I don't want to write this as a review but just share my experience which may help other buyers. You can skip the story and go directly to the bold heading below if you are in a hurry.
I needed to buy a webcam basically for video communication. I visited my small local store in the neighbourhood and he suggested that I should go for a iBall product; specifically the C8 or C12. He normally gives me special prices below his marked price because he knows I ask around on TE
and quoted Rs 850 and 1050 respectively.
Somehow I do not trust the specifications of Indian companies. iBall is no exception. They are all the PMPO types if you know what I mean. In this case what irritates me is the interpolated resolution specification.
As I started looking around on the web, I zeroed in on the Logitech C200. Logitech claims to be the worlds largest seller of webcams so why should I also not join that big gang of their customers?
I had a 10% ebay voucher and used it to buy the said item @ Rs. 1045/- + Rs. 35/- shipping minus 10%. I got the camera and set it up. Having never used a webcam before, I was not really unhappy with the image quality. I assumed that is the norm. What I was unhappy about was that the camera is said to fit snugly on to my TFT monitor and it didn't. Kept falling off as a matter of fact.
It is no great fun conversing with someone while trying to hold the camera in place. The stand in 3 segments with two hinges in between. There is no springiness in those hinges. I visited Croma and asked them to show me how the camera sits on the TFT. They didn't want to open a sealed pack of the C200 but did open the C120 and showed it to me. Now this one has a two part stand with one hinge in between. It can certainly grip the monitor because the hinge is spring loaded. The sales guy said even the C200 should be springy.
So I called up the vendor and complained about it. He too agreed that it should have gripped the TFT firmly and said he would replace it. The next day I followed up and he said that Logitech are discontinuing the model and would I take the E2500 instead. I would have to shell out a extra 300 for it. A quick look at the specs revealed that the E2500 is identical to the C200. No way I was going to pay so much more for nothing. Finally I asked if he could give me the iBall C12.0 since his price for both was the same. he agreed and sent his man over to switch.
I got it yesterday and connected it up.
Ways in which the iBall C12.0 is better than the Logitech C200:
Without reservation I can say that out of the box the image quality of the video on this one is head and shoulders better than the Logitech C200.
The sharpness is better
The contrast is better
The light effect is better
The colours are far more natural.
Ways in which the Logitech C200 is better than the iBall C12.0:
More solid construction
Lighter, more flexible and longer cable.
**********************************************
The above are subjective assessments.
The iBall also has adjustable illumination LEDs to illuminate the subject which I probably don't need. It has a 1.3 MP resolution as opposed to VGA for the Logitech but I did not trust the specs before I bought it. Knowing that pixel count isn't everything for a good image I had believed that the Logitech VGA would be better than the iBall 1.3MP.
One big advantage the iBall camera has is that it comes with a little tripod which makes the video call experience much better. So instead of mounting the camera on the monitor I am using the tripod. Granted the tripod is very light and flimsy but it works for me.
However, the thick stiff cable is the biggest drawback of this camera. It tends to swivel the camera by the drag it provides. In fact it can make the tripod tumble. Not a deal breaker but certainly an irritant. The effect is further aggravated by the fact that the length is a bit small and that the control for the LED illumination is on the cable, some 8 to 10" from the camera.
One more issue is the illumination adjustment potentiometer. Even though it has a decent angle of rotation of about 300 degrees like a typical potentiometer, the actual intensity goes from zero to max in about a 30 degree arc. Pretty darn problematic for an old guy like me whose fingers tend to shake a bit.. I am not concerned only because I don't think I'll need it after seeing how the camera performed in the night without it.
Anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer if I can.
Finally I must admit that the ebay vendor was a thorough gentleman and co-operated very well. I realize now that there may have been nothing wrong with the Logitech camera other than my expectations.
I needed to buy a webcam basically for video communication. I visited my small local store in the neighbourhood and he suggested that I should go for a iBall product; specifically the C8 or C12. He normally gives me special prices below his marked price because he knows I ask around on TE
and quoted Rs 850 and 1050 respectively.Somehow I do not trust the specifications of Indian companies. iBall is no exception. They are all the PMPO types if you know what I mean. In this case what irritates me is the interpolated resolution specification.
As I started looking around on the web, I zeroed in on the Logitech C200. Logitech claims to be the worlds largest seller of webcams so why should I also not join that big gang of their customers?
I had a 10% ebay voucher and used it to buy the said item @ Rs. 1045/- + Rs. 35/- shipping minus 10%. I got the camera and set it up. Having never used a webcam before, I was not really unhappy with the image quality. I assumed that is the norm. What I was unhappy about was that the camera is said to fit snugly on to my TFT monitor and it didn't. Kept falling off as a matter of fact.
It is no great fun conversing with someone while trying to hold the camera in place. The stand in 3 segments with two hinges in between. There is no springiness in those hinges. I visited Croma and asked them to show me how the camera sits on the TFT. They didn't want to open a sealed pack of the C200 but did open the C120 and showed it to me. Now this one has a two part stand with one hinge in between. It can certainly grip the monitor because the hinge is spring loaded. The sales guy said even the C200 should be springy.
So I called up the vendor and complained about it. He too agreed that it should have gripped the TFT firmly and said he would replace it. The next day I followed up and he said that Logitech are discontinuing the model and would I take the E2500 instead. I would have to shell out a extra 300 for it. A quick look at the specs revealed that the E2500 is identical to the C200. No way I was going to pay so much more for nothing. Finally I asked if he could give me the iBall C12.0 since his price for both was the same. he agreed and sent his man over to switch.
I got it yesterday and connected it up.
Ways in which the iBall C12.0 is better than the Logitech C200:
Without reservation I can say that out of the box the image quality of the video on this one is head and shoulders better than the Logitech C200.
The sharpness is better
The contrast is better
The light effect is better
The colours are far more natural.
Ways in which the Logitech C200 is better than the iBall C12.0:
More solid construction
Lighter, more flexible and longer cable.
**********************************************
The above are subjective assessments.
The iBall also has adjustable illumination LEDs to illuminate the subject which I probably don't need. It has a 1.3 MP resolution as opposed to VGA for the Logitech but I did not trust the specs before I bought it. Knowing that pixel count isn't everything for a good image I had believed that the Logitech VGA would be better than the iBall 1.3MP.
One big advantage the iBall camera has is that it comes with a little tripod which makes the video call experience much better. So instead of mounting the camera on the monitor I am using the tripod. Granted the tripod is very light and flimsy but it works for me.
However, the thick stiff cable is the biggest drawback of this camera. It tends to swivel the camera by the drag it provides. In fact it can make the tripod tumble. Not a deal breaker but certainly an irritant. The effect is further aggravated by the fact that the length is a bit small and that the control for the LED illumination is on the cable, some 8 to 10" from the camera.
One more issue is the illumination adjustment potentiometer. Even though it has a decent angle of rotation of about 300 degrees like a typical potentiometer, the actual intensity goes from zero to max in about a 30 degree arc. Pretty darn problematic for an old guy like me whose fingers tend to shake a bit.
. I am not concerned only because I don't think I'll need it after seeing how the camera performed in the night without it.Anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer if I can.
Finally I must admit that the ebay vendor was a thorough gentleman and co-operated very well. I realize now that there may have been nothing wrong with the Logitech camera other than my expectations.