Creative Live! Cam Optia Pro review

Gallery

Verdict:

Not quite top, but definitely taupe. Great wide-angle video, but the AF is better.

Review Date: 15 Feb 2008

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Karl Wright

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

The bundle of software that comes with the Live!

Cam Optia Pro is exactly the same as you get with the slightly more expensive Optia AF, again taking ages to install. The two cameras look fairly similar, but the Pro's big strength is that it has, by webcam standards, an exceptionally wide-angle lens, providing a 71 field of view (compared to 63 for the Optia AF). This means you can get more people in the picture, whether you're hosting a meeting of several colleagues with a webcam link to others, or showing the kids off to their grandparents.

However, the camera doesn't have autofocus and the picture quality, while still good, isn't up to the Optia AF's: not quite as sharp, a little grainier, and slightly overexposed. The camera had more difficulty with our fast-moving test subject, too.

Build quality is as good as the AF's: sturdy, stylish, and with the same ball and socket joint to allow for maximum movement.

Overall, the Optia Pro is second only to its AF cousin among the cameras on test. If the price difference had been bigger, we might recommend this as a good budget alternative. As it is, unless you absolutely need wide-angle, you should go for Creative's other model.

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