Product Reviews

Long a staple of science fiction stories, face-to-face Internet communication has been possible for a while - all you need is a webcam and an Internet connection. With the advent of broadband and the current crop of high-quality cameras, you can talk to a friend on the other side of the world just as though you were sitting opposite them.

Creative has loaded its Live Motion webcam with all kinds of features, but with the QuickCam Fusion, Logitech has focused firmly on performance. This slim, stubby sausage of a camera has a 1.3 megapixel image sensor and the built-in echo-cancelling microphone means that you

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can chat without having to use a separate microphone headset, although one is included if you are a fan of call-centre chic.

The Fusion comes attached to a large bendy rubber base that lets it hook over the top of a monitor or laptop screen, which means its pointing straight at you when you're using your computer.

The Fusion works with both USB and USB 2 connections: but the latter is a prerequisite for 1,280x960 (1.3 megapixel) still-image capture and smooth video capture at higher resolutions (up to 640x480). You can capture video and photo using the simple QuickCapture application, but the only other supplied software is a novelty program that lets you control the expressions of various animated faces by pulling faces of your own.

Where the Fusion really scores is in its performance. The fixed-focus lens gives a sharp image at anything from just a few inches away to the far distance, and with a USB 2 connection, video capture at 640x480 is smooth.

What really impresses, however, is the camera's performance in low light. In a room lit only by a monitor and a table lamp, the Fusion gave a remarkably clear image -something that the Creative LiveMotion couldn't manage.