Logitech Brio

Too much webcam, or just enough?

Logitech’s engineers (who have, it must be said, been on fire recently) realised that they could create a 4K webcam without stopping to think if they should. Then its marketers slapped the word ‘stream’ on it, despite the fact that rendering and uploading a stable 4K stream is beyond most PCs, internet connections and streaming hosts. And then its powercrazed number-crunchers decided $300 was a perfectly reasonable price.

This is that dream device: a higher resolution sensor, HDR support, wider angles, up to 90fps capture, and support for Windows Hello on board. The stand includes additional points of articulation, and a standard camera-mount thread, so the Brio can be attached to a tripod. The fact that its sensor can pull a respectable 4K image at 30fps shouldn’t be its major sell, though. It can certainly do that, although the results at full stretch are rather noisy and grainy. This is a webcam, as opposed to a broadcastready 4K camera. When you drop it down to more realistic resolutions, the power behind the sensor really shows; at 1080p 60fps, it’s crisp and smooth, and at 720p 90fps, it’s a perfectly acceptable streaming resolution. HDR support makes a massive difference to the colour depth.

Below 4K, you can adjust the viewing angle, or use the much-improved driver within the Logitech Gaming Software app to virtually pan and tilt its viewport. You’re also given a high level of control over brightness, saturation, white balance, and more.

The Brio is, however, far too expensive.