Review: Creative Live! Cam Optia AF webcam

Creative’s latest webcam is trumpeted as the first of its ilk with a two-megapixel resolution and auto focus.

Sat on the top of a monitor or clipped to the lid of a notebook, the Creative Live! Cam Optia AF is discreet and looks good.

However, since the video chats are compressed before being sent over the internet (thus decreasing the original quality), why do you need such a high-resolution webcam? In short, only those with fast broadband internet connections will notice the increase in picture quality and frame rates.

Designed in high-gloss, black and clear plastic, with a blue led at the end of the barrel to show when it’s active, the Optia AF can also stand free on the top of older CRT monitors. However, it's barely heavy enough to prevent its attached USB lead dragging it away.

Being USB, it works as soon as it's plugged in. It'll be picked up by most video conferencing programs, such as Skype and MSN.

As well as the auto-focusing, which seems to overcompensate too often, there's a built-in noise-cancelling microphone and a headset for extra noisy environments. Picture quality is good for a webcam, though colours aren't reproduced as well as even a cheap digital camera.

As usual with Creative, there’s a huge suite of bundled software, including Muvee 4 autoProducer for trendy videos and SightSpeed, an alternative to Skype.

Vista compatible: Yes