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Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 (68C-00001)
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| List Price: | $79.95 |
| Price: | $39.99 |
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from and sold by J&R Music and Computer World
50 new or used available from $27.99
Average customer review:
Product Description
Experience instant messaging in a whole new way. Communicate with friends and family as if they were in the room with you. 1.3 megapixels high Definition video and 5.0 megapixels photos interpolated shows you in the best light. The built-in microphone automatically picks up your voice with remarkable clarity. Just press this button and select an Online Contact to start a video call. The 71-degree wide angle lens ensures no one gets left out of the picture. The pan and tilt functionality make it a snap to capture the big picture, however you want to see it. The long, flexible cable gives you more room to move. The zoom delivers realistic, up-close-and-personal video, so you can see the contours of every smile. The new USB 2.0 enables much higher connection speeds, so you can experience life in real-time. Surprise your friends with cool video effects, accessible right from the Windows Live Messenger Window. LifeCams capture life at 30 frames per second, which means the video images you see are smooth and seamless. Windows Vista or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) required.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #195 in Consumer Electronics
- Brand: Microsoft
- Model: 68C-00001
- Platform: Windows
- Format: CD
- Dimensions: 2.90" h x 9.30" w x 8.20" l, 1.06 pounds
- Native resolution: 1280x1024
Features
- Use with Windows Live Messenger to communicate with friends and family as if they were in the room with you
- Delivers 1.3 megapixel video resolution and 5 megapixel photo resolution
- Built-in microphone
- Simply press the Windows Live Call Button and select an Online Contact to start a video conversation
- 71 degree wide angle lens ensures no one gets left out of the picture
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
Putting the power of Windows Live Messenger at your fingertips, the Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 takes instant messaging with family and friends to a new level of sight and sound by offering great video and crystal-clear audio with acoustic noise cancellation.
 The LifeCam VX-6000 features one-touch access to Windows Live Messenger. |
 Enjoy megapixel resolution, a wide angle lens, and a 3x digital zoom. |
The Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 is optimized for Windows Live Messenger, which is used by the largest worldwide instant messenger community with over 200 million users. Three key features give you a superior Windows Live Experience. First, the Windows Live Call Button makes it easy to start a video call. Simply press the button to see who's online, and you're on your way to a video call. Second, with the LifeCam Dashboard you can access video effects and control your webcam from the Windows Live Messenger window. Lastly, with One-Touch Blogging, a single click allows you to upload to Windows Live Spaces, an "online scrapbook" that lets you easily post blogs, photo albums, and personal music lists.
The VX-6000's automatic face tracking software, which takes advantage of the camera's pan, tilt, and zoom controls, follows you so you don't disappear off-screen. The VX-6000's wide angle lens lets you fit more people on screen so everyone can join in the fun. Alternatively, the 3x digital zoom brings you so close that it's almost like sitting opposite the other person. The camera's high definition sensor makes it possible to experience true 1.3 megapixel video and 5.0 interpolated megapixel photos.
The camera automatically adjusts for low-light conditions for improved video quality, and a built-in unidirectional microphone with acoustic noise cancellation provides crystal-clear audio. Video effects give you a fun way to express yourself, and last but not least, the camera's universal attachment base fits on most monitors, including flat screens. Alternatively, the camera can sit directly on your desk.
Note that while the VX-6000 is optimized for use with Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft LifeCams also work with other instant messaging programs, such as Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger.
From the Manufacturer
Overview:
| Discover a New, Simple Way to Communicate with Friends and Family. Say goodbye to sharing memories across miles by only typing and talking. You’re about to experience a whole new dimension in instant messaging. With the Microsoft® LifeCam VX-6000, you’ll see High Definition, live video images. You’ll hear sounds and voices as if they were in the same room with you. And you’ll share experiences with friends and family across the street or across the world in real time. |  |
Features:
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| Windows Live™ Call Button For use with Windows Live Messenger. | Universal Attachment Base Fits on most monitors, including fl at screens, or sits directly on your desk. | Superior Video Quality High Definition video (1.3 megapixels) and photos (5.0 megapixels interpolated)* |
Additional Features:
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*One megapixel = 1,000,000 pixels. Less resolution available when sending video via instant messaging.
**Not available at 1.3 megapixel resolution.
System Requirements:
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Customer Reviews
A bit pricey, but superior image quality and wide-angle lens
This camera costs almost twice as much as the VX-3000, and it is debatable whether it offers enough for the price difference to be worthwhile. The VX-3000 is a very good buy and no doubt will make most average users very happy. That said, however, the VX-6000 does offer superior quality for those who want it, and still offers a better quality/price ratio than comparable Logitech or Creative products. Image is EXTREMELY crisp, and many of my on-line chat pals have commented that they were impressed. The wide-angle lens is also a big plus (in fact, it was what made me decide to pay more and get it), and it works well with little light.
On the down side, two things:
1) The absolutely irritating "Windows Live Call" button that gets easily pressed by accident and pops up Windows Live Messenger (still widely known as MSN Messenger). But there is an easy workaround:
a. Rename the file "IcePick.exe" in the installed camera programs folder (usually, "C:\Program Files\Microsoft LifeCam") to something else.
b. Create an EMPTY file (size 0 bytes) named "IcePick.exe" (for example, right-click on that folder's right pane in Windows Explorer, create a new empty text file and DON'T open it; then rename it and confirm that you want to change the extension).
Step (a) disables the button already, but if you don't perform step (b), when you access the camera utility "Properties" window (to change exposure, brightness, etc.) the driver will reinstall itself (asking for the CD, etc.) and restore the original "IcePick.exe" undoing what you did. But after performing both steps, the button is dead. If you want to restore the functionality, just delete the empty "IcePick.exe" and rename the old file back to its original name.
2) When lighting conditions change too suddenly (for example, when a brightly lit arm comes quickly closer to the camera) it may reset the feed and go dark for a second or two while the driver adjusts itself. Sometimes this can be annoying, and I don't know if there is a way to tweak the driver so that it doesn't adjust itself so often.
Other than these two points, however, the VX-6000 one of the best webcams I have ever seen and I don't hesitate to recommend it. No camera is perfect and other models and brands certainly have their down sides, too. The ones I've found are tolerable, and pale in comparison with this product's excellent quality.
A final tip: the driver on the CD is almost certainly outdated. [...]
Great Webcam
The MS LifeCam VX-6000 is optimized for Windows Live Messenger (WLM). There were no options in the installation process. No crapware was installed. No special folders were created. All the camera features can be accessed from within WLM. The sound was great from the recipients point of view, even though I was using two desktop speakers. No speaker feedback. The microphone worked even when I walked around the room. No headset is supplied. Why do the other similarly priced webcams touting their builtin microphones also include headsets? I'm about to buy a second one.
Best webcam, probably a bit of an overkill for video chat
I wish people would refrain from lying; some people will do anything to defame Microsoft, a genuine, all-American company. The LifeCam VX-6000 installs easily, does not install secret non-essential software like Creative and Logitech installers do, and works beautifully with various IM clients. I tested it with different video chat programs and didn't enconter any problems on my two WinXP computers. I mainly use it with the new Windows Live Messenger (formerly known as MSN Messenger) and the video and audio quality are just superb. But I do think this might be a little too much if all you do is casual video chats. The cheaper VX-3000 is probably a better buy for most people. If you want a real digital camera, get a real one from Canon, Casio, Fuji, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony, etc. But if you do some video conferencing for business, the VX-6000 is a good investment.
