Amcrest 1080P Webcam with Microphone & Privacy Cover, Web Cam USB Camera, Computer HD Streaming Webcam for PC Desktop & Laptop w/Mic, Wide Angle Lens & Large Sensor for Superior Low Light (AWC201-B)

I purchased this camera a little over two weeks ago. I have not needed a webcam in years as we primarily use our phones and laptops for such things. With the quarantine situation we had to figure something out with Zoom and school activities. We needed something for the kids that was better than a laptop. We have four kids in Karate. The school they attend has moved to virtual sessions. This webcam was a perfect addition to the situation. I have this mounted on top the TV. The cord is more than long enough to reach the laptop we setup below. The laptop is just the vehicle to attend the sessions. The fact that I can have this camera w/microphone sit on top the TV (set up as a second display for the laptop) makes the kids feel like they are right in class again.The wide-angle lens is perfect to capturing the entire room. With four kids they need to spread out a bit. This room is approximately 15’x14’ with the TV sitting in the corner (photo attached). This photo was a screen capture of a QuickTime video that was shot with the regular house lighting. We typically move the couch out and the camera can pick up the entire room. We also use the microphone on the camera. It works fine with no complaints from the instructor on the other end. Before using it for this purpose I called someone from my computer on Google Duos and tested both the image quality and the microphone. It worked great.I have read two primary complaints about this camera in my research to ordering it.The first one is the color can look washed out. This is a simple webcam. You should not be expecting to shoot super high-quality video on this. As the camera describes, it 1080p quality. You could achieve the optimal results with proper lighting behind the camera and other professional equipment and proper positioning. Not sure why anyone would expect professional grade quality from a webcam. You should care about a good quality image and dynamic functionality in how it handles light. This camera does great in low light situations. The two light bars on the side really help with assisting where light is a problem. I have no issues at all with the quality of the image it produces. It more than meets my needs.The other issue I read about was the microphone. Again, this is a webcam; people should not be expecting to record high quality audio with it. The quality is fine for general use. The people on the end can hear you with no complaints. A bit of a tip; the cameras functionality is driven by the software that is using it. Sometimes the default for the mic is set too low. You need to test this and adjust this up. I had to do this for both Duos and Facetime. Once I adjusted the mic up to regular levels, there was no issue. I suspect people are overlooking this.This camera is literally plug and play into everything. I used it on both a Mac and PC. It also worked great on my Hackintosh. I have used it with Facetime, Google Duos, Zoom, Quick-time and several others. Every device picked it right up and each application allowed me to jump right into selecting the video and mic. In all applications I could have just used the camera for video and selected a different source for the microphone. This is super easy to get right to work using it.My only complaint is that the camera has no swivel on its base. It makes it difficult to do micro adjustments to the right or left. This would be a little useful for the Karate class we use it for. It is not a deal breaker though.I have many Amcrest products and they never disappoint. Their products are simple enough for non-tech people to use. They are also flexible for people like me who like to explore and push the limits of devices.This camera is one I would recommend to anyone who wants a quality well built webcam without having to spend a lot of money. It easy to use and you will be up and running in a matter of minutes.Pros:• Good video quality in low light• Wide angle lens for capturing more of a room if necessary• Awesomely long USB cord• Adjustable fitment to accommodate monitor and TV thicknesses (my TV is a bit thicker)• Good microphone (adjust your mic settings)• Comes with a nice little tripod• Dust cover for the lensCons:• No swivel movement on the base

Box:The box it comes in is big considering there is only a single camera and a tiny privacy cover. I agree the box needs space for the wire to roll in, but I bet the box could be a bit smaller and it would not affect the space taken by any of the webcam device or the supporting items inside.In the boxThere is obviously the main device, with almost about 2-3 foot long wire, a privacy cover for just the 1080p camera area and a tiny manual-pamphlet for any instructions, FAQs and privacy statements.LooksHas a big 1080p camera in the center piece. The center piece is big and wide enough to contain the camera and two long and tiny LEDs on the side. The LEDs go along the left and right side of the center piece and give it a cool look.I am not sure why they have the left and right extensions to the center piece, maybe to give it a webcam look or to fill for the chip on the inside of the device. I do see that the right extension has an AMCREST logo and the left extension has a tiny hole for mic input, but I believe the center piece has enough space to include all of that. I do not see why they would go any more nano than this considering the price they are selling the camera for.The device has about 3-foot-long thick wire running out from the back of the right extension of the device and ending in a USB cable. The thing with this wire is, it is difficult to fold (without a fear of damaging it from the inside) and hide behind the webcam. It seems to just stick out from the right side, and in terms of aesthetics, specifically for me, I would like the wires on my desk hidden as much as possible.FunctionThe Camera (Vision):I used the webcam on my windows laptop. The Camera seems to pick a very wide view of the area which may not necessarily be needed. The video area is definitely wider than the current field of vision offered by the laptop camera.Being a 1080p webcam camera, it gives a good video quality if you are on a 14-inch or 16-inch screen viewing yourself, but the video quality decreases considerably if the screen size increases. Although the video quality is still better than the laptop cam that I am used to using. I also agree that a 27-inch screen demands a 4K camera, if not a 1440p camera. But I think we need to consider the fact that a person using the webcam will most probably be using a desktop. Having said that, I see pixelated videos on the 27-inch screen that I use for WFH. I’ll be ignoring the pixilation aspect since I am using a 27-inch screen which and I’m not necessarily using the camera to do live streams of any kind.I also noticed the picture quality was a bit different from a laptop camera. It seems a bit dull and the saturation in the video quality seems high. In other words, when I switch to the laptop camera, which is usually a headache for me, since I just use the 27-inch screen for work, it gives a brighter video and the colors of the video seem to pop. In the webcam view, I believe there is much brighter light filter being applied on the go, which is impressive because the video is seamless!All that being said, I am impressed by the seamless video and the amount it improves on the camera video for me! The webcam video has more contrast and sharpness, and I can better see myself as well as my surroundings than in the laptop cam video. Something I would highly recommend for a webcam for meetings.The Mic (Input Audio):I used the webcam in a couple of meetings that I attended for work and tried to observe if anyone noticed the change. The common comment that I got from most people was that the volume they were getting was lower than they were expecting. This leads me to think that even though the video quality is much better with this webcam, I might have taken a hit in terms of the mic input volume. Other than this, I really had no concerns with the mic, everyone could hear my voice and it was seamless.Mechanics: The Stand:The camera comes with a stand that can rotate up and down. It has the extensions for a screw for most tripod stands in the market today, in case you might either use it at a flat surface or just with a tripod stand. I was also very impressed by the stability of it on the top of my monitor. It has been almost two days since it is there, and even though I have moved the camera every once in a while, the change in its position stays. In other words, it does not keep slipping back to the most comfortable position for itself.Summary and Ending Thoughts:The camera, for the current price is worth it for someone who is looking for just a webcam and may not be interested in live streams of any kind using the camera.There might be a thought of using a separate mic with the webcam, even if you just plan to use it for zoom or google meet or Microsoft teams meetings.