You want insanely high-quality video: There are certainly more powerful products on the market if you're willing to empty your wallet.

But if you’re making do with an older laptop, working from a desktop computer, or simply looking for more advanced features than your built-in webcam provides, the Logitech Brio 505 is your best option. You don't want to buy a microphone: Without a built-in mic or autofocus, this might be a deal-breaker for you. Best of all, its ring-light feature has three different brightness levels which can meet your different needs for video chatting or streaming. The ring light also reduces visible particles and brings out the details in the dark environment. The temperature of the light is ignored by most buyers of webcams with ring lights, even though it is so important. The temperature of the light will affect how your face looks in the camera by a lot. Too cold, and your skin will look lifeless, too warm, and it will look like you’re blushing all the time. The perfect choice would be a webcam with neutral white light. But, an even better option is to have the ability to control the temperature via buttons or software. Mounting options Content creators will struggle to find a better device for streaming, especially at this price. The settings afford the ability to work with different kinds of lighting, including pretty gloomy rooms. Our test was created using the ‘Record’ function of OBS – a popular streaming platform –and the fact Obsbot’s control software cause no issues is not to be sniffed at.The video bar gets you Zoom-ready in seconds with a built-in light, and a camera with 2K resolution built-in. You take your remote calls with ease without worrying about if your coworkers can hear you (or if you hear them), thanks to dual speakers and four-way mic. Why should you buy this? You don’t want a complicated lighting setup and prefer minimal cable clutter. The JIGA streaming webcam puts a lot of focus on its image quality. Its resolution is still 1080P Full HD (which is more than enough for streaming and video calls). The image quality improvements in this webcam come from the five optical lenses in front of this sensor, as well as the software advanced software processing. The best part about this added image quality, however, is that it does not come at the cost of other features. The Logitech C920 has been one of the best webcams on the market since its release in January 2012, consistently beating out rival products that promise more affordability or better performance – and for good reason. This is a beloved favorite across the entire spectrum of streamers, content creators, and office professionals alike.

Today, laptops’ specs have touched the skies, whether you are talking of the newer MacBook Air M1 or the HP Elite Dragonfly. However, when it comes to the built-in webcam, it can be safely said that they do not match the standards of the other hardware. You want fast autofocusing: It struggles to keep up with the Auto Framing feature and during low-light situations. Needless to say, the Razer Kiyo is priced higher than its counterparts. However, if you are looking for one of the best solutions, this is the option you should go for. Ditch the Built-in WebcamIf you have a good internet connection, it is possible to conduct 4K video calls, but 4K cameras have two other uses. A higher resolution opens up the possibility of cropping into the subject digitally without a loss of detail – possibly automatically using artificial intelligence or AI – so your face fills the screen. The other use is for live streaming/broadcasting - where platforms such as YouTube already support 4K. How much better is 4K than 720P? Microphones on webcams are also getting better alongside the video quality. You will still need a dedicated mic for streaming, but most modern webcams have mics that are good enough for video calls. Just make sure that the webcam you buy has some form of noise cancellation. Encoding Looking for the ultimate in image quality? Then the Dell UltraSharp HDR 4K Webcam is tough to beat. Equipped with a large 4K Sony Starvis CMOS sensor, it's capable of drinking in more light than an average webcam, making for a better-quality picture. And, like our number one choice above, it has HDR capabilities, making for a balanced image even in challenging light conditions, aided by internal software.

You want something for content creation: There are fairly affordable webcams out there that offer better quality videos for content creation and streaming. You already own a decent mirrorless camera: If you already own a camera that would be suitable for streaming with then there's a better choice.You've also got options for three field-of-view settings - 90, 78, or 65 degrees - which allows you to experiment with your framing, so you can show more or less of the room behind you. Add to that dual omnidirectional microphones for improving audio quality, and you have a highly capable, do-it-all 4K webcam. Our list is heavy on big brand names such as Logitech for good reason. Reputable brands have been tested across many different devices to make sure that the products are compatible with different graphics software. This is why you may see different quality if you use the same camera on a desktop and a laptop - the webcam hardware communicates differently with different devices. Design: There are many ways to design a light, but the main ones you'll see on this list are light panels and ring lights. Panels have powerful lights and are especially great if you have multiple to balance each other out from different angles. Meanwhile, ring lights tend to be less powerful, but are designed to evenly light up your face by themselves. If we had to recommend just one webcam with ring light from this that will work best for most folk, this would be the one. The Vitade PC webcam is great at everything, with no downsides. The sensor on this camera records in 1080P Full HD at 30 fps, and the final image quality is second to none. The most impressive aspect of this camera is how well it handles skin tones in various lighting conditions.