Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.8 x 9 inches ; 14.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000TG8T4Y
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: CEA-00001
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 12, 2007

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Share More of Your Life with the LifeCam VX-7000 and Windows Live™ Messenger. Take instant messaging to an exciting new level of sight, sound, and convenience. The LifeCam VX-7000 features easy online sharing of your videos and photos, a High Definition 2.0 megapixel video sensor, and an elegant design that complements your flat screen monitor. Now it’s easier than ever to see, hear, and share life experiences with friends and family.

Features:

Windows Live™ Call Button The easy way to start a video call.		Universal Attachment Base Fits on most monitors, including fl at screens, or sits directly on your desk.		Superior Video Quality High Definition video (2.0 megapixels) and photos (7.6 megapixels interpolated)*

Additional Features: Wide-angle lens Glass element lens provides clear video quality Automatically adjusts for low-light conditions for superior video quality Video effects Crystal-clear audio Built-in unidirectional microphone with acoustic noise cancellation

*One megapixel = 1,000,000 pixels. Less resolution available when sending video via instant messaging.

How to Make a Video Call:

With a simple calling interface and integration with Microsoft LifeCams, you'll find that video calling is the next best thing to being there. It's easy, it's free, and you can get started today. All you need is a PC, an Internet connection, an ISP, a webcam, and a friend. Then follow the steps below to make a video call.

Step 1 Buy and install a LifeCam. Don't have one? Start shopping.		Step 2 Sign in to your Windows Live™ Messenger account or other messenger service that supports video calls.		Step 3 Once you are signed in you can either choose a contact on the Instant Messenger window, or press the video call button on your webcam. Then click the Video link to start a video call.

Find a Webcam That's Right for You:

Best: Better: Good:
Webcam	LifeCam Cinema	LifeCam Show	LifeCam VX-7000	LifeCam NX-3000	LifeCam VX-5000	LifeCam VX-2000
Video Sensor	720p HD	2.0 MP	2.0 MP	VGA	VGA	VGA
Photo Size	8 MP	8 MP	1.3 MP	1.3 MP	1.3 MP	1.3 MP
Focus Type - Always Focused means that no fine tuning is needed as the webcam is always in focus from a depth of 21" to 60"	Auto Focus	Always Focused	Always Focused	Always Focused	Always Focused	Fixed Focus
Digital Zoom - delivers realistic, up-close-and-personal video, so you can see the contours of every smile	5x	5x	5x	3x	3x	3x
Wide-Angle Lens - the 71 degree wide angle lens ensures no one gets left out of the pictures	Yes	Yes	Yes
Built-In Microphone - a built-in unidirectional microphone cancels out acoustic noise and echo for crystal-clear audio	Digital, Noise-Cancelling	Noise-Cancelling	Noise-Cancelling	Noise-Cancelling	Noise-Cancelling	Noise-Cancelling
Fits Laptops or PCs	Both	Both	Both	Laptops only	Both	Both

System Requirements: Windows® 7, Windows Vista® or Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) Intel Pentium® III 700 MHz (Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz recommended) or higher 300-700 MB free Display adapter capable of 16-bit color depth or higher, 2 MB or higher video memory Sound card with Windows-compatible speakers or headphones USB 1.1 (USB 2.0 recommended) USB 2.0 required for 1.3 MP or higher video capture resolution CD drive Internet functions (post to Windows Live™ Spaces, send in e-mail, video calls) also require: Broadband (cable, DSL, or other) modem

Recommended Accessories:

Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 Headset		Microsoft LifeChat LX-2000 Headset		Microsoft LifeChat LX-1000 Headset

Product Description

Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000 Win USB Port English United States

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm very pleased..., May 27, 2008

By 

Christoffer (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000 (Personal Computers)

I bought this webcam to replace an extremely old (circa 1999) Logitech WebCam. Some of the other reviews here indicate that this webcam is junk, but I am very happy with it. Here's a few observations with respect to my own use and some of what I've read in other reviews here.

o Video Quality - I have no problem with it and have yet to have any "freezes". My guess is that freezes are more associated with network latency. I have not tried this over a LAN (very high speed local), but over a cable modem that is 7MBit down, 384k up. You have to take that into account before you blame the webcam. My 384k up is not very fast, for a cable modem, but that's Time Warner for you. Up north (NY/CT area), my peers enjoy 3Mbit upstream! Ugh!

o Software Install Location- Another reviewer brought this up. Who cares? This isn't a 4GB first person shooter, it's a few megs of drivers that mostly need to go under the windows folder anyhow. Non-issue.

o Software Install "eXPerience" - glad to say I had no issues. Install the software, plug in the camera when it asks, and I was good to go. I'm running XP Pro on a 3GHz "single core" (old school? heh) CPU.

o Application Compatibility - It's working great with both Windows Live Messenger and Skype (latest version, 3.8.0.115).

o Built-In Mic - This was a nice surprise for me. I recently purchased a SUB Logitech ClearChat Pro headset, but the built-in mic of this webcam lets me be headset free. I ask everyone I videochat with, can you hear me okay? (Answer: Yes), and do you hear feedback or your voice? (Answer: No). So I am very pleased. Of course, you can set Windows Live Messenger and Skype to use a headset microphone or other device, you don't have to use the built-in mic.

o "The Software" - Okay, the software that comes with the webcam is very basic. But if you want something better, you can get it for free from Microsoft. XP has "Windows Movie Maker" built in, you don't NEED to use the webcam software. Or go install the Windows Media Encoder, that's another free option. I've used both no problem.

In summary, I am very pleased with the performance of the VX-7000. You can record video at 640x480 or 800x600 without problem, and that's pretty good in my opinion. After all, 800x600 is better resolution than DVD video (720x480). If you need more, I don't think you should be looking at a webcam! I think, bottom line, this product is meant for and good at its intended use - video chatting over the internet. I would buy this again.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent webcam with great stand, February 2, 2008

By 

MGIxian (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000 (Personal Computers)

If you wanted to use the excellent NX-6000 but were put off by that webcam's small clip (it's really meant for notebook screens only, even desktop LCD's are too big) then this is the model you are looking for - almost. While the NX-7000 has a far more flexible stand (it will work on top of about any monitor and even folds in to a desktop configuration) it doesn't have the slide-out camera feature of the NX-7000, nor for that matter any way of physically blocking the lens - yes, it lights up nice and blue when in use, but some people are put off just the same by an open camera lens staring them in the face all the time, just ask any Macbook user. Still, it's a minor quibble.

Unlike the previous review states the resolution on the NX-7000 is in fact exactly the same as the NX-6000; aside from the differences I mention above they are essentially the same camera. I own both, one for use on my wife's laptop, and one (the 7000) I use with my laptop and take back and forth to work, where I use it on my LCD screen. Quality is very good for a webcam, assuming you use Windows Live Messenger, which has a built in video codec that supports these models well - I noticed that other video call IM's, such as AIM, didn't show as good a picture, although it was still more than adequate. Whether this is due to codec support or just built in Messenger tools I can't say.

For me the bottom line on this camera is this - it's a decent all around webcam with any application, and if you are tied in to Microsoft's Windows Live services it's easily the best webcam you can buy.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High Quality Camera with Great Software, September 27, 2008

By 

Jonah Whale (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000 (Personal Computers)

We have this camera in our living room connected to a 64bit Vista machine running Media Center. We use the camera for videoconferencing with relatives on different sides of the planet *and* for entertaining the kids.

The picture quality is excellent. The camera has great resolution and is able to capture at decent frame rates. The defaults work well out of the box in our home environment (no need to fiddle with the controls, but they do exist). The software also has the nifty ability to zoom and pan, which it can do because the image is large.

The LifeCam 2.0 software available from www.microsoft.com/hardware is simply amazing. It can be used to entertain kids locally or applied to videoconferencing transmissions. The software detects heads in the image and adds in 3D objects, e.g. hats, facemasks, animal faces, and it can add real-time distortions like grow-mouth; and then there are filter effects that change color and texture; and all the cool stuff from v1 of the software. It has our our pre-schoolers and their friends rolling around with laughter.

There are some rumblings in other reviews here about not being able to capture large pictures in high frame rates but it can do 640x480@30fps which is better than TV.

We had some issues with image tearing, but that turned out to be due to the USB controller on the motherboard and could happen to any USB webcam. We bought a PCI card with some extra USB ports on and it fixed the problem.

For comparison, I should mention we own two Macs and have iSight cameras, one external and one integrated into a MacBook Pro. The image quality between the iSights and this camera is indistinguishable and until now I'd have said the iSight's were the best cameras around. The LifeCam software raises the bar on Apple's Photo Booth App, which applies basic filtering to the image, but doesn't do anything as smart as the 3D additions.