Group test
THE BEST MAC WEBCAMS UNDER £130
Look your best without breaking the bank
Group test
Reviewed by ALEX BLAKE
ON TEST…
> Anker PowerConf C300 > Continuity Camera for iPhone > Creative Live! Cam Sync V3 > Kensington W2050 Pro > Logitech Brio 500 > Razer Kiyo
Who really needs a webcam in 2023? After W all, MacBook cameras are getting better and, thanks to Continuity Camera, you can even use your iPhone as a webcam, saving you a bunch of cash. Isn’t buying a stand-alone model just a waste of money?
Well, not exactly. A dedicated webcam can give you more than Apple’s offerings; from software tweaks and filters to privacy covers and built-in lighting. Plus, there’s the obvious problem that you can’t use your iPhone while it’s occupied with Continuity Camera. Taking the path laid out by Apple might not always work for everyone.
To find out what your best choice is, we gathered five leading webcams costing under £130 and put them through their paces, testing them in different lighting conditions to assess their versatility, then did the same for Continuity Camera (running on an iPhone 12 Pro). We want to know whether you should spend your hard-earned cash on a webcam or just stick with Apple’s own solution. The results might surprise you.
How we tested
We set up and tested each webcam on a 14-inch MacBook Pro and a Mac mini with an external monitor to ensure they fit different-sized screens. We assessed video quality in three different lighting conditions; sitting in front of a window with our face well lit, sitting with a bright window behind us, and in a darkened room. Audio was recorded from each webcam, and macOS companion apps (where they existed) were evaluated for their capabilities.