I’ve had the pleasure of getting to play with the new Microsoft LifeCam Cinema and I am impressed. I haven’t tried any other HD webcams but compared to my previous webcam, the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema is far superior. To make this review simple, I compared the QuickCam Pro 9000 that I purchased in March 2009 with the new Microsoft LifeCam Cinema. What a difference! The picture quality is much clearer. Check out the videos and see for yourself (you can even see the dust on my floor). 
LifeCam-1 (.WMV file)
QuickCam-1 (.WMV file)
I didn’t know my old webcam was so horrible! I initially thought the poor image quality might be due to the low lighting in the hallway, so I recorded two more comparison videos just to make sure.
LifeCam-2 (.WMV file)
QuickCam-2 (.WMV file)
The Microsoft LifeCam is clearly the winner here. (Notice the files are 20 times larger than the QuickCam Pro 9000 however). The QuickCam Pro 9000 is an older camera so this may not be a fair comparison but the box does say that it has high definition video (up to 1600×1200), whereas the LifeCam has 720p HD widescreen video (1280×720 video resolution).
Installation of the LifeCam Cinema was easy, I just inserted the CD into the appropriate drive, followed the directions and plugged in the camera. Operating the camera is simple too (except I almost went nuts trying to locate the dashboard only to discover that it was minimized and right in front of my face). The design is sleek and simple and it’s not much bigger than a D cell battery. The sound quality is good. It has a digital noise-cancelling microphone to help improve speech. The webcam also has a Windows Live Call Button on the top of the unit to access Windows Live Messenger. (I use Skype so I didn’t try this button.) The webcam works fine with Skype, the picture quality wasn’t fabulous but that’s due to Skype, not the camera. I even surfed the net while on Skype to see if my computer would freeze due to the power requirements of the LifeCam but I didn’t have any problems. (My PC has a little more than the minimum system requirements.)
Overall, this is a good webcam with a sleek design for a reasonable price. I recommend it. Just make sure you have the minimum system requirements; I have listed them below.
System Requirements: Windows® 7/Windows Vista®/Windows XP (with Service Pack 2 or higher) Intel Dual-Core 1.6 GHz or higher and 1 GB of RAM (recommended: Intel Dual-Core 3.0 GHz or higher and 2 GB of RAM) 1.5 GB free space CD-ROM USB 2.0
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Product Information
| Price: | $79.95 |
| Manufacturer: | Microsoft |
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
These look great! We’re looking for some HD cameras for some of our salesman to use with Office Communicator. I think this would fit the bill quite well!
Great review Krista!
James
I LOVED the LifeCam-1 video!!! My kids are about 10 years older. Did the LifeCame-1 still work after you let him attack it?
I wish you would stop posting all this good stuff — it makes me want to shop…
Both cameras survived and are still working.
Thanks for your comments.
Great Review!!!! I also did a video review and a side by Side with the Lifecam and the Quickcam 9000. Few things I have found over time that are wrong with the camera are the weird resolutions it supports . My main streaming software Vidblaster doesnt like some of the resolutions that it supports and im having scaling issues
Here is the video reviews I made
http://www.guysfromqueens.com/?p=419
http://www.guysfromqueens.com/?p=409
I understand that some people think the Lifecam Cinema is better than the Quickcam 9000 but consider the following:
1) Quickcam 9000 is now replaced by Webcam 9000, which also supports 720P at 30fps (per Logitech Specs)
2) How are the two posted videos a fair comparison? You encoded the Quickcam videos at 320 x 240 pixel resolution by the Lifecam ones at 1280 x 720 resolution. Of course the Lifecam ones will look better!
3) Are you using the same software to record the two videos?
The guy from Queens (comment above) seems to have a more comparable comparison, although your baby *is* cuter.
YIKES! Jesse you are correct. I did not change any settings when I recorded the videos and I did not realize that the QuickCam was only 320×240 until you mentioned it. When I viewed them both on my home PC with Media Player before I uploaded them, they appeared to be the same size so I didn’t catch that. I recorded a new video today with the QuickCam in the HD mode but it still wasn’t as good as the LifeCam. As you mentioned the QuickCam has been replaced/upgraded, so again, this is not the best comparison. My intention was to simplify the review because I was having a hard time comparing the specifications. Now that I have read some other reviews, I still recommend the LifeCam but it should be noted that the LifeCam isn’t the best in low lighting (thank you Andrew Z). I primarily use my webcam with Skype and for that I can honestly recommend it.
have you tried this out on a mac? i would like to make short arts and crafts films for my blog and am looking for a web cam.
Thanks guys for nice nice comments. When I talk about the Lifecam being better Im talking about streaming. The lifecam can stream 1280×720 at 30fps ( I use vidblaster) The Logitech 9000 isnt able to do 30 fps at that resolution. when your recording both are able to do 30fps at 1280×720. Another interesting thing I have found is that the Quickcam 9000 vs webcam 9000. BOTH CAN DO WIDE SCREEN. I know there are many sites out there saying that the Quickcam cant do widescreen but it can with the latest drivers. If any of you have questions please feel free to email me .
I bought the Lifecam Cinema yesterday and it is nice, but I have problems getting 30fps! When recording using the bundled software I only get 15fps (at all resolutions). Anyone having any idéa what the problem is? I have tried it on two computers, one with XP and one with Vista (both cases using really good lighting).
Jan – I was able to get 30fps at 424×240 video (or less). Hmmm….
Sometimes having too many USB Port’s in use can cause the 15FPS at 1280×720. Try unplugging other USB Devices and see if that increases it to 30FPS.
Max sure you have at least the minimum specification! (Maybe you need recommend for the 30FPS)