Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam review: the ultimate A/V conferencing setup

I’ve integrated Logitech’s BCC950 ConferenceCam into my workflow over the past couple of weeks, and I think it’s the ultimate audio/video setup for audio and video calls. I’ve been using the camera and microphone from Logitech primarily with Skype, and its a perfect companion for the ubiquitous conferencing software.

The product trumps the camera and microphone setup built-into any Mac or PC. The ConferenceCam offers 1080P video capture via a Carl Zeiss lens. The high quality optics also offer auto-focus, which is clearly important and present in our real-world testing of the ConferenceCam product.

The camera also offers wide-angle video capture, making it a true ConferenceCam. The wide-angle capture technology allows the camera to pickup multiple people in a single frame without panning. This is unlike webcams built into computers that are optimized to capture a single person in the video frame. After all, computer cameras are built for one-to-one video chats.

The sound (sending and receiving) quality from the ConferenceCam is well beyond built in Audio as well. With devices that help and enhance the work of people, the technical specifications don’t really matter. What matters is the overall quality of the product. And overall, the sound quality of my voice that people heard on the other end of multiple calls via the ConferenceCam sounded much better than calls via my computer’s microphone. The same goes for audio coming out of the ConferenceCam’s built-in speaker system.

While the A/V is fantastic, the coolest feature of the ConferenceCam is the ability for a user to rotate the camera angles with a click of a button on the unit itself or with the included wireless remote controller.

With the touch of a button, the camera can be tilted up, down, left, or right. This is also a nod to the camera being able to pickup many more people than the stationary web-cam built into many modern desktops and notebooks.

The ConferenceCam works on both Macs and PCs, and it integrates seamlessly with Skype via a plug-in available from Logitech’s website as well as with Logitech’s own software.

The camera runs for $249.99 and we recommend it for anyone who relies on multiple person video and audio calling solutions via their computers.