Microsoft LifeCam Cinema 720p HD Webcam - Black

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 2.5 x 8 inches ; 10.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B002MCZJ78
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: H5D-00001
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (453 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #4 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Webcams
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 20, 2009

Product Description

Style: Retail

From the Manufacturer

Share every detail with friends and family with the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema. This full-featured webcam, with ClearFrame image-processing technology, delivers smooth, detailed 16:9 video in full 720p HD quality and crystal-clear audio. Optimized for Windows Live and Windows 7, the LifeCam Cinema also works with Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger and Skype for video calls and messaging.

Product Features:

720p HD Widescreen Video 720p sensor captures true HD quality video at up to 30 frames per second.		World-class Optics With Auto Focus and high-precision glass element lens.		Clear, High-quality Video ClearFrame Technology provides smooth, detailed video.
Crystal-clear Audio Digital, noise-cancelling microphone helps improve speech quality.		Aluminum Body		Flexible Stand Fits any notebook and desktop PCs.

HD Done Right:

An HD webcam can mean the difference between a good experience and a great one. With cinematic 16:9 widescreen 720p video, crystal-clear images with Auto Focus and smooth and clear video with ClearFrame Technology, you won't find another High Definition video experience like LifeCam Cinema.

	720p HD Widescreen Video With virtually all new computer displays shipping in widescreen and social networking sites now accepting uploaded widescreen video, LifeCam Cinema offers true 720p widescreen video capture at up to 30 frames per second. Which means you'll be able to create higher quality widescreen webcam videos without having to worry about jerky frame speeds.
	Sharp Close-ups The auto-focus feature on the LifeCam Cinema works just like the auto-focus feature on your digital camera to keep your video sharp no matter how close an object is to the LifeCam. Perfect for showing small objects—such as a ring or a business card—up close. And Auto Focus is built right into the camera, so there's never a need to adjust the focus by hand.
	Smooth Video ClearFrame is an innovative technology that provides smooth, detailed video at any resolution— even in low-light conditions. ClearFrame improves video quality in two ways: ClearFrame features an image processing technology that helps to efficiently send the information from the webcam to your computer, reducing the "ghosting" effect. Video noise reduction software reduces image graininess—especially in low light—to keep your video sharp and clear.

Find a Webcam That's Right for You:

LifeCam Cinema System Requirements:

Windows® 7/Windows Vista®/Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or higher, excluding Windows XP Pro 64-bit; VGA video calling: Intel Dual-Core 1.6 GHz or higher, 1 GB of RAM; 720p HD recording: Intel Dual-Core 3.0 GHz or higher, 2GB of RAM 1.5 GB free space USB 2.0 Windows-compatible speakers or headphones You must accept License Terms for software download. Internet functions and Software Installation also require: Internet Explorer® 7/8/9; 25 MB hard-drive space typically required. Internet access may be required for certain features. Local and/or long-distance telephone toll charges may apply. Software download required for full functionality of all features.

Product Description

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema Webcam H5D-00001 Web Cameras

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

722 of 758 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Hardware, Lackluster Software, October 7, 2009

By 

Brian Geisel "geis" (Shrewsbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft LifeCam Cinema 720p HD Webcam - Black (Personal Computers)

Length:: 3:11 Mins

Summary: It's a great product, but the software is lacking. It does require a lot of processing power to produce decent videos, so do everything you can to let the capture software have all of the processing power.

For reference, I was using an AMD Athlon 64 XP Dual Core 6400+ CPU with 4GB of RAM when recording this video. I am running the software on a Windows XP 32-bit machine.

This video was recorded with minimal software interference, but I'm also happy with the quality of the processing for low-light conditions. In this case, I was looking to get the best motion performance, so I turned off all of the auto features in order to get the best picture with the light I was using.

As you will hear in the video, the built-in microphone isn't terrible, but it does have a pretty high noise floor. That is fine if you're using Skype, but lousy if you are trying to record higher quality videos. In this video, I used the Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Condenser USB Microphone (except for the built-in mic demo).

All in all, it's a great webcam for producing online videos. If you don't have external software, or don't have a top of the line computer, there may be a webcam that does what you need without so much hassle. For high quality stuff, this may well be the best hardware on the market.

201 of 207 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great alternative to Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, September 24, 2009

By 

THATCH "RST" (OHIO) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft LifeCam Cinema 720p HD Webcam - Black (Personal Computers)

I'm a big Skype user and have used the QuickCam Pro 9000 for quite some time. While Skype doesn't recognize this Microsoft cam as an "HQ" cam (or at least not yet, if ever), I have found that this cam excels as compared to the QuickCam Pro 9000 in three ways:

1. This cam produces much richer colors. Some may say it borderlines oversaturated or "technicolor" but I really enjoy the brilliance of the colors
2. Low light conditions keep rich and bright color. I find with the QuickCam it loses contrast to brighten up the picture.
3. Launch time. I find with the Quickcam Pro 9000 the "ramp up/turn on" time is undesirably long when receiving an auto answer Skype call. This cam is ready to go immediately.

As far as focusing goes, both the QickCam Pro 9000 and this cam aren't great at it in dark lighting conditions.

The widescreen view is a really nice change from the normal 4:3 perspective. It really helps show your surroundings more and give a better feel to where you are.

Installation was easy, and the cam itself seems far smaller than I was expecting.

Under some conditions Skype callers on the receiving end prefer this video over the HQ Skype capable Quickcam Pro 9000. In some cases they prefer the Quickcam.

I saw that some people mentioned the high hardware requirements so I wanted to let you know what I'm using it on:

Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit
Core i7 2.66
3 GB memory

I'm not going to outright say that this is a better webcam than the QuickCam Pro 9000 but it definitely gives it a run for it's money, and offers a few unique features that the QuickCam Pro 9000 does not, all in a smaller more attractive cam size & style.

---update--

After several months of use, I have found that I'm using this cam more than the Logitech Quick Cam 9000. They're both equal in stature in my mind, but this one is better at low light use. I often Skype at night when the room is comfortably dim, so this has become my preferred camera. Even though it's not listed as an HQ cam for Skype, it still provides better overall performance for the way I use it.

110 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good in very low light, September 30, 2009

By 

Bay Hunter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft LifeCam Cinema 720p HD Webcam - Black (Personal Computers)

I like the Lifecam Cinema webcam because it is the best webcam in very low light. With only the computer and TV on at night, the Lifecam Cinema webcam produces a viewable video for chat. In this same light settings, the Quickcam Pro9000s video is all black.

In better light conditions, the Lifecam cinema will produce a good video with good color.

This camera will focus as close as 1 inch. Good to play around with as a microscope, but a hassle everytime it does an autofocus. I turn off autofocus most of the time.

People mentioned that this camera takes a powerful CPU. It only uses a lot of CPU power when you turn on the video effects, such as modifing the eyes, nose, face, and others.

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