Preview: HD Webcams From Logitech

A chatty, comprehensive examination of new webcams from Logitech designed to support high-quality video chatting and desktop videoconferencing applications. Note: these products do not support Skype HD, from the popular voice-and-video-over-Internet provider.

"It seems like only yesterday webcams were struggling to shed their VGA roots; that megapixel cams were relying on interpolation tricks to falsely boost the pixel counts of their dinky sensors. No more. The age of the HD webcam is truly here, and Logitech has just announced a suite of the things, including the highest of the high: the 1080p HD Pro Webcam C910. It's fitting that the manufacturer behind the most iconic brand in webcams would jump straight to the top of the resolution charts, but do the extra pixels warrant the $99 price tag? Click on in to see the video proof and decide for yourself.

First let's get the details out of the way. Logitech is announcing four webcams, with the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 having the longest title and the best specs. It'll record at 1080p, do video chat at 720p, has stereo microphones and an auto-focusing Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. This cam is set to release worldwide for $99 in August. Next is the more portable-friendly and slightly more affordable $59 C510. This model does without the 1080p recording but still does 720p video chat, and folds up neatly to protect the screen for travelers. Then, there are the C310 and C270, $49 and $39 HD webcams for the budget-minded."