Typhoon Webshot II 300k USB Cam

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Typhoon Webshot II 300k USB Cam

Aalaap Ghag, Mar 17, 2005 0000 hrs IST

Oh yes, we still have a lot of Typhoon products left to review! But instead of keyboard and mouse reviews, today's Typhoon is a Webcam

Good quality in lowlight, Easy setup, 100% compatible

Low horizontal angle, Non-sticky rubber clamps, A bit expensive

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Expert Review

The frame rate was quite a flawless 30 fps at 320 x 240 pixels, which dropped to about 15 fps at 640 x 480 pixels. The cam can take video in at 160 x 120 pixels, 176 x 144 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels, 352 x 288 pixels and 640 x 420 pixels. It encodes video as AVI, MPEG or MPEG for VCDs (at 320 x 240 pixels NTSC). You can also choose the frame rate from 15 to 30 fps. The VCD format MPEG option is handy as it means you can take a video, burn it quickly and distribute it to your friends. Now, now, don't get any ideas, okay?

Getting the cam to work with MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger was utterly easy. Just install the Camera Plus software (which also installs the driver), hook the cam in, and go into your messenger's Webcam setup. A little brightness and gamma adjustment was all it took to get a perfect picture.

I was quite happy with the video quality of the camera and its performance in moderate light. But I'm not too happy about the ergonomics - the low vertical angle and the non-rubbery rubber clamps on the bottom. At Rs. 1,400 this is still expensive than its Logitech counterpart and almost double the price of some regular no-name 300k VGA (640 x 480 pixels) cams that offer the same functionality...

Test Unit Sourced From: Aditya Infotech Ltd., Mumbai