My wife's family lives in Europe so we spend lots of time on Skype - especially since we have a 4 month old baby. Our Acer laptop has an OK webcam built in, but I wanted my mother-in-law to feel "almost there" when she was seeing her granddaughter. So I researched HD webcams looking for the sweet spot between price, portability and quality. The C510 hits the mark. It is reasonable in price and is very compact with a nifty storage case for when we are just using the built in webcam.
Initially, I was dissapointed when there was no noticable increase in video quality while Skyping. I soon learned that the problem was not with the webcam itself, but with my research (and Skype). Currently, this camera will not work as an HD Skype camera. If you want that, you need to buy a webcam with a built in HD encoder, which are more expensive. Otherwise, Skype will be a low-def experience. I don't understand why Skype has this requirement when so few webcams have an encoder. I suspect that as more and more HD cams hit the market, we will see Skype change its restrictive policy.
Fortunately, the solution is easy. If you want full 720p HD video chats, look no farther than the Logitech C510 installation disc. Logitech was smart enough to create a very simple, yet high quality video chat program called HD Vid. Once you install it, you send an invite through the program to anyone who you want to chat with. They simply accept and auto intall the software on their computer and you are in business. They don't even need to have a HD webcam. They will still see you in HD, while you will see them in standard-def. And if they don't have a webcam, they can still see you in HD, while you will hear them - so this program is very compatible and much easier than anything else I have used. My 80 year old dad even installed it when he accepted my invite, not that he knew at the time. And he was thrilled to see us in HD the next time I called.
So all in all, this is a good buy and the software is heads above Skype in regards to video quality and simplicity. In fairness, Skype does much more beyond video chats, but if you don't need the added features, the included HD Vid software is a huge value added feature that comes with this camera. Sweet!
I recommend this webcam, especially with the bundled software. It's a great set up for a great price.
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