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Honestly, the Logitech c920 is still the 'good enough' option. It's cheap and produces a decent image.

However, the raw video can sometimes be a bit unflattering.

I would recommend using OBS as an intermediary between the webcam and other applications like Zoom or Skype. OBS has a virtual camera feature so that the output looks like just another webcam.

The reason you would do this is because OBS has powerful video filters you can overlay on top of the video feed, so that you can apply color correction and alter the brightness before sending it out. Even small changes can have a large impact on the quality of the video image quality.

I found this much more preferable to messing around with Logitech's unwieldy software.




This is what I do for both work-related (and as of this year, recreational) video conferences. At the start of the pandemic, I only had an older webcam which maxed out at 1280x720, didn't have much in the way of onboard hardware processing capability, and looked generally cruddy. Set up OBS initially so I could use the basic color correction and then moved on to playing around with chromakey backgrounds (sure beats the software chroma in Zoom and Webex).

Once C920 came back in stock (at non-scalper prices) I did pick one up and it was a modest improvement. Overall performance is just better across the board. Only real annoyance is how I have to reconfigure the video options every time I start OBS since the cam likes to revert back to auto white balance/focus/exposure. Still, it takes less than a minute to set it back to where I want it.

For lighting, I have a couple of those clamp-on utility lights that are sold at just about any hardware store. Each one has a sheet of kitchen parchment paper clipped to the housing to act as a basic diffuser. Between whatever desk lamp or sunlight I have coming in, the two clamp lights let me set up a reasonable 3-point lighting and avoid any weird shadows.

For audio, I have an old Tascam USB audio interface with 1/4" and XLR inputs along with headphone monitor out. Hooked up an old Shure vocal mic on a stand and I get quality and a pickup pattern I just couldn't touch with a headset or desktop condenser mic.

A lot of this was only affordable because I had some of the stuff (mic, USB interface) laying around already, but that was sort of the takeaway. Make use of the best stuff you already own, consider what hacky solutions you might use to fill in some gaps, and only then spend more money on a better camera, lights, etc.




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