Customer Reviews

Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I had to replace my not-so-old Logitech webcam with something new, since it did not work under 64-bit Vista. The VX-7000 does work with 64-bit Vista, and was the highest quality camera Microsoft offered that would attach to my desktop monitor. (The supposedly higher resolution NX-6000 has a much smaller monitor connector, designed for notebook-thickness screens, but also boasts a better picture.)

I installed the camera easily, the only issue being that the CD did not autoplay and I had to run the setup manually from the disc.

The software that comes with the camera is limited to drivers and a very simple "Playskool-like" camera recording program, with the cartoony buttons and foolish animated cartoon overlay features that you would use if you were a pre-teen sneaking video calls with friends. As a business user (teleconferencing with co-workers around the world) this software was useless.

I did not install the Microsoft Messenger software, which supposedly gives more conference options, because I am quite happy with other software I use for that purpose. It is disappointing that the included software doesn't allow you to easily (if at all - I can't find the option) set settings for the camera while you're using it from applications that can't control things like resolution or zoom.

The reason I bought this camera was to get the highest quality picture possible, having been disappointed with general webcam quality in the past. The quality of this camera is no better than what you would expect from something you can buy at a toy store. The resolution may be higher, but the picture is unacceptably grainy.

The quality of color in the picture and its ability to work well in low-light situations is much better than other cameras, but the quality of the picture is still low enough that you can tell it was recorded from a webcam. Why as clear of a picture can't be taken from an external camera as from any of Apple's notebook cameras mystifies me.

Setting the actual resolution of the video higher causes the camera to compensate by lowering the framerate, resulting in very grainy large videos that are visibly choppy.

The audio pickup of the camera is nice, although I have yet to figure out how to control the gain directly in applications outside of the capture program that comes with it. It seems to be a "telescopic" type microphone, and very cleanly separates out room noise that it does not point at. That is, you have to aim the camera at your head for it to pick up your voice. Anything outside that cylinder will not be picked up as well.

One great thing that might be overlooked about many cameras is that when this camera is recording, a bright blue (why blue and not red?) light turns on on its face. This is very reassuring to know that you are not being recorded when you don't want to be.

In all, the drawbacks of this camera are similar to any other camera on the market, and the higher resolution capabilities of the camera allow the lower resolution to work better in low-light than others. The audio is an interesting bonus, and the included software is typically sub-expectations. This camera is probably better than many others simply because the others are so much worse.

A company that could produce a non-grainy picture in reasonable room light would make a killing in this market, but that camera cannot be found here.

I bought the vx7000 about a month ago for me and my girlfriend to videochat. The difference in image quality between this and a low end creative is huge. The picture is great and the voice quality is top notch. In combination with skype, the vx7000 allows us to see and hear each other perfectly from hundreds of miles away.

This webcam has all the capabilities you'd look for, and a very competitive price to boot. Take 7.2 MP photos and record video at 2 MP quality. I'm happy with the purchase.

I was about to give up on webcams. I had nightmare after nightmare - especially with the support from HP. Worst ever! I am not a Microsoft groupie, but I have to say this is one hell of a webcam. The picture is fabulous. I don't know what else to say besides - If you are on the fence between this and another brand, this one stood out leaps above the rest at the same price and more.

Very satisfied with product. Basically plugged it in and it worked, no hassles. Software compatible with Vista.

I bought this web-cam for about $46 shipped. Once you follow the the installation instructions, install is a breeze. It works great with no crashes and lots of features. My OS is windows XP, and it runs with no problems so far.
One thing i noticed with the VX-7000, is that it gets a little warm, even when not in use, but not a concern !
I would recommend this product !!

I'm new to the webcam world but have viewed other webcams. I had high expectations with Microsoft's currently 'best available' webcam. The camera does come through in a few important areas: Image quality is VERY good and auto-focus works great. This cam works great in rooms with low light. The UI (User Interface) is easy and quick to make sense. The only down-side is trade-off between image quality and frame-rate. Keeping moderate quality imaging brings the FR down a little. I've also experienced occasional frozen frames for about 30 - 60 seconds -a little annoying. The interface does allow you to drop resolution for higher frame-rate... Again, it's all about trade-offs!

I do reccomend this webcam!