papers other peripherals. If I was King of the world, I'd rig some kind of adjustment that would produce more of a clamp effect. I got this product on the cheap using a coupon and no shipping cost so I can't complain too loudly. Just so you know.....

This small, easy to use, high quality web cam does everything as claimed and it can be mounted or set on it's stable base anywhere within the cords 5 foot reach. Single pic, video and web-cam/chat buttons on the top of the camera are easy to use and the software installs quickly and easily as well. This all purpose web-cam is great for beginners while having enough sophistication and options for even the most discriminating experienced user. This little web-cam gets 5 stars in my book.

Works great, plug and play, on three different computers (all Windows XP). Don't bother to install the software that accompanies the camera. That is just there to needlessly fill up your hard drive. The Webcam works great without any of it, including the "necessary" part on the disk menu.

Although this product does not specifically mention Mac compatibility it works fine with Skype. At first I was discouraged when initially setting up this device with my Mac, as it would not work and I could not find any Mac drivers. However, after opening Skype and having the camera on it worked just fine. Thus, if you are a fellow Mac user and looking for a webcam to use just for Skype purposes only it should work out fine. I plan on buying more of these cameras to give to family members I was so pleased with its performance.
-J in Oahu, Hawaii

I wrote (and deleted) a previous review about this webcam that was somewhat unfavorable for the Mac community. I said that it failed to work consistently and had no sound. Well...I was wrong.

If you are using a Mac with a "newer" operating system (I have 10.4.11 but don't know what the cut-off would be..), you need the following:

1) USB 2.0 connection.
2) You MUST plug the camera directly into a port on the back of your computer. DO NOT plug it into a USB hub and expect it to work properly! This was my major error.
3) Configure the sound settings on both your Mac (Apple menu > System Preferences > Sound > Input > and then select the "camera name" that appears last on the menu (this camera appears as "HP Deluxe Webcam KQ246AA). Your camera must be plugged in as described above for the computer to recognize it.

After hooking it up properly, and configuring to Skype (Prefernces > Audio > Audio Input (then select the HP Deluxe Webcam KQ246AA)) the camera works like a CHARM! Great audio and video with an excellent frame rate. Tested by calling two friends and they confirmed that it was working wonderfully.

Save yourself a TON of $$$$ and buy this camera in lieu of the $100 Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro. Though that camera has the edge with the Zeiss lens, it probably isn't that much better to justify the difference in cost.

This camera is a winner for us Mac users. Even better for the Windows folks, as it has drivers and features that cannot be installed/used on a Mac.

Maybe someday...

Well- I just bought it- and it is not just good- it is EXCELLENT!
First of all- it is realy working EXCELLENT in dark places... The light (70 W bulb) was directly in my back, and the video was excellent!
Second- the quolity is veeeeeery good!
Third- it is exactly "plug and play"- I tried it in Vista and XP... Do not need any drivers- the attached CD is for some software, which I do not need- personal opinion...
And finnaly- the autofocus doing realy good job- you do not have to adjust anything... It is capturing everything just fine...
BTW- so far I tested only the webcam- I have no idea how the microfone is working- I do not need it...
Strongly recomended!

At the end- sorry for my English... But I don't sorry for this cammera... :)

This is the least expensive UVC compatible USB2.0 webcam that I have found online - it even undercuts some no-name no-support imports. The beauty of UVC compatible webcams is that they are Macintosh compatible out of the box with no drivers or hacks required. OSX from 10.4.3 onwards has built in UVC (USB Video Class) drivers and this camera is very highly rated for image and audio quality at the list price of $50, and a total steal at the Amazon price of $20! 10.6 killed iUSBCam (iChatUSBCam) compatibility in iChat - so this is a totally viable option for people with MacPros or MacMinis who don't have a built in camera or an iSight.

Update: I've had a few weeks to use the camera - overall still satisfied, especially at the price I purchased it for - HOWEVER - low light performance (single overhead 22w CFL (100W equiv)) isn't that great - very grainy image, inaccurate color reproduction. Keeping camera, but it isn't nearly as good as my QuickCam4000. Works fine with better illumination/daylight, but for the MSRP, HP needs to up their game and improve the CCD, or lower the price.

First of all it arrived before estimated shipping date, which was a plus. Then I tried it out and it worked right out of the box without running any of the software packaged with it. It works perfectly with the cyberlink you cam software I had already purchased. Ive been using it with skype and google talk for the last 5 days flawlessly. The camera fits nice on back of laptop and easily adjustable. As far as video quality goes it is good for 30 frames per second which is pretty standard for most web cams so it performed as expected. Lastly audio is just fine. I gave the web cam to my girlfriend so I am on the receiving end of the video conversations and its great.Im am sorry that i did not test the provided software.

Overall a great product for a good price.