FaceVsion TouchCam N1 HD 720p Webcam

With us today is the Touchcam N1 from Facevsion. This a Skype Certified 720p webcam with an impressive specification sheet, but how does it perform in real life?

Another swish box; sleek black packaging with compartments seems to be a winning combination. Inside the box we have the camera itself, a CD, some leaflets and a mini-USB cable. Fairly standard package for a webcam; the mini-USB cable could be a little short if your monitor is a long way from your computer.

The camera itself adopts a non-traditional rectangular shape. This allows its dual microphones and 78 degree wide angled lens. The audio quality created by these microphones is very good, especially compared to a laptop’s integrated mic. It does a good job of eliminating background noise and voices sound realistic rather than tinny.  

The wide angle lens of the Touchcam allows a wide image allowing multiple people to be in shot at once. The video quality is obviously what it is all about.  The N1 promises crystal clear 720p video and it’s true to its word. The depth-of field and colour reproduction is fantastic. The N1 offers very sharp pictures both in screenshots and videos.  The built in autofocus works very well, working very quickly and choosing the correct area to focus on.

But won’t HD encoding use up my CPU? Nope, the N1 has a built in H.264 encoding chip meaning it won’t affect your PC’s processor allowing you to complete intensive tasks while video calling. However, to be able to broadcast the HD video you will need a good broadband connection with fast upload speeds.

As for mounting the camera, it uses a two hinged lever. This is lined with rubber to prevent it from slipping and it is easy to secure on both a monitor and a laptop. However if you don’t sit straight on to your monitor if is hard to adjust the view. The hinge also has no horizontal swivel meaning you can’t easily adjust it while in a call or when mounting it.

Being Skype certified you can just plug it in and go video call crazy, but be warned the webcam doesn’t come with its own recording software.

Weighing in at about £75 this isn’t a cheap webcam and you yourself are not going to see the results it is your callers who will be receiving the upgrade. That said webcam does have a lot going for it; the video and audio quality are superb in comparison with the standard ones integrated in a laptop. Just plug in to your computer and stream. The included autofocus and H.264 chip make it even easier for you especially if using a low powered notebook on the move. Overall this is a great camera only let down by the hinge and the hefty price tag.

Contour HD 1080p Review

Link to manufacturer: Contour

Today we have the Contour HD 1080p by vHoldR. vHoldR makes a number of cameras such as this and the GPS version with which you can track your location. The Contour HD 1080p is a helmet cam which you can use to capture action sports such as skiing and mountain biking.

The camera comes in a sleek, stylish box.

Included is the camera itself, instructions, the battery, a USB cable, a flat surface mount, a goggle mount and a 2GB memory card comes pre-installed in the Contour.

It is becoming increasingly popular to include memory cards, which is fantastic; when you get your camera you can get it up and running straight away without having to order in yet another memory card. The memory card slot also means you have expandable options of up to 16GB.

As you’ll see from the contents unfortunately no mains adapter is included and so you have to charge the camera through your PC or laptop. Otherwise a pretty standard bundle with what you would expect. 

To access the camera’s internals you just slide off the back panel. Available here is the mini-USB port, the memory card, the battery and the switch to change between the resolutions (more on that later).

As you can see the camera is a very small unit and fairly light, weighing 123g (4oz) which is important if you are going to have it mounted on your head. The camera has a nice brushed aluminium finish with a fairly large logo on both sides. The camera has no LCD screen for playback or view-finding to keep a small form factor. To get around this the camera uses 2 lasers to help you get the angle of your shot correct. This is demonstrated in the video review. The camera itself is waterproof which is fairly essential for recording ski runs.

The camera has grooves for mounting on both sides so that you can wear it on either side of your head. There is a large, dimpled switch on top of the camera which starts and stops the recording. This camera is extremely simple to use even when wearing gloves, while mounted on a helmet.

Now on to the actual video recording. The Contour boasts a 135® wide angle lens, the H.264 codec and an internal microphone. As mentioned before the laser view-finding system is very effective and easy to use. The Contour HD can record in 4 different resolutions which are chosen using the switch underneath the back cover. These are:

1090p (1920x1080) 30fps

960p (1280x960) 30fps

720 (1280x720) 60fps or 30fps

WVGS (848x480) 60fps

Personally I have always liked 720p due to its balance between good image quality and fairly small file sizes. The 60fps 720 mode is perfect for capturing action shots which this camera is made for. However the ability for such a small unit to capture full HD 1080p video is very impressive. The camera does perform at its best when filming action shots. The microphone isn’t fantastic being a little quiet, but is clear and acceptable. A video quality test and sample is shown at the end of the YouTube review.

In conclusion I am very impressed with this camera. A good looking, compact unit that is capable of recording 1080p video. The video quality is unbelievable for something this size. For these reasons the Contour HD 1080p is truly deserving of my Silver Award!

Youtube Review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEIAgYkX3W4