Labs

We were a bit nonplussed by this camera at first. It boasts automatic travelling zoom, allowing it to track your face as you move around. Yet when we ran its software for the first time, we found we had to set the focus using the focus ring. There's not much point in zooming automatically if you have to refocus manually.

Once we'd focussed the camera correctly and found the zoom controls, however, it started to make sense. The zoom function is quite cool. If you sit back in your seat, the camera follows, zooming in for a close-up on your head and shoulders. If you move in nearer again, it readjusts, and if you lean to the left or right,it pans across to keep you in the picture. It's a nifty feature that will appeal to users who make lots of video calls and don't want to have to sit rigid like a Victorian photographer's model.

The Hercules' picture quality is only middling. Video images, with a maximum resolution of 1280x960 pixels, were grainier than from the Logitech cams and lacked the high-contrast, true-to-life colour of the Creative models. For under £20, though, with a built-in microphone and the unusual auto-zoom, this isn't a bad budget buy.