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If I have one major gripe about Apple’s MacBook lineup, it is that their webcams are way too “potato” for $1,000 machines. I get it, there isn’t much depth in their razor-thin displays to fit a good camera module, but with a lot more Zoom/Skype/Hangout/Meet/etc calls during the past months, I wanted to see if a low-cost $30 Wansview 1080p upgrade would improve the situation.
In short, it did…
Wansview 1080p Webcam is currently $30 after coupon code 8PFIRUPH for a limited time.
9to5Toys Tested results
Wansview 1080P webcam is an improvement over Apple’s 480P-720P built-in cameras for $30 but many in the Apple crowd will want to step up to something like the Logitech Streamcam, if they can find it. Wansview has a solid mic and the ability to move it around are other benefits over a built-in camera.
Wainsview 1080P Webcam
I got the Waisview via Amazon in 2-day Prime shipping. It comes in bare-bones eco-packaging as I’d prefer with a small paper user guide and hardwired USB (A) 2 port. It looks a little like Logitech’s older webcam lineup. Just like those cameras, it has a flex-clip you can easily mount to your laptop or desktop display.
The first thing I noticed when I plugged it in was that the red status light is too bright/distracting. I put a few layers of masking tape over it and it is now at what I’d call appropriate brightness.
“It just works” with Skype, Zoom, Facetime, Google Meet, Streamyard, etc though it comes up with the very generic “HD USB Camera”.
The camera quality is good especially if you like full saturation. I would say the color is significantly better represented on Logitech’s $180 StreamCam and even Apple’s built-in FaceTimeHD cam.
Skype preference results with tricky but common window blurred in the back (Wansview on right):
Notice here that the Logitech Streamcam is the clear winner and that Apple’s built-in camera has a lot of bleeding light. But the Wainsview is solid and looks great at high resolution. Here are Zoom settings in the same order:
As you can tell there is a lot of light issues here especially with Apple built-in. I’d put these in the same order of clarity: StreamCam, Wainview, Apple built-in.
Wansview Mic
You can tell fairly easily that this isn’t a premium mic setup even though it is stereo. Calls using the Wainsview mic were generally well-received but when drilled down seemed on the tinny side. Depending on the laptop, I might stick with the built-in mics there unless you want to avoid keystroke noise. If you are using a desktop display and your computer is far away, the Wasnview will do fine.
Wrap-up
If I paid $100 or more for this Wansview webcam I probably would be disappointed but at $30, this is better than expected. It allows me to have a good, not great, quality webcam that beats Apple’s MacBook camera in many respects. For Mac, Chromebook, or Windows users, this also makes a great desktop camera for gaming, video conferencing, or putting together short videos.
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