7/30/2020 Quickcam Pro 9000 Mac Software
Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 Webcam Driver 12.0.1278.0 2016-02-02; Newer! Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 Webcam Driver.0 64-bit 2016-01-27; Newer! Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 Webcam Driver.0 64-bit 2016-02-02; Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 Webcam Driver. Jun 10, 2011 An order of magnitude better than any competing webcam, Logitech's QuickCam Pro 9000 captures stellar video at a variety of resolutions under almost any lighting conditions.
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Editor Rating: Excellent (4.5)
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An order of magnitude better than any competing webcam, Logitech's QuickCam Pro 9000 captures stellar video at a variety of resolutions under almost any lighting conditions. It's light on the bundled software, but what's there is good. And at $99.99 (direct), it's priced in line with its main competitors, the Creative Live! Cam Optia AF and the Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000. Unless your budget doesn't reach that high (in which case the $25 Hercules Deluxe Optical Glass is your only worthwhile alternative) there's no reason to consider any other webcam.
The QuickCam Pro 9000's 2-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens sits atop a large plastic stand with a hinged clip. Because it's not spring-loaded, I'm concerned that over time it could loosen and lose its resistance, thus keeping it from wedging securely against an LCD. Out of the box, however, it fits tightly enough, and doubles as a sturdy desktop stand. The lens itself can tilt a full 90 degrees relative to the stand, but that's not enough to point it in the opposite directionâmeaning you can't film what's happening in front of you without reorienting the entire webcam. But the camera at least scores a few style points with its glowing red camera-active ring and grille-capped microphone.
Setup was easy except for one Vista-related glitch: The OS kept instructing me to locate and install the drivers, even after the Logitech software had finished loading and I'd moved on to using the webcam. Logitech needs to tweak the installer to communicate better with Vista. On the plus side, the software resides in an unobtrusive little toolbar. Click on the QuickCapture button to record live video or snap a photo, the Effects button to apply special effects, and so on. Everything's easy and self-explanatory.
The software lets you apply a small selection of avatars, 'face accessories' (beards, crowns, and the like), and image filters to your visage. The avatars are particularly fun: The software maps your eyes and mouth, then applies your head and face movements, in real time, to an alien, stick figure, cat, or something equally goofy. The effects don't track particularly well, but they're sure to amuse kids (and juvenile adults). And, as Creative does with the Live! Cam Optia AF, Logitech offers a slew of additional effects you can download from the Web.âNext: But How's the Video?
But How's the Video?
Of course, the real news is the quality of the QuickCam's video. At 640 by 480 pixelsâthe maximum resolution most other webcams can manage before video turns to slide showâthe QuickCam Pro 9000 has no equal. Live images look sharp and silky-smooth, with perfect contrast and exposure levels regardless of the lighting conditions. I tend to roll my eyes when companies tout made-upâsounding technologies such as RightLight 2, which Logitech credits for these incredibly accurate results, but let's give credit where it's due: RightLight always gets it right. I also tip my hat to the camera's lightning-fast autofocus.
As I've said from the start, this webcam's an order of magnitude better than the rest. But what's really amazing is that it performs nearly as well at its HD resolution (960 by 720). I noticed no dropped frames, nor any signs of image degradation. The exposure and focus seemed a bit slower to auto-adjust, but that's nitpicking. The camera not only excels at the baseline resolution, it actually manages to operate efficiently at a higher resolution.
Unsurprisingly, it also captured the best-looking still photos on my tests, though you should keep in mind its optical resolution tops out at 2MP. You can capture snapshots at settings as high as 8MP, but like other webcams, this one software-interpolates its way up the scale.
For all its optical acumen, the QuickCam was just so-so at capturing audio, though. My voice sounded a bit garbled, and there was a slightly unrealistic quality to the audio playback.
During my tests, I encountered exactly one glitch: On two occasions, the autofocus seemed to stop working, leaving me with a blurry image. The first time it happened I closed the software and restarted it, which solved the problem. The second time, I merely tilted the lens up and down to jog the autofocus, and that did the trick.
In case it's not abundantly clear by now, I'm keeping the QuickCam Pro 9000 and boxing up the other webcams I've tested recently. Ideally, this one would offer a wider range of movement and a more Creative-like variety of software. But ultimately, the measure of any webcam must be the quality of its images, and this one easily wins the day.
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Hi, this is a relatively good webcam but on a Mac, some of the features will not function without software. First of all, the software for this cam is written for PC only, but the camera will operate pretty well without it.
You will need to upgrade to OS X 10.4.9 or higher, or download and install 'ichatUSBCam' at this link... http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12294 10.4.9 and 10.4.10 will recognize the cam natively. All the cool features like snapshots, auto-focus, face tracking, etc... will not be available without the PC only software. I contacted Logitech about the auto-focus not working and they told me that the Pro 9000 has internal hardware that requires software control. I have found the focus to not be a problem as almost everything is in focus anyway. This cam is very sharp, very high resolution and auto-exposure and color balance seem to work great. Hope this helps, Pete Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 Webcam Software
Oct 4, 2007 5:30 PM
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