Labs

The software that comes with the Labtec is very similar to the Logitech's. That isn't surprising, as Logitech acquired Labtec in 2001. It adds to Logitech's snapshot and video-clip components with a sensitive motion-detection feature, although it doesn't support email alerts.

The software may be similar, but the image quality offered by the two cameras is vastly different. Testing it using MSN Messenger, the Labtec delivers deeper colours and more realistic skin tones, in contrast to Logitech's washed-out, rather overexposed

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look. The built-in microphone offers reasonably good quality too.

Using the camera to take photos at 640 x 480, the image looks great, helped along by manual focusing. It deals with backlighting well and has a large enough field of view to easily include two people. Interpolating to 1,280 x 960 for still shots, artefacts become obvious and make this mode rather useless. Our only gripe concerning video is that the frame rate isn't great and tends to blur any movement.

Plus, the Webcam Pro suffers from a lack of mounting options, since the flat rubber base won't clamp to the top of a TFT or notebook. It's heavy enough to resist the pull of the cable while resting on a TFT, but you need to grasp the camera firmly before pushing the snapshot button or altering focus. Due to limited tilt angles, you can't place it on a desk; the best option is a shelf or the top of a desktop PC tower.

At this price, the only drawback on the Labtec is its mounting options.The MSI edges it here as it adds extra features like infrared LEDs for low-light operation. Because of this, the Labtec narrowly misses an award.