Creative Labs Webcam Pro

Most of the recent cameras from Creative Labs have been dual-purpose devices that doubled up as both a webcam and a digital camera. The need to put memory into those cameras so they could store plenty of pictures tended to bump the price up, so Creative has now released the WebCam Pro, a straightforward webcam at a very affordable price.

It's a fairly unremarkable device, with a small egg-shaped lens unit mounted on a stand that either sits on a desk or is hooked over the edge of a notebook PC screen. It connects to a USB port and provides a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 when used for video capture. However, you can also use it to take still pictures and use a technique known as 'interpolation' to boost the resolution to 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768.

The WebCam Pro's image quality is fairly good for a camera in this price range. It can't compete with the quality of more expensive high-resolution cameras but it's adequate for capturing small video clips or photos that you can put onto a website or email to friends.

We did come across a couple of rough edges when installing the webcam, though. There are several pieces of software provided on the CD-Rom, including the basic drivers and additional programs for organising and editing your pictures. The installer lists each piece of software separately but it's not clear whether you're meant to install them individually or together.

The documentation provided with the webcam isn't much help either and first-time users could find themselves getting a bit confused. Once you pass that little hurdle, the camera and its software are easy to use.

The main program - PC Cam Centre - is well designed, allowing you to quickly capture both video clips and still pictures and organise them into albums. Creative could do a better job with its manual and installation instructions, but the WebCam Pro is a good little webcam at a competitive price.

DETAILS
Price: £40

Contact: Creative - no UK number

www.europe.creative.com