review – I have a lot of video conferences. several a day. I know how important eye contact is, it’s even more important when everyone is away. So I tend to stare at the camera, which is usually on top of my big monitor. But that means I’m not looking at anyone else, or what might be shared on the screen. Center cams are a unique solution to this important problem.
what is it?
The central cam is a small Camera You can place it almost anywhere on the screen so you can actually see the person talking and make eye contact easily.
What’s in the box?
- center cam
- Lens cap for privacy/protection
- Clip for attaching monitor/laptop
- USB-A to USB-C Adapter
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
Hardware Specifications
-
- Resolution: 1080p
- Frame rate: : 30 frames per second (FPS)
- aperture: f2.1
- Field of view: 65 degree field of view
- Compatible Operating Systems: Mac, Windows, Android, Linus. Chrome OS is not listed, but I tested it and it works.
- USB: USB 2.0, USB-C
- vocal: Built-in microphone
Design and Features
Most webcams are either built into your laptop or clipped to the monitor. In both cases, they’re at the top of the display, which means you’ll have to choose between looking into your colleague or friend’s eyes (by looking at the camera) or looking at the screen. Doing both is really hard, and it gets harder as the screen size increases. The center cam takes a completely different approach. It uses a very small camera mounted on a flexible metal tube that passes through a clip attached to the monitor. This clip-and-hose pairing means you can place the compact camera almost anywhere in front of the monitor. Other than that, it behaves like any other USB webcam. On most modern computers, plug it in and it should work.
Performance
I have a lot of remote meetings every day, both individually and with large and small groups. Center cams are for everyone. I usually use a large monitor. The benefits of a central cam increase with the size of your monitor. If you’re using a 13-inch laptop, your camera is already very close to the face of the person you’re meeting. But if you’re working on a 27- or 32-inch monitor like me, that distance really increases. I find it takes some time to learn where you like the Center Cam. And you can’t really change it in a meeting (well, you can, but it’s destructive). Plan some experiments before going to your first meeting. For personal meetings, I like to move/resize the meeting window so that the camera is centered on the forehead of the person I’m meeting with. For groups, it gets a little trickier. What I like to do there is where the central camera is in the middle of the screen, and I move the meeting window so that anyone I’m talking to at that moment is behind the camera. It takes a while to get used to, but once you get used to it, your meetings will feel more personable and you may feel more confident that you’ve made a strong personal connection.
Another area where I found the Center Cam useful, actually had nothing to do with meetings. I manage a fairly large remote team, so I often make videos in lieu of emails as they convey more information effectively. I don’t like to read scripts, but I take notes for myself. Before, I had to choose between looking at the camera or looking at the notes on the screen. With the center camera, I can have both. I write notes, creating a space around the camera in the document where I can look directly (or almost directly) at the camera while focusing on my notes. This made some of my team members ask me if I had a teleprompter!
In terms of camera quality, it’s pretty high. The 1080p camera looks clear and sharp, works well in low light or challenging conditions (such as bright windows on the side), and the field of view and default zoom level is almost perfect. The built-in mic produces adequate voice reproduction, but I still use a high-quality external mic for meetings, as I’m picky about audio.
The clip connecting the flexible tube to the monitor requires a stronger spring. The clip is capable of spreading 2 inches wide, but few monitors these days are that thick. On thinner monitors, especially thin laptop screens, the clips don’t provide a very firm grip. This can be improved slightly by strengthening the spring with bends in the flex tube, but a stronger spring will solve the problem.
The ability to flip an image 180 degrees would help with specific but common use cases. Have you ever had a meeting with someone and they were using their laptop camera well below eye level? You end up looking up at their noses (thick). If you’re that person, you can use the center camera in the opposite configuration, placing the camera on the pole to bring the camera closer to eye level when using a low-profile laptop. Currently, when used in this configuration, the image is upside down. I know that’s not what it was designed for, but it would be a neat and efficient use.
what do I like
- The ability to look people in the eyes and see their faces
- high quality camera
- The included USB-A to USB-C adapter is a great option since we’re still in the transition phase between the two standards.
what would i change
- The clip needs to be stronger for a firmer grip.
- A small LED to indicate when the camera is active would be nice.
- When I’m not in a meeting, I have to get used to moving the camera away from the display. At these times, I haven’t decided what to do with it.
final thoughts
If you find yourself with a lot of video conferencing where personal connection and eye contact are important, the Center Cam webcam could be a game changer. It’s a little awkward to get used to and a little awkward not to use, but in general I find myself preferring meetings, especially when they’re 1:1.
price: Standard price $115, Deluxe $135 (includes small ring light and storage compartment)
where to buy (this: center cam
resource: Samples for this review provided by center cam.
