Reviewed: Logitech StreamCam

VERDICT: The Logitech StreamCam makes it incredibly simple to capture beautiful broadcast-ready footage for Twitch and YouTube. It’s so easy that it almost feels like cheating.

The Review

The Rundown

Logitech has taken aim at the modern world of streaming and content creation with their StreamCam, a webcam packed with high-spec and high-performing features.

Video is taken care of by the full-HD 1080p camera, which can capture footage at up to 60fps. Inside, Logotech’s AI adjusts focus and exposure to provide a balanced image, while also offering an optional facial tracking. The StreamCam can be orientated for landscape and portrait.

Other features include a two front-facing microphones for audio capture in either mono or stereo, multiple mounting options, USB-C connection for quick data exchange and access to Logitech Capture, a video capture suite and source app.

The package offered by Logitech is seemingly intended to allow both new and experienced content creators an all-in-one studio. But how does it fare when put to the test?

The Experience

The first thing that the users of the Logitech StreamCam are likely to notice is the clarity of the camera’s image, and secondly the simplicity of its operation.

During our testing, we explored the StreamCam using Logitech Capture. A little play around in the image quality settings showcased the pure and clear display that the camera can facilitate. The field of vision is wide without being distorted, the full-HD video feed is sharp and doesn’t lag, and the auto-adjust is so quick and accurate that it goes entirely unnoticed. We often suffer from some image glare and imbalance with webcams, due to the office’s large windows, yet allowing the camera’s AI to take over backlight correction instantly adjusted exposure to create a natural, balanced clarity in the image. Even on dull days or murky evenings, the AI can adjust an image to keep it looking bright and clear.

The ability to capture footage at 60fps is a real boon for this device, allowing even the quickest of movements to be captured smoothly.

The dual microphones are great at capturing sounds across a spectrum of frequencies and volumes. We recorded general conversations, gameplay commentary, and electric and acoustic guitar and found that the audio was clear and defined, with the noise reduction filter helping to reduce background noise without overstepping to deaden a room’s timbre and tone. We did however note that the audio is superior on the Dual Mono setting, as opposed to the Stereo audio capture which could be a little imbalanced and wobbly.

As well as being ideal for content capture, the StreamCam fares well in video conferencing. Setting up the StreamCam is extremely simple: connection is made via a USB-C cable, so some users will need a USB-C to USB male convertor.

Thanks to the combination of quality camera, microphones and AI automatic adjustment, the StreamCam makes it incredibly simple to capture broadcast-ready footage.

Reviewer use: On-screen and live footage, guitar playing, and video conferencing.

Five Features

FULL-HD, 60FPS FOOTAGE

The StreamCam boasts a full-HD camera, capable of capturing video footage across the HD spectrum at frame rates of up to 60fps. The 78-degree field of view is ideal for online content capture and video conferencing – not too much, not too little.

SMART VIDEO AI

Logitech’s in-built AI is the real hero of this device, offering focus auto-adjustment, backlight balance, image stabilisation and facial tracking. Each role it fulfils without intruding on footage quality. Simply, it works.

ORIENTATION AND MOUNTING

The camera can be mounted on either a screen-top bracket or tripod via the provided screw-on bracket (tripod not included), in either landscape or portrait orientation. The landscape option is perfect for video chats, Twitch streaming or YouTube content, whereas portrait is ideal for content creators looking to capture footage in the 9:16 format used by smartphones, and Facebook and Instagram stories.

USB-C CONNECTION

There are two reasons why the USB-C connection is important. The first is that the connection carries considerably more power to the StreamCam, allowing the high-performance hardware to do its thing without need extra USB or mains input. The second is that the data transfer rate is twice that of a USB 3, meaning that all of the full-HD, 60fps footage can be handled without delay, which is imperative for live streamers.

LOGITECH CAPTURE

Logitech Capture is the software that allows users to access the array of features offered by the StreamCam. It’s a useful tool wrapped in a user-friendly skin, working as an image capture suite in its own right, and as a configuration platform which can be used as a camera source for other platforms, such as Open Broadcast Software, XSplit and Streamlabs.

The app offers multi-source recording, on-screen recording, studio controls, filters, transitional animations, AI activation, text overlays, audio channel selection and more.

If we were to change one thing…

We would’ve liked to have seen a longer cable – 1.5m is fine for laptops and single monitor setups, but for desktop junkies it can be a little bit of a stretch.

The Technical Bit

Size: (Unmounted) 66 mm (H) x 58 mm (W) x 48 mm (D). 150 g

Max Video Resolution: 1080p/60 fps in MJPEG

Cable length: 1.5 m USB - C3.1 cable

Supported resolutions: 1920x1080, 1280x720, 960x540, 848x480, 640x360, 320x240

Supported frame rate: MJPEG - 60 fps, 30 fps, 24 fps, 20 fps, 15 fps, 10 fps, 7.5 fps, 5 fps. YUY2, NV12 - 30 fps, 24 fps, 20 fps, 15 fps, 10 fps, 7.5 fps, 5 fps.

Lens: Premium Full HD Glass lens, f/2.0 - focal length 3.7 mm

Field of View: 78° (diagonal)

Focus: Autofocus (10 cm to infinity). Face based autofocus available with Logitech Capture

Built-in Audio: Dual omnidirectional mic with noise reduction filter, stereo or dual mono channel

Live indicator lights: White LED

System Requirements: Windows 10 or above, macOS 10.14 or above. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 or later. USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C direct connection

William Lobley is a Content Writer for WhatsTheBest, specialising in technology, gaming and outdoors. He also writes for Empire Online.