Microsoft L2 LifeCam HD-3000, Black
Microsoft L2 LifeCam HD-3000, Black
| Weight: | 89.9 g |
| Dimensions: | 14 x 14 x 7.4 cm; 89.9 Grams |
| Brand: | Microsoft |
| Model: | T3H-00012 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Microsoft |
| Dimensions: | 14 x 14 x 7.4 cm; 89.9 Grams |
I invested over 100 in a Razer webcam that cut out frequently. I only need for Zoom meetings on my work laptop and this device works entirely to spec at a fraction of the Razer cost.
I use it for live streaming on Xbox, so can not comment on the sound as I use my headset. The picture quality, is ok, but I was expecting a bit better. colours are good, and so is low light I like the mount it comes with, sits nicely on top of my tv,but would be nice if it had the threaded hole for a tripod.
for a low cost webcam, I am more than happy with it, and hopefully, so are people watching my streaming.
For my line of work I don’t need a high quality camera so this works for me. The picture quality is just about average but a decent addition to WFH setting .
For the price I doubt you could find a better all round webcam, I brought this for Teams meetings was plug and play with windows 11, it also works well as a face cam for streaming I had no issues setting it up with obs. The mic I can’t comment on as I use another device for voice capture
I’m delighted with this webcam. Very easy to use. It also works with OBS Studio, so you can process the image and re-present it as a “virtual camera” (the latency when doing this is not noticable for me). I was worried that low light levels in my “home office” would make it difficult to get a good image, but this little star performs wonderfully.
I have found at times that when I have loads of software running, that Microsoft Teams does not want to show my image, but I think that is down to too much software and limited RAM. The solution is just to close everything I don’t need before a meeting.
For starters, setting-up and installing the LifeCam was ridiculously EASY! There’s NO NEED to download any drivers!!! NO NEED to download any special software!!! Just simply plug it into the USB slot, and it will AUTOMATICALLY set everything up!(make sure you using Windows 10!).
The LifeCam has flexible mounting options. You can mount it on the monitor of your laptop/desktop PC, or you can sit it down on the desk, beside your PC. My favourite feature is the TrueColor Technology, because once it recognises your FACE, it will automatically ENHANCE the picture quality of your video!
I was using the LifeCam to join a Skype for Business meeting. Now I can’t wait to use it on my girlfriend
This is the second Microsoft LifeCam I have owned. The first I bequeathed to my wife who was doing online teaching to her Primary School Class…then I realised I did actually use it, so bought this one! I particularly like the fact that it has a microphone built-in, which does a reasonable job of picking up my speech at a good volume for video calls. It performs well in poor light and drivers, etc. are automatically installed/updated as part of the Windows 10 Operating System.
When trying to set up Zoom I discovered that my integral webcam (which I rarely used) had died some time ago. A common problem with an aging laptop I discovered. But I was desperate to set up and use Zoom for an important meeting. This webcam had good reviews AND was still in stock (many didn’t and/or weren’t).
I was so pleased that despite a delivery date at least a week hence it actually came the next day. It was dead simple to set up in minutes EXCEPT be warned that if you are in a similar situation, it may well try to use the existing driver for the dead webcam – and fail of course. I needed to find and download a suitable generic driver before it worked. But from then onwards, great.
We bought this camera to keep in touch with our son at university. We went for the Lifecam HD 3000 as I had used this device previously at work and it was a relatively cheap camera.
In the box
Although the packaging for the Lifecam HD 3000 was quite bulky, the only thing in the box was the camera itself. No installation CD is required as the camera is plug and play, meaning that it will automatically detect and install the drivers when you plug it in to a free USB port.
Setting up the camera
As previously mentioned, all you need to do is plug the camera in to a USB port and wait a minute or two and the camera is ready to use. There is no additional software that ships with the camera so if you need to get photo or video capture software, you will need to source this yourself. If your primary use is for Skype or any other kind of social media video, then you will be ready to go within minutes.
Using the camera
Now several reviews have described problems using this camera with Windows 10. I have had no such problems and it has worked fine from day one. The picture quality of this camera is excellent as you would expect from a HD camera. My experience of the sound was that it was a bit low and I had to raise my voice to be heard at the other end. The base is very flexible, allowing you to either sit the camera on a desk or hook it over the corner of the monitor. My personal preference was the desk as the base did obstruct the screen slightly when placed on a monitor.
Conclusion
I would recommend this web camera for the recreational user. It is cheap, easy to install and offers quality images.
Maybe because Microsoft also sell the operating system – Windows 7 – these cams always work straight out of the box. Having tried other makes such as Hercules which gave me problems with software upgrades I’m no longer tempted to experiment. This in fact replaced the Hercules and the image quality was better and the interface easier. The microphone works extremely well on skype – the Hercules didn’t and I had to wear a headset. Sound is clear and there is no feedback with the incoming call coming out of the speakers. I now have two – one that replaced the Hercules and one that replaced an old Microsoft camera that died after several years so the longevity of these products isn’t an issue.
The performance is excellent, it works straight out of the box and it’s competitive on price compared to other leading makes (you may get a bargain offer on another make online or on ebay but that’s where I came unstuck with the Hercules!). Not sure about Linux, but for Windows this is an excellent buy.
The only reason this is not a five star rating, is becuase it does not go to 30fps in 720p mode. the quality when running at 30fps is pretty good though. it keeps up with motion reasonably well, and the photo quality (with a little tweaking of the settings) is pretty good too 🙂 All in all this is a product well worth the money if you want a entry-level hd webcam. I would not recommend this if you need to capture fast motion as the image blurs, But this is a very nice webcam for the money 🙂
I’ll make this as brief as possible.
The 720p picture is great, had many compliments on the quality of the image. The mic is fairly average. I own a cheap plantronics desktop mic, and the webcams mic beats it, i.e. people can actually hear me on the webcams mic, and i don’t really get many complaints about how well it picks up my voice, but obviously it could be better as its just a built in cam mic, but it does the job. The stand looked confusing to me before buying, and i wondered how it’d fit on my monitor, but when i got it, it seemed a lot clearer. It can simply sit on the desk directly, or the stand can bend and lean on top of the monitor. I thought it’d be precarious, but its not really. If i bump the desk or monitor it stays still, its only when i tap it with my finger or hand does it actually move out of position.
In summary, glad i bought it, worth buying, would recommend it.
so being relatively happy with the other microsoft webcam I decided to plump for another one, just a few pounds more than we originally paid for the VX. On receiving it, though, the difference is night and day.
First of all, the size was smaller than I expected. From the picture I expected it to be wider than the VX, but actually it turned out to be shorter and about the same width. This is a good thing (I thought it would be ugly at the size I was expecting it to be, but the design suits the size it actually is)
The stand is not just stuck in one position like it looks in the picture – it’s flexible so that you can easily adjust it and get it into position, which means you can get it to stand up well either on its own or on top of a screen – without resorting to it intruding on the screen. It’s quite a clever thing actually.
Picture quality is another level compared to an old VGA webcam.
What I was most impressed by is the improved dynamic range. With the VX webcam, if there was a TV in the background, the rest of the picture would dim slightly to accommodate, but of course the TV would still be a glowing blob (a lose lose situation!). With this webcam, the improved dynamic range means that the room does not appear dim, and yet the picture on the tv is visible. Not that I’m spending time watching TV with our skype contacts, but it’s a good example of how a newer webcam cuts out problems with the background interfering with the brightness of your picture.
Of course being an ‘HD’ webcam the picture detail and clarity are also improved – that is to be expected, and our contacts have commented on how much better it is that they can actually see us. I should add that It’s also far superior to the picture from the (old) nexus 7 which we use for skype calls around the house.
There is not a great deal more to say. We don’t use whatever software may come with such devices to add funny effects or whatever to your video.
And there are of course features in more expensive models that you may be missing – but if you don’t know what those features are, you probably don’t need them and won’t miss them. If you are looking to shoot professional videos – well you should probably just buy a proper video camera. If you just want a webcam for making calls, maybe youtube videos etc. this is a very good combination of budget and quality.
As others have already said, this Webcam has LITERALLY CHANGED MY LIFE! The entire internet is much faster, and I can now do things that I was never able to do before: the teleport function is particularly useful, and an unexpected feature. Having bought this device purely on the fact that it had new packaging, I was delighted to find a fully operational web cam/teleport device inside. I would rate full 5 stars, however, the fact that the USB cable doesn’t stretch from my living room (where I keep the monitor and new webcam/teleport) to my kitchen (some 25meters away and where I keep the base station) means I have to mark this down. Also please note that this camera does not work with windows 3.1 on my x386 1990’s model PC, due to the fact that USB hadn’t been invented when I purchased this computer.
Installation on a PC (Win7 64bit) was much like any simple USB hardware, but for full driver and free Microsoft Lifecam software visit the Microsoft website and download the software (no registration required) it only takes a few minutes with a good internet connection. It is fairly easy to install and very easy to use the software, but you may notice that Windows update offers several minor software updates related to background software soon after installation. Without the Lifecam software the picture quality will be limited to 640×480 – with the software you get 1280×720 HD and 4xHD photo capture for still photo snaps. Lifecam is very easy to use so you can set the camera how you want it, low resolution if you have a slower internet connection or HD if you have a faster connection – if you have the resolution too high for your connection speed it will cause the video feed to break up and jump about instead of being smooth. If you want to edit captured video or make mini movies then also get the free Microsoft Windows Essentials package (you can choose which bits you install) the Movie Maker software is what you need for simple video editing and upload or sharing options (it isn’t included as a standard with Win 7, like it used to be with XP, but it is much improved over the old XP version).
If you want to capture time lapse or video triggered by movement or sound then you will need other software such as the free software iSpy. iSpy allows you to use a webcam like the HD-3000 to monitor your home from a remote location or be alerted to activity in your home, such as a break-in or pets activity when left alone. The software is totally free and open source (no registration or email required) and they only charge a small monthly subscription for alerts, if you want to use that service. iSpy allows monitoring and recording from multiple web or wi-fi ip cameras, and allows individual settings and triggers for each camera. iSpy is easy to download, but needs fairly careful setup, but a good help guide is included and there many users on the web too. ispyconnect.com
The only limitation of this webcam I have found so far is one that affects all webcams – when using the camera in a constant record mode with any of the software available it appears to be limited to around 2GB file size, which on full resolution is about 2 hours or so. Other than that I am very pleased and impressed with this very reasonably priced webcam – it may take me a while to discover all that I can do with it. I would recommend the HD-3000 for most standard webcam uses and a few non-standard ones too!
As I’ve never had a webcam before I have nothing to compare this to. I purchased it to use Skype and have found the camera and microphone to be good quality. The microphone is incorporated into the webcam and I am told the sound is clear when using Skye, even though I sit two feet away from the microphone. The picture is clear and of good quality compared to other webcam images I have seen. It fits on the top of my screen and angles all ways. It has a USB cable which connects to the front of my base-unit. It’s not ideal having the cable connected all the time as it gets in the way,but that’s the design of the PC unit and most connections now appear at the front of PC base units.
A neat little camera which seems to be of good quality and reasonable price. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive. Typically Microsoft.
Very easy to start up. No CD or drivers required, the camera does all its own set-up as soon as you plug it in to your USB.
One star deducted because the bendy clip behind the camera isnt too clever at adapting to all situations. Fortunately I have a printer on a shelf above my monitor, which is ideal to slide the rear bendy clip under, but if you are hoping it will sit on top of your flat screen monitor, it doesnt do this very well, you will need a lump of blu-tak or some sticky tape.
Overall I am content with this purchase.
I would give 5 stars to the delivery process, however. I received an email in the early morning saying the package would be delivered between 10.58 and 11.58 am. The driver arrived at around 11.30. Really helpful useful addition to the service. Well done. Wish all suppliers did this.
Waiting time to install was absolutely fine, took a couple of minutes and it was ready to go! The quality is great, plus I had so much fun playing around with the effects. Just a warning to people who want to use this for tinychat.com, it won’t work until you update your Adobe Flash player. It took me over an hour to find out why Tinychat couldn’t pick up the camera! But now it is fine, can’t fault it for the price it is. One little thing I’ll add is that the stand of the camera is a bit stiff, which makes it hard to bend. But wonderful nontheless, get it!
Windows XP user here. Wasted 1.5 hours trying to get the Lifecam software working – every time I launched the application I would get an error saying “Lifecam.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close”. This also resulted in a blank, black image when testing in Skype or any video capture application. My cynical mind would say this is Microsoft trying to shun XP users and get them to buy Windows 7 (I know for a fact it works fine in Windows 7). Having read a review for another Microsoft web cam on Amazon, I discovered a helpful post that recommended uninstalling Lifecam, and using only the drivers (which I believe come with XP). This worked a treat and I can now use this web cam. Decent picture and an added bonus having a built-in mic. All for a very reasonable sum!
Hi,
Got this about two weeks ago. Came well packaged.
Not sure if it is really “HD” and it doesn’t really
stay on the top of my flat screen. However it was easy to
install and it comes with good software. Microsoft has
made an effort in designing this webcam and has used
a decent mic and good quality materials. It is also better
than the webcam that I owned before which I brought for 40.
A problem that I have encountered while using this webcam
is being constantly bugged with an error message
“Poor System Performance” when i use Full HD this surprised
me as I have 4 GB of Ram and nearly no programs are open. This
also seems to happen on Skype!
However I am still happy with this purchase as it was cheap for
this type of product and I recommend it strongly.