BenQ C500: Webcam

WRITTEN FOR COMPUTER ACTIVE INDIA

The BenQ C500 is a small petit web camera suited to mount on your thin laptop screens. However, unlike other laptop webcams from Logitech, Quickpro for laptops, which provides an attachment shaft for use with desktops PC’s, the C500 is build plainly for laptops and doesn’t feature any such provision. Also a lighter base as compared to the relatively heavier upper component doesn’t really help the camera to be steady and toppling over frequently is irksome when used with desktop arrangements.

Also the build quality seemed a bit disappointing to us. The camera fits onto your laptop screen with a spring-clamp design quite effectively; however, fitting it on screens with wider bezels is a problem.

The camera body is horizontal and pivots 360 degrees on top of the clamp base. The horizontal attachment is also sectioned in to two, with the lens attachment also capable of rotating 180 degrees around a horizontal axis. The lens is provided with an adjustable focus that can be adjusted with a focus ring. A green LED, adjacent to the lens glows to indicate the camera is connected to your system and functioning. A snapshot button is provided on top of the webcam for quick snapshots and it features an integrated in-build microphone too.

When first installed, the camera took some time getting started. We found the response a bit on the slower side and also the resolution too is very pixelated. The images are recorded as JPEG and videos in AVI format. It captures videos at 30 fps at VGA (640 x 480) and an automatic white balance and brightness control did a reasonable job. The interface is primarily a USB 1.1, but is compatible with USB 2.0. The 330K pixels CMOS sensor in C500 overall seemed disappointing when pegged against Logitechs and Zebronics.

It comes bundles with ArcSoft Video Impression 2.0 and ArcSoft Photo Impression 5.0. The software offers easy interface and some good image and video editing features. It comes with an interesting ‘Narrate’ feature. In addition to being able to add audio files, you can also record audio directly within the program.

The webcam is compatible with popular IM clients including Yahoo messenger, Windows Live messenger and Skype.