Ever since we found ourselves hurling into the midst of a pandemic four long months ago, many of us have been working office jobs with no office in sight. I, for one, am working in a studio apartment with my fiancée, our monitors back to back in a never-ending game of “which one of us has to take our meeting in the bathroom?” And because no one wants to look unpresentable from the comfort of their toilet, I asked our readers earlier this week the question on everyone’s mind: what’s the best webcam for Zoom meetings?
A question that would’ve received benign, if confused, answers at the beginning of the year was met primarily with shade. Not at me, but at the continued stock shortages in the webcam market. As one reader, Covered in Bees, perfectly remarked in the comments of my original post, “Uh, I’d take any name brand webcam that is in stock for less than 4x markup.” These days, it’s a task easier said than done. But, of course, some of you came prepared for the test.
While the webcam I have now is sufficient, according to some readers, others suggested I download an app on my phone instead of buying a webcam altogether. No matter where you stand, I think we can all agree Anthony is right when it comes to my specific living situation:
The best webcam is “Oh, sorry, my webcam isn’t working, guess we’ll have to do audio only”. The second best webcam is the one your company pays for; because if you’re being required to do video meetings they damn well better be paying for it.
I like where your head’s at, Anthony. Below are the best webcams for Zoom meetings you can buy right now on the off-chance they’re still in stock by the time this gets published. Co-op: Speedrun Edition. Challenge accepted.
Razer Kiyo | $198 | Amazon
Razer Kiyo. I had a C920, but it only looked good with tons and tons of light. The settings also reset every time I restarted my computer, so I’d have to change them back every time I used it. With the Kiyo, the light is on the camera and it just looks good right out of the box. All I did was turn off autofocus—and it stays off, unlike the C920. I don’t care how many streamers tell you to get the C920, that camera is trash. Get a Kiyo instead. – thebigcheese
Logitech C615 | $90 | Amazon
I have four other cameras I can use (one being the onboard cam on my laptop), but none even come close to the quality of the C615. It’s not cheap but it’s worth the extra money.
Speaking of not cheap, I have a Jabra 710 bluetooth speaker I use in conjunction with the C615. It’s a perfect combination. The speaker quality is amazing. – SupersonicATX
Logitech Brio | $280 | Logitech
Get a Logitech Brio. This is by far the best camera you can buy for Zoom and other conferencing apps. The picture is 16×9 and clear 4k. The light balance is very good. It has Windows Hello built into it. I have been using this camera now for a couple of years and could never go back to the C920s I used to use. People often ask me how my camera looks so much better than theirs and it’s simple, the Brio is a better camera. – Adam Noah
I second this. Paid dearly for mine at the start of the pandemic, roughly twice list price. Never looked back, and I put everyone to shame on every call. So worth the money. That, my ring light, and my Yeti Pro mic really are the best toys I have bought myself to make light of these dark times. – jystad
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