eMeet SmartCam C960 2K review: Good value, middling upgrade

Price When Reviewed

$49.99

Best Prices Today: eMeet SmartCam C960 2K

$44.99

$49.99

The eMeet SmartCam C960 2K pushes into midrange webcam territory by providing 1440p video at a 1080p worth, however you’ll nonetheless discover some areas wherein this webcam feels extra like a price range providing. Will that matter to you? Probably not.

eMeet’s SmartCam C960 2K is the upgraded model of the eMeet SmartCam C960, a somewhat respectable webcam and some of the standard on Amazon by advantage of its affordable worth and have set. As the identify suggests, the autofocusing C960 2K presents “2K” decision, which is one other means of claiming that it produces 1440p video (at 30Hz) and 2560×1440 photographs.

This evaluation types a part of our roundup of the best webcams for Windows PCs.

eMeet SmartCam C960 2K construct high quality

At 3.9 x 2.3 x 2 inches., the C960 2K is a compact little webcam that perches on high of your monitor. A pair of noise-canceling mics are mounted to both aspect.

This is a $50 (or much less) webcam, but it surely’s nonetheless a bit disappointing to see that eMeet preserved the “stickum” privateness shutter that graced the cheaper mannequin. It’s a folding plastic tab that connects by way of sticky tape to the highest of the digital camera, as an alternative of being already hooked up. In equity, it really works simply high quality, however feels a bit low-cost.

Again, eMeet minimize a nook (somewhat actually), in that the mounting mechanism consists of the usual “tooth” that hooks over the entrance of the show. In the C960 2K’s case, the webcam’s mount is a “V,” with the webcam mounted on one leg. The different leg swivels on a hinge. Some webcam makers add one other hinge, permitting the webcam to raised accommodate quite a lot of laptops and displays. In this case, the webcam sat simply on high of my desktop show, which has a barely curved backing.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

On laptops, although, the eMeet C960 2K sits way more precariously, gripping the highest of a laptop computer extra like a pair of chopsticks than the rest. While you may swivel the C960 2K round its mount by 360 levels, it has a lot much less vertical play — perhaps 20 levels in both course. On a laptop computer, then, the C960 feels extra like a balancing act than an extension of your laptop computer. There is a threaded gap, nonetheless, in case you choose a tripod.

The C960 2K’s cable stretches virtually 5 ft, terminating in a legacy USB-A port. The producer says that the cable is an older USB 2.0 cable, which ought to be capable of hook up with a legacy 480Mbps USB port in your laptop computer.

The C960 2K is an autofocusing digital camera, but it surely’s a unique sort of autofocusing: According to eMeet, it “uses time-of-flight camera technology to calculate the distance to the object, and when adjusting the focus, it prioritizes the distance to the object, so it can focus more accurately…. In addition, TOF focusing can work better in low-light environments because it does not rely only on visible light.”

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

As it seems, I’m not so certain about that.

eMeet SmartCam C960 2K efficiency

If you’re not a fan of downloading random utilities to help peripheral units, you may be capable of skip downloading eMeetLink, the webcam’s utility software program. Microsoft’s Bing search engine started autosuggesting “is eMeetLink safe” after typing the primary two phrases, which wasn’t notably reassuring. When putting in the driving force, Windows will observe that the software program comes from a producer which is recognized in Mandarin, not English, so the supply of the software program isn’t simply decided.

In any occasion, eMeetLink overlaps closely with Windows’ personal built-in webcam controls (Settings > Camera, then choose the eMeet digital camera) with distinction, brightness, and different picture controls throughout the app. But there actually isn’t the rest, though I believe that it will affect how effectively it may management autofocusing. I downloaded the app on a check pocket book anyway.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

I believed eMeet’s digital camera did a wonderful job when it comes to coloration accuracy, although I unintentionally reset the settings after I was testing the utility. That made the digital camera reassess the ruddy look it had given my face (Irish-German heritage, hurray) and coloration it extra precisely. It nonetheless appears to be like pretty pink in my pattern shot.

I used to be satisfied that the digital camera wasn’t delivering the correct decision, nonetheless, till I found that it merely wasn’t focusing appropriately on my face. I take advantage of two places to seize photographs: one, downstairs, in a somewhat dimly-lit workplace; and upstairs, in my front room with way more pure gentle. The declare that the digital camera autofocuses higher in low gentle doesn’t fairly maintain up, in my view. Upstairs, focusing wasn’t a difficulty, and the digital camera captured me fairly effectively. I nonetheless really feel that the picture was dimmer than it might be, in comparison with the laptop computer’s inner webcam that I used as a actuality examine.

What the digital camera doesn’t do — and this can be a good factor — is continually focus out and in. That drives me nuts, like individuals who faucet their brakes continuously on the freeway.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

An incredible webcam isn’t nice until it may make your voice sound good, too.

I test webcams and their noise-cancelling mics by taking part in background music and white noise to see how effectively the digital camera filters them out. The eMeet SmartCam C960 2K didn’t do badly: I used to be in a position to faintly hear a rock music I used to be taking part in within the background as I recorded my check pattern, which might be obvious to a listener however not sufficient to overwhelm the dialog. Simulated white noise (on this case, rainfall) was filtered virtually completely. My voice sounded regular, too.

Remember, there’s no “privacy shutter” for the C960 2K’s mic. It’s all the time on, and also you’ll should unplug the digital camera to show it off or manually flip off the mic within the Windows Settings menu.

Should you purchase the eMeet SmartCam C960 2K?

I believe the C960 2K is price shopping for. I’m unsure I agree with the TOF autofocusing being higher than conventional strategies. As with all webcams, higher lighting produces a greater image, and in case you choose working in a dim atmosphere, this webcam is a bit of hit and miss. You may need to add a hoop gentle or simply open the blinds a bit throughout a name.

Even in a brighter atmosphere, you’ll have to regulate the brightness settings inside Windows to provide a greater picture. I do like an answer that works effectively out of the field. Here, although, any focusing points disappear.

Is the eMeet C960 2K higher than the eMeet C960 (1080p)? Not definitively. I somewhat appreciated the photographs the vanilla C960 produced in well-lit areas. The 2K’s mics are higher, in my guide. I believe with some fiddling you may produce a greater image with the C960 2K, but it surely’s not an overwhelmingly higher digital camera.

I’m satisfied, although, that the C960 is certainly a stable webcam, on the worth. I’m not awarding it an Editors’ Choice award, but it surely earns my approval however.