Logitech Brio
A great webcam in so many ways, but its key selling point – 4K video streaming – feels ahead of its time
When Logitech first announced the Brio, its first 4K webcam, I suspect the same thought flashed through my mind as is flashing through yours right now: who in the world needs such high resolution videos? But then I made my first Skype call using it. My guinea pig caller, this magazine’s own Darien Graham-Smith, casually remarked how clear the image was. I held an issue of PC Pro about two feet away from the camera and asked him to read the text – while he couldn’t make out smaller words, such as those you’re reading right now, he could read text the size of the verdict.
So what? In many cases, absolutely nothing. If all you’re doing is Skyping relatives then such precision is overkill. However, if you’re trying to communicate something more complex to a distant colleague then being able to relay such detail might just save you a journey. Let’s face it, we all love extra detail: would you give up the many-megapixel cameras in your phone and go back to the days of VGA?
But there’s a major caveat here. While the Brio is a 4K camera, capable of relaying 3,840 x 2,160 images at 30fps, the streaming providers are some way behind: Skype downsizes video to 1080p, so while the images Darien enjoyed were indeed sharp, they weren’t 4K sharp. So, if you want the maximum resolution, all you can do is record video locally or stream it on YouTube.
Logitech provides a semi-answer to this by also including a 5x digital zoom, with an onscreen control allowing you to crop into an area of the picture. My Skype-based experiments with this weren’t totally convincing, however. In the end, moving objects closer to the camera proved the easiest way to convey information.
Then there’s the cost of being an early adopter. In this case, you’re paying double the price of a Full HD webcam such as the Logitech C925E, so you might ask what you’re getting other than a higher density of pixels.
Certainly, Logitech packs all the high-end features into the Brio that it can. It’s the best camera I’ve used when it comes to adjusting to light conditions, all thanks to Logitech’s Right Light 3 with HDR technology (making its debut here). This means you still look well-lit even when placed against a bright background.
There’s also an effective pair of omnidirectional microphones built into the unit, which is roughly the size of a fat, stumpy cigar. I felt no need to reach for my dedicated microphone when making calls.
I also liked the privacy cover – a posh way of saying “folding piece of black plastic that masks the lens” – that fits snugly on the top, like a visor, and you can fold the stand so that it sits on your desk rather than atop
“If you’re trying to convey something complex to a colleague then being able to relay such detail might save you a journey”
your monitor. Note that the Brio isn’t perfectly designed for laptops because it doesn’t attach firmly enough to the screen, so will fall off if you move it too vigorously. Luckily, there’s a soft carry pouch to take it on your travels.
Another plus: Windows 10 users can take advantage of Windows Hello facial recognition to log into their systems. This works perfectly if you leave your computer hooked up, but my laptop sometimes failed to switch the camera on when I reconnected it of a morning.
Then there’s the fun feature of being able to apply fake backgrounds. Below, you can see the image of me sitting in front of the Chicago skyline, albeit with a chopped-off ear. That’s because the diffraction of my rather strong glasses confused the camera; with no built-in depth perception (as you would get with a Real Sense camera), you’re relying on the software to make the right decisions.
Logitech also makes a fuss about its blur control. The idea is that the camera will focus on you, in the foreground, and blur the background so that people aren’t distracted by what’s going on behind you. It sounds like a neat option, but my test video callers were always relieved when I switched off the effect: sometimes my arms would be there, sometimes they wouldn’t, which proved a tad more distracting than the background.
A far more effective option is to use Logitech’s software to change the field of view from 90 degrees to 78 or 65 degrees, as that will zoom into your face and cut out swathes of your untidy or busy working environment.
So is the Brio worth the £199 price? That depends how keen you are to access 4K video right now; by this time next year, it’s likely to be more commonplace and more affordable. And perhaps by that time Skype and its ilk will have caught up. If you can’t wait, though, then the Brio’s excellent image quality mean it’s a purchase you won’t regret.