The LifeCam HD-5000 is quite a decent webcam. For $30, I'd have to say it a great purchase. The picture is good with a good variability of resolutions. The microphone is great (seems to have decent noise cancellation in place). Great choice for Skype. Note that this is not a Skype HD rated webcam as the 720p video is encoded on the machine, not in the camera hardware itself. As of this moment, there are very few Skype HD rated webcams out there, so I don't expecting great 720p performance on every machine from this webcam.
The following two paragraphs are relevant to Windows machines only:
With regard to auto-focus, I would like to point out that contrary to some other reviews, the auto-focus can be disabled in the webcam settings without disabling TrueColor, which adjusts for brightness, hue, and saturation (as well as other aspects of the image). Overall, auto-focus is great to have, it works very well in certain setups, and very poorly in others. I do like being able to hold up text to the camera and have it focus on the image. If you have problems with the auto-focus, simply turn it off in the (advanced) webcam settings (which can be accessed in the control panel, in Skype, or through the LifeCam software).
Here are some points on the LifeCam software. First, I would like to point out that you do not need to install it. Without the LifeCam software, the camera works great with the drivers Windows (7) chooses to install for it. There are, however, some differences. The LifeCam software is what provides TrueColor, which does make for a better video when chatting online. The LifeCam software also auto-adjusts the frame rate for your machine depending on the resolution, this makes for smoother video for online chatting. Auto-adjustment of the frame rate can be an issue if you want to shoot 720p at 30fps on a machine that the software considers weak. Many people will need to uninstall the LifeCam software and use MJPG compression to achieve 30fps at 720p on this webcam. Also, without the LifeCam software, many more of the webcam settings become available to the system, but TrueColor will be gone. In my experience, it is best to let the LifeCam software run if your main purpose is to use Skype or other video chat clients.
Comments on using the LifeCam HD-5000 with Mac OS X:
This webcam is (at least partially) UVC compliant, so it will work on Mac OS X (and Linux). Most webcams sold these days are UVC compliant, so this is not something particular to the LifeCam HD-5000. The microphone also work well. However, for those of you with Mac OS X, it very likely that an iSight (which most Macs have anyway) will work much better. With UVC drivers on Mac OS X, the video can be choppy and is at a fixed resolution of (what looks like) 640x480. No 720p for Mac OS X users. Auto-focus and image correction features are, of course, also not available on Mac OS X.
Overall, the product is great to have. I appreciate the design, as it is both table and laptop compatible. For those of you eying a LifeCam HD-5001 or LifeCam HD-6000, know that the optics are the same, so the video quality should be identical.
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This Item  Microsoft LifeCam HD-5000 720p HD Webcam - Black |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | — | -29% $42.81 List: $59.99 | $39.45 | $59.99 | $17.00 | $59.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 18 | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 18 | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 18 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Camera quality | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Auto focus | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | AnkerDirect | The Deal Source CR (SERIAL NUMBERS RECORDED) | PNR Sales |
| model name | — | brio | BRIO 100 | A3369 | — | Microsoft Modern Webcam |
| display size | — | 2.5 inches | 7 inches | 2.7 inches | 2 inches | 10 inches |
| video resolution | 720p | 1080p | 1080p | 2K | 720p | 1080p |
| connectivity tech | USB | USB | USB | USB | USB | USB |
| shooting modes | Automatic | Shutter Priority, Automatic, Easy | — | Easy, Automatic | — | Automatic |
| lens type | Macro | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom | Zoom |
| flash memory type | SD | SD | — | Micro SD | Micro SD | SDHC |
| exposure control type | Automatic | Automatic | — | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
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Price: $25 - $50
Brand: Microsoft
Weight: 2 to 4.99 oz
Video Capture Resolution: 720p
Exposure Control Type: Automatic
Focus Type: Auto Focus
Connectivity Technology: USB
Flash Memory Type: SD
File Format: JPEG
Lens Type: Macro
Max Aperture: 1.0 to 1.9 f/
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Customer Review: Lovable little camera that has one serious flaw
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Good webcam for videoconferencing
Great webcam.Adequate resolution, sharp focus, good exposure and excellent low light performance. Works fine in Windows 10.The built-in microphone does a good job too.The mount is bendy and does not intrude much over the front monitor bezel. The camera can be rotated left or right and tilted by moving the bendy bit.It is rugged, and has been perched on my monitor since 2011. See picture shot with a mirror and cropped severely.It cost me $25 back then so this now old tech is asking way too much, so I have bought a different brand for my wife.
