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Technical Details
- Brand Name: Microsoft
- Model: T3H-00001
- Item Package Quantity: 1
- Hardware Platform: Pc
- Width: 6.50 inches
Product Details
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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000
Do more things together when you're apart with Skype video calling
Your video is worth 1,000 texts. Your picture is worth 1,000 texts. This true HD camera gives you bright and colorful video, and makes it easy to post to your favorite social sites.
Product Features
720p HD video chat
For a true HD-quality experience.
Widescreen
16:9 format offers cinematic video recording.
TrueColor Technology
TrueColor technology automatically delivers bright and colorful video, in virtually all lighting conditions.
Find a Webcam That's Right for You:
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Webcam | LifeCam HD-3000 | LifeCam HD-5000 | LifeCam HD-6000 for Notebooks | LifeCam Cinema | LifeCam Studio |
| Product | HD Video | Good HD Video | Mobile HD Video | Better HD Video | Best HD Video |
| Video Resolution | 720p (1280 x 720) | 720p (1280 x 720) | 720p (1280 x 720) | 720p (1280 x 720) | 1080p (1920 x 1080) |
| Lens | Plastic Element Lens | Plastic Element Lens | Plastic Element Lens | Glass Element Lens | Premium Glass Lens |
| Microphone | Digital Microphone | Noise Reduction Microphone | Noise Reduction Microphone | Noise Reduction Microphone | High-Fidelity Microphone |
| TrueColor Technology |  | | | | |
| Auto Focus | | | | | |
| 360° View Range | | | | ||
| ClearFrame Technology | | | |||
| Aluminum Body | | | |||
| Carrying Case | | ||||
| Lens Cap | |
System Requirements
- Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP (with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or higher);
- 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
Product Description
Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 Win USB PortMicrosoft LifeCamHD-3000 Win USB Port English 1 License US Only CD
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
94 of 96 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
First of all, let me get this out of the way: despite what another reviewer said, the HD-3000 most certainly DOES have a microphone.
That said, I think this camera is great. I've never been a fan of most built-in cameras because they're tough to aim without having to move your entire laptop or computer. Yes, they're convenient, but who wants to be a slave to viewing angles just to make sure you're broadcasting well. So I like stand alone cameras.
The problem is that most of them are lousy, or are hard to get pointing the way you want. In this case, neither of those things are true. I found the picture to be excellent and easily adjustable even in what I would consider to be low light. The auto-lighting works great as well, allowing a user to point it anywhere in the room and get good results quickly.
Also, placement is easy to change thanks to a sufficiently long USB cord and the awesome flexible base - curve it into an inverted "u" for monitor-top use, or bend it into any other shape to put it on your desktop. I love that about this camera.
Software and hardware installation were a snap, and the included LifeCam software is great; I found the effects to be more fun to play with than those included with Photo Booth on the Mac. My 14-year-old daughter also gave it a seal of approval, saying "that's a REALLY cool camera." What more can I say?
Sound is a slight letdown as it's a bit lacking in upper-mids and highs. O.K. for a conversation, but don't expect to record a video with it. Also, there doesn't appear to be a metering system to set inbound levels, which is a bit of a drag, making you have to try a setting, test it, then adjust. While the audio quality isn't enough to make me give the HD-3000 a poor review - it is enough to drop what would otherwise be a five star review to a four.
But don't get me wrong: it's a great camera. It's flexible, extremely adjustable, shoots in HD, and is easy to use. Particularly for the price, I don't see how you can ask for much more than that: definitely recommended.
That said, I think this camera is great. I've never been a fan of most built-in cameras because they're tough to aim without having to move your entire laptop or computer. Yes, they're convenient, but who wants to be a slave to viewing angles just to make sure you're broadcasting well. So I like stand alone cameras.
The problem is that most of them are lousy, or are hard to get pointing the way you want. In this case, neither of those things are true. I found the picture to be excellent and easily adjustable even in what I would consider to be low light. The auto-lighting works great as well, allowing a user to point it anywhere in the room and get good results quickly.
Also, placement is easy to change thanks to a sufficiently long USB cord and the awesome flexible base - curve it into an inverted "u" for monitor-top use, or bend it into any other shape to put it on your desktop. I love that about this camera.
Software and hardware installation were a snap, and the included LifeCam software is great; I found the effects to be more fun to play with than those included with Photo Booth on the Mac. My 14-year-old daughter also gave it a seal of approval, saying "that's a REALLY cool camera." What more can I say?
Sound is a slight letdown as it's a bit lacking in upper-mids and highs. O.K. for a conversation, but don't expect to record a video with it. Also, there doesn't appear to be a metering system to set inbound levels, which is a bit of a drag, making you have to try a setting, test it, then adjust. While the audio quality isn't enough to make me give the HD-3000 a poor review - it is enough to drop what would otherwise be a five star review to a four.
But don't get me wrong: it's a great camera. It's flexible, extremely adjustable, shoots in HD, and is easy to use. Particularly for the price, I don't see how you can ask for much more than that: definitely recommended.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 is Microsoft's latest budget HD webcam offering ($39.95 MSRP). As far as webcams go, it's pretty much been a two horse race for the past few years, with Logitech being the other horse. The HD-3000 boasts 720p support and other enhanced quality features. The last budget Microsoft webcam I reviewed was the LifeCam VX-3000, which was an outstanding webcam value at the time. Can the HD-3000 equal or even best the old king of budget webcams? Let's find out.
PROS:
- Budget price
- Flexible mount(literally)
- Decent video chat quality
- Good mic
CONS:
- Only VGA quality for chat
- High requirements for 720p video recording
- No lens cover
- Does not swivel up and down
- LifeCam software is a resource hog
VIDEO QUALITY
The first thing I have to mention is that the 720p HD designation only applies to local recordings. For video chats, only VGA is supported. I think Microsoft should make this clearer as I'm sure many people think that the HD-3000 supports chatting in HD. This is not the case. Still, I found the VGA quality to be improved over the older VX-3000. The fixed focus lens did pretty well at keeping everything clear and focused. For recording, I thought the video quality was acceptable, but certainly nothing to write home about. I also experienced some sync problems where the audio was not in sync with the video. My system did not meet the CPU requirement for 720p HD recording, so that may have been the culprit. I think an Intel Dual Core 3.0 GHz CPU is a hefty requirement for a webcam. The software effects were pretty useless and caused my system to display low resource warnings whenever I used them. By the way, I have an Intel Core 2 Duo running at 2.53 GHz with 4GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT graphics card. Still photos at 4MP were okay but my Android smartphone takes better photos, by far.
MOUNT & MIC
Microsoft designers seem to be in love with bendable hardware. Their Arc Touch Mouse has a bendable section of the mouse and the HD-3000 uses a bendable mount that works pretty well. It fit over my 24' Samsung LCD monitor and my laptop lid just fine. The rubbery surface kept it from sliding around too much and can be folded to allow the webcam to sit on a flat surface.
The mic on the HD-3000 worked well in my tests. Background noise was audible, but my voice could be heard over the background noise without difficulty.
MISCELLANEOUS
While the HD-3000 swivels from left to right, it does not swivel up and down. The blue LED light turns on during webcam use and is bright and distracting. I also wish webcams would come with lens covers. I think I once had a Kodak webcam that had a lens cover and I feel that all webcams should come with one. Have you read about that tech support guy who installed some nefarious software on women's computers that allowed him to turn their webcams on remotely? Or the IT guy of a school district that spied on kids? Yes, I am paranoid and I would like the option to cover the lens. Lastly, I wish Microsoft would get rid of that Windows Live Call button. While adjusting the webcam, I kept pressing it accidentally. Each time, a popup message would appear asking me if I wanted to install Windows Live Messenger 8.1.
CONCLUSION
The Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 is an okay value but it hasn't been improved a great deal from the old VX-3000, which is about four years old. I expected more in four years. Unless you absolutely need the ability to record 720p videos with your webcam, or take 4MP stills, I recommend saving a few bucks and going with the Microsoft LifeCam VX-5000. You might even consider spending a few *more* dollars to give the Logitech C310 a look.
PROS:
- Budget price
- Flexible mount(literally)
- Decent video chat quality
- Good mic
CONS:
- Only VGA quality for chat
- High requirements for 720p video recording
- No lens cover
- Does not swivel up and down
- LifeCam software is a resource hog
VIDEO QUALITY
The first thing I have to mention is that the 720p HD designation only applies to local recordings. For video chats, only VGA is supported. I think Microsoft should make this clearer as I'm sure many people think that the HD-3000 supports chatting in HD. This is not the case. Still, I found the VGA quality to be improved over the older VX-3000. The fixed focus lens did pretty well at keeping everything clear and focused. For recording, I thought the video quality was acceptable, but certainly nothing to write home about. I also experienced some sync problems where the audio was not in sync with the video. My system did not meet the CPU requirement for 720p HD recording, so that may have been the culprit. I think an Intel Dual Core 3.0 GHz CPU is a hefty requirement for a webcam. The software effects were pretty useless and caused my system to display low resource warnings whenever I used them. By the way, I have an Intel Core 2 Duo running at 2.53 GHz with 4GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT graphics card. Still photos at 4MP were okay but my Android smartphone takes better photos, by far.
MOUNT & MIC
Microsoft designers seem to be in love with bendable hardware. Their Arc Touch Mouse has a bendable section of the mouse and the HD-3000 uses a bendable mount that works pretty well. It fit over my 24' Samsung LCD monitor and my laptop lid just fine. The rubbery surface kept it from sliding around too much and can be folded to allow the webcam to sit on a flat surface.
The mic on the HD-3000 worked well in my tests. Background noise was audible, but my voice could be heard over the background noise without difficulty.
MISCELLANEOUS
While the HD-3000 swivels from left to right, it does not swivel up and down. The blue LED light turns on during webcam use and is bright and distracting. I also wish webcams would come with lens covers. I think I once had a Kodak webcam that had a lens cover and I feel that all webcams should come with one. Have you read about that tech support guy who installed some nefarious software on women's computers that allowed him to turn their webcams on remotely? Or the IT guy of a school district that spied on kids? Yes, I am paranoid and I would like the option to cover the lens. Lastly, I wish Microsoft would get rid of that Windows Live Call button. While adjusting the webcam, I kept pressing it accidentally. Each time, a popup message would appear asking me if I wanted to install Windows Live Messenger 8.1.
CONCLUSION
The Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 is an okay value but it hasn't been improved a great deal from the old VX-3000, which is about four years old. I expected more in four years. Unless you absolutely need the ability to record 720p videos with your webcam, or take 4MP stills, I recommend saving a few bucks and going with the Microsoft LifeCam VX-5000. You might even consider spending a few *more* dollars to give the Logitech C310 a look.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Easy to install, even for a techno-idiot? Totally. Easy to use? It was better than pre-installed or even integrated webcams I've had in the past. Vid quality? Up there with the best. This is like getting Windows after years of using DOS (if anyone remembers that a$$-pain). This is totally intuitive, works great out of the box and does what it says it will do. I'm techically pretty competent (forensic computing is a big part of my business) but not awfully patient with fiddly hardware. THIS is what plug-n-play means to me. Good stuff.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works great
I've had this two years and it still works great a really clear picture. I would buy this again thanks
Published 20 days ago by RR
1.0 out of 5 stars
It
It just did not work. Stupid equipment. Never again. Piece of crap. Oh and it's ugly. It looks restarted. Lol
Published 1 month ago by tim jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars
HD web cam
This web cam works great and the video quality is excvellent. Fast shipping and happy with the purchase. Microsft is a great product.
Published 1 month ago by michelle
2.0 out of 5 stars
Poor microphone
The microphone on this unit was pretty bad, so I purchased a HD-5000 and that model works better. Won't buy any more 3000s.
Published 1 month ago by Mark Kislingbury
4.0 out of 5 stars
good camera
This camera was easy to install and works very well. No software conflicts and good clear picture. The box indicates that this camera does NOT have a microphone, but once it was... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Independent Thinker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bought a few for family
Bought a few for my family members so we can all Skype and have very clear video just plug in and go!
Published 3 months ago by Daniel M. Patoyian
4.0 out of 5 stars
LifeCam
I bought this as a Christmas gift for my niece. She states that it works well with a lot of options. She was pleased.
Published 3 months ago by Sonya Hamby
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very cheap
For the price I got it for ($11), you really can't find a better webcam than this. Quality is decent and the microphone picks up my speech from across the entire room!
Published 3 months ago by Eric Lin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy but great quality
I bought this webcam for my grandparents and they were able to easily set it up and use it. They love that they can readjust it on top of their computer but it doesn't fall off. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lauren Z
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy does it
We were looking for a webcam to keep in touch with my cousin deployed in Afghanistan. Very easy set up, very easy to use. Have had no issues with. Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. Laufenberg
