How to choose a webcam?
Once an opportunity to communicate with an interlocutor"Live", despite thousands and thousands of kilometers of distance seemed fantastic. Thanks to webcams, science fiction has become a reality. Now, even being on different continents, people can communicate, literally looking into each other's eyes.
Without webcams It is difficult to imagine a modern Internet andcommunications. Videoconferences, live broadcasts from around the world, astrology - these and many other possibilities give their owners a webcam. It remains only to choose the one that will suit your needs.
When choosing a webcam, you should determine the purposepurchases. Do I need a camera for home conferences or Skype communication? Will it be possible to record sound, the function of face tracking? How important is the quality of the transmitted image?
Consider the main parameters of webcams.
Matrix webcams differ in manufacturing technology. To date, two of them are popular - CMOS and CCD. CCD arrays are preferred, since they give a better image, create less interference. The cost of the CCD matrix is more expensive than the CMOS matrix.
Web Camera Resolution - one of the most important criteria for its selection. The resolution is determined by the number of pixel points from which the image is composed. The more such points and the smaller they are, the higher the quality of the transmitted image.
The resolution of web cameras canbe between 0.1 and 2 megapixels (Mpix). For web conferencing, there are enough webcams with a resolution of 320x240 pixels. For recording small movies, cameras with a resolution of 640x480 pixels (0.3 megapixels) will work. A higher resolution, 1280x960 pixels, allows you to make large-scale photographs. Models of cameras with this resolution are the most expensive.
Another important parameter of web cameras is the sensitivity of their matrices. The sensitivity of the matrix determines the minimumnecessary for shooting illumination. The sensitivity is measured in lux (lux). The lower the value of this parameter in the suites, the better the shooting will be in low light conditions.
Number of frames per second (fps) is an important indicator that determinesspeed recording webcam. If the speed is not high enough, the transmitted video turns out to be intermittent, "slowed down". Due to technical limitations imposed by the servers, the most frequently used speed is 15 frames / second. Also popular are webcams with a recording speed of 30 frames / second.
When choosing a webcam, one should not forget about type of connection to the computer. Modern web cameras are usually connected using the USB interface. The USB 1.1 version is obsolete, it was replaced by a more high-speed version - USB 2.0.
Automatic focus guidance, trackingposition of the face, microphone equipment - all these additional options are also important when choosing a webcam. If they are not useful for the intended operation of the camera, then there is no need to overpay for their availability.
The appearance of the camera and the type of its attachment to the computer is chosen exclusively from the preferences of the buyer. Round, square, on a stand or attached to the monitor - there is a choice.
