Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 Review

Set Up & Hardware

The included Quickstart guide gives the setup in 11 pictorial steps. The instructions are in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Setup consists of installing the software, setting the camera on top of the monitor, and plugging in the USB cable. The instructions then walk you through testing and adjusting the camera. Although you can adjust the lighting and other settings, we found that the auto-adjust worked well with every computer and every environment that we tried.

During the installation you will be asked if you want to install the Logitech VID software. This is Logitech’s answer to easy video calling. You simply install the software, create an account and snap a picture of yourself with the webcam. Then you type in the email address of another VID user. That name goes on your contact list along with their picture. To call them you simply click on their picture. There is no video chat or other complicated features.  If you are already using Skype, Gmail, or some other video calling software, you don’t need VID, but if you are a newbie with a limited list of contacts you might find it very useful.

The Webcam Pro 9000, as shown in Figure 3, has three sections. The camera and microphone itself are on the left with the USB cable coming from that section. The middle area is attached to the camera with a flexible hinge and the back section, which consists of a tongue-like flap that holds the camera in place, is also hinged.

Figure 3: The Webcam Pro 9000.

While the front of the camera is finished in shiny black plastic, as shown in Figure 4, the rest of the mechanism is dull black. The lip in the front and the tongue in the back are rubberized to provide a better grip on the computer. Because of the adjustability and the grip of the rubberized parts, the camera can be easily adjusted to the proper position. The best thing is that once you have adjusted the camera, it stays in place quite nicely.

We found that the camera worked well on both a laptop, shown in Figure 4, and the LCD from a desktop, shown in Figure 5.

Figure 4: The Webcam Pro on a laptop screen.

Figure 5: The Webcam Pro on a desktop screen.