Picking the Perfect Webcam

First things first. If I were getting a new laptop, I would get it with a built-in webcam. There's no substitute for the convenience and integration of a built in. The upside of buying a separate webcam is you get to pick the best one for the things you intend to do with your camera. It's also a lot easier to upgrade an external webcam than to pluck one out of your PC.

Webcams used to be hard to set up and not very good once they were. The new generation of webcams is vastly superior. They have better optics, perform better in low light, and have better image resolution. Plus, they're loaded with extras like autofocus, face detection, and motion sensing capabilities.

So, depending on what you plan to do with the webcam, you may decide to choose one brand over another. Here's my webcam product map based on the things they do.

Updating a Web Site With Live Images: You've seen live cams as you search the web. They bring you the ski conditions, traffic status, and who knows what else! Webcam images can be streamed in real time or captured at regular intervals and displayed. It all depends on the software included with the camera. Creative's Live! Cam Optia AF is a 2-megapixel webcam with autofocus. It has a built-in microphone with noise cancellation for great sound. The camera comes with some nice software to let you manage your camera as a live cam, and some fun software for special video effects. (If you're a Vista user, you might want to read a few complaints about the drivers for this webcam.) Not cheap at $129.

Capturing Still Images: A lot of families rely on a quick webcam snapshot sent via email to say hi and keep in touch. Maybe your business relies on sending images of things in the works. Some webcams from Philips, Logitech, and Creative all have built-in snapshot buttons for taking quick pix.

Skype or Other Video Internet Calls or Chats: The best devices for Skyping at your computer are webcams with an integrated microphone of some sort. HP makes a VGA quality webcam with a built-in microphone and great 800 X 600 resolution; Philips' VGA Webcam SPC715NC/00 bundles a headset and microphone with the camera. Wearing headsets like an operator may look funny, but it still can provide superior audio without background noise.

All Around Workhorse: I got to use the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 just before it was announced recently. Logitech now uses Carl Zeiss lenses and the autofocus on their webcam is the best I've seen. Hold up a document, come in for a close up shot, stick your head in front of the camera—it's all in focus nearly instantly. RightLight2 is another Logitech technology that adjusts the camera when lighting conditions are poor. If you want to look good on cam, it's a good choice with two megapixels and integrated Microsoft and face tracking.

Motion Detection: Some webcams are controlled by software that wakes it up when there's movement detected by the watchful camera's eye. It can capture a steady stream of video or capture time lapsed photography, maybe a shot every minute. There lots of levels of sophistication for these devices, but a good all around choice is Creative Labs' WebCam Live!, available for notebooks and as a standalone system. The included Web Cam Live! software is one of the most versatile, with remote monitoring, motion detection, and time-lapse video.

Leaving Home: Honest Technology's IPTV and Cam is a bit of an oddity but worth mentioning because you can watch your TV and your house at the same time. The webcam allows you to do remote home surveillance and is packaged with an Internet Protocol (IP) TV to let you record TV shows at your home but watch them over the Internet whenever you like.

Video Conference and Blogging: When the baton is going to be passed from speaker to speaker, it's best that the webcam have some sort of face detection. Microsoft's LifeCam (as well as others on this list) recognizes an image of a face and will track and then zoom in on it. Microsoft's webcam also has pan and tilt, making it easier to get around the room. Finally, for bloggers there's a one-touch to publish (as long as you're publishing to Microsoft Spaces). Microsoft LifeCams are optimized to work with all the Microsoft Windows Live apps.

Wireless Webcams: Remember that the cables that come with your webcam to connect it to your PC often only reach a few feet. With wireless webcams, you don't have these cable issues. D-Link's DSC-5300G and Linksys' WVC200 Network Camera are both wireless and can be linked to a number of cameras. The Linksys uses motion detection and can send emails to notify you when it registers movement. The D-Link unit has its own IP address and built-in web server so you can put it on the network without requiring a direct connection to a PC.