Webcam with zoom guide: What do you have to consider when buying?

Nowadays there are many different webcams with zoom on the market. Because many manufacturers bring out new webcams every year. Interested parties are spoiled for choice.

The Essentials In Brief

• The prerequisite for a webcam with zoom is that the correct connections for it are available on the PC. Usually this is a USB 2.0 port or a USB 3.0 port. Of course, an internet connection should also be available so that the webcam can be used with zoom at all.
• Different types of webcams with zoom can differ among other things in their resolution, their field of view, their general equipment and their further functions. When buying a webcam with zoom, you should definitely pay attention to the type of webcam.
• The most important purchase criterion for a webcam with zoom is the zoom factor itself, because this decides how big the zoom can be. The larger the zoom factor, the larger the zoom will of course be.

Zoom factor: The most important thing is of course the zoom factor when choosing the right webcam with zoom to ensure that the zoom is large enough for your own requirements. Most models have a zoom factor of 4 to 5. There are also models that even have a 20x zoom.

Field of view: The field of view also plays an important role when choosing the right webcam with zoom, because it decides, among other things, for which purposes the webcam can be used at all. The field of view is often 90 °, but it can also be significantly higher.

Resolution: The resolution is also important when choosing a suitable webcam with zoom: If you need a particularly high-resolution webcam, you should ensure that the resolution corresponds to 4K. However, a 1080p webcam is usually sufficient, especially since many applications, such as Skype, do not yet support a higher resolution.

Frame rate: The frame rate is also important for the image quality of the webcam with zoom, because this determines how smooth the webcam image is. A frame rate of 30 FPS or more generally ensures a smooth picture.

Focus: If the webcam for zoom has an auto focus, it automatically focuses on a face or certain objects that are in the webcam’s field of view. You should therefore also pay attention to an auto focus.

Microphone: Most webcams that have a zoom are also equipped with a microphone. However, this internal microphone is not always of the highest quality and so at least one should make sure that it is a stereo microphone.

Connection: To ensure that the webcam with an additional zoom is at all compatible with the respective PC, attention should be paid to the connections. Zoom webcams usually have different types of USB ports. A USB 3.0 connection ensures a particularly fast connection.

Installation and mounting: Last but not least, you should pay attention to the installation and mounting of the webcam with zoom: If it can be installed using a mounting, this is a great advantage.

What is a webcam with zoom good for?

A webcam with zoom is particularly good when smaller objects are to be filmed. The same applies to people or objects that are further away.

What does digital zoom mean on a webcam?

A digital zoom on a webcam means that the zoom is not done manually. Usually, the zoom factor is not as high as with a webcam, which has a manual zoom.