The Elgato Facecam has some great features & awesome software. But how does it stack up against current market leaders like the Logitech C920, C922 and Brio?
And more importantly, is this our top pick for best webcam in 2022?
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Webcams are an area of tech that have seen little innovation over the years. Digital cameras have made leaps forward but the webcam space has remained fairly stagnant.
The typical webcam has average quality, bad low light performance & autofocus, as well as terrible software without even basic controls!
Well, the Elgato Facecam promises to fix all of that.
This is our full review to help you decide which is the best webcam for your Mac or PC right now.
- Elgato Facecam Vs Logitech Brio Vs Logitech C922
- Elgato Facecam Review
- Elgato Facecam Settings
- Logitech Brio Settings
- Elgato vs Brio vs C922 Pricing
- What Is The Best Webcam?
Let’s dive in.
Elgato Facecam Vs Logitech Brio Vs Logitech C922
We’ll begin with some quick specs. This will show us how the Elgato stacks up against the Logitech Brio and Logitech C922 on paper.
If you’re looking for the best Logitech webcam – the Brio is a clear standout
Quality
The Elgato Facecam is a 1080p webcam capable of 60FPS. So it’s not 4K like the Brio but does hit 60FPS.
Field of View
It’s got an 82 degree field of view, so a little bit wider than the C922. But the Brio has those three different settings so it takes out this category.
The Logitech C922 has a fairly average field of view at 78 degrees
Focus
While most webcams have auto-focus built-in, it’s usually not very good. You can see it pulsing and hunting for the focus point.
To fix this, Elgato has gone with a fixed focus lens. This means the focus is totally locked. Everything that’s between 12 and 47 inches from the webcam is automatically in focus. Anything outside of that range, will not.
The Elgato Facecam is fixed focus with a 24mm lens
Elgato also chose to go with a 24 millimeter equivalent fixed lens. This is a really popular lens choice when it comes to live streaming.
Both the Logitech webcams have auto focus lenses meaning it’ll likely have that struggle trying to find the focus point.
Zoom
As the Elgato has a fixed lens, there is no optical zoom. But you can digitally zoom in and re-frame your shot using the software.
The Logitech Brio has an impressive 5x digital zoom
The Brio has a 5x digital zoom. So it’s not optical either but since it shoots in 4K you’re not going to lose much quality which is great.
Microphone
Elgato made the decision to remove the microphone for this webcam. We don’t think this a deal breaker. Why? Because most people we know don’t use the built-in microphone in their webcams. They’re usually terrible.
Connection
The Elgato Facecam and the Brio both have USB-C connectivity. The C922 has USB-A connectivity. Elgato also comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable which is handy.
You’ll even get a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box with the Elgato Facecam
Now that’s enough of comparing the specs. Let’s get into our review of the Elgato Facecam.
Elgato Facecam Review
The Elgate Facecam looks awesome. When you pick it up, it is surprisingly light. It feels kind of cheap and plasticy. But we don’t think that’s a real problem.
The mount is solid – it opens up quite wide so it’s going to fit most screens.
There’s a standard tripod mounting thread on the bottom of the Facecam
One thing it doesn’t have is the ability to tilt left and right. To be fair, pretty much no other webcams have this feature either! But having this ability would allow you to frame up your shot exactly how you want.
So this isn’t a deal breaker. The base itself can be removed and there is a standard tripod mounting thread on the bottom. This means you can always mount the webcam on a ball head if you want that flexibility.
The Facecam also comes with a lens cover which is great for keeping the lens safe
It also comes with a lens cover but this isn’t attached to the webcam. So if you’re taking it on and off a lot, there’s a good chance you could lose it. We may be guilty of this…
Elgato Facecam Settings
Let’s take a look at the settings and the interface.
You can zoom in but you will lose quality by doing that so we don’t recommend using this feature unless you have to. You can adjust the contrast, saturation and sharpness. The sharpness usually defaults to +2 and we suggest taking it down to +1 but this is up to you.
The zoom feature is good to have but keep in mind that you will lose video quality
Under Exposure, you can turn the Automatic setting off. Then you’re able to manually adjust the shutter speed and ISO. This is one of the features we love about this webcam – you’re getting DSLR-like settings! No other webcam gives you this much control.
You also have the ability to adjust the white balance. But instead of just having an arbitrary slider, you have a Kelvin rating here. This is what you’d usually see on your regular camera to adjust the white balance. So it’s awesome that you have that more advanced functionality.
The white balance is measured on a Kelvin scale rather than just a regular slider
Then in the bottom left corner you have noise reduction. This removes some of the digital noise or grain from the darker areas of your shot.
It really is incredible that you have the ability to dial everything in and lock down your settings. But one of the biggest stand out features is that you can save these settings.
The best feature of the Elgato Facecam is that you can save your settings to the webcam
If you go the top right and hit the Save button, it won’t just save to your computer but it will also save those settings to the webcam itself. This means if you unplug the camera and use it in a different computer, those settings will still be saved as the new default.
Logitech Brio Settings
Now let’s quickly run through the Logitech Brio settings for a comparison.
Up until very recently their software was pretty terrible. But they’ve made some solid changes so let’s take a look. Inside the Logi Tune software is where you can adjust the settings.
The quality is really good, giving a crisp image even when zoomed in
You can zoom in and out. You can change the field of view between 90 degrees, 78 degrees and 65 degrees. And you’ll notice that the picture is still really clear and crisp even on the closer view.
If you scroll down further you can turn off the auto-focus. This is something we strongly recommend doing! The auto-focus is not great. Even the slightest movement causes the lighting in the shot to change.
You’ll see a few filters in here but we don’t recommend using these
There are some presets filters you could use if that goes with your video style. Under Adjustments is where you can dial in the settings. It’s good that you’ve got some level of control but these are nowhere near as powerful as Elgato’s settings
Elgato vs Brio vs C922 Pricing
The Elgato Facecam is currently selling for $199.99. So it’s definitely not on the cheaper side – there are much lower priced options out there.
If you’re looking for the best budget webcam, the Elgato Facecam might not be the right option
But we do think with the amount of features you’re getting and the level of control you have, that it’s a pretty amazing option!
For comparison, let’s look at the pricing of the other two webcams:
- Logitech Brio 4K pricing: Currently sells for $160
- Logitech C922 pricing: Currently sells for as cheap as $70 depending on where you buy it
What Is The Best Webcam?
Overall, the Elgato Facecam is a really cool webcam. We love the low-light capabilities and how awesome the software is. It’s incredible that you have control over so many settings, especially if you’re someone who loves to dial everything in.
Here’s a quick video comparison of the different webcams
Even better, is that you only need to dial those settings in once and then you can save them onto the webcam. Then you always know that it’s good to go.
After having access to this feature, it’s actually a big annoyance when we’ve gone back to use the Logitech Brio.
With the Brio, your settings might be looking awesome one day and then the next day you might plug it into a different port and it’s lost all of those settings. So being able to save the settings to the camera itself is a HUGE feature.
The Brio still has some awesome features that makes it a good contender for best webcam
The Brio does have a noticeably sharper and clearer image. This is probably because of the 4K capability. So even when you’re using it at 1080P, it is still sharper and clearer than the Elgato Facecam.
But unless you’re comparing them side by side, you likely won’t notice the difference.
The Brio also does a good job with the auto settings for the most part. So it’s great that you don’t always necessarily have to dive in and make adjustments. But as mentioned, we recommend turning off the auto focus.
In terms of the C922, we don’t really think it’s fair to compare it with the Brio and the Elgato. Its features just don’t stack up with the features of the other two.
So, which one is the best webcam?
If we had to pick one overall winner, it would be the Elgato Facecam. This is what we’ll be using going forward because it’s the best option for how we use webcams.
The best webcam 2022 in our complete review is the Elgato Facecam
But as always, go with the option that works best for you!
Whether you’re looking for the best webcam for teaching online classes, for Zoom or for live streaming – both the Brio and Elgato are great options.
If you found this guide to the best webcam for Mac & PC useful, feel free to share it on social media or with someone you know who might like to learn from these webcam reviews too!
Links
When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!
Best Webcam 2022:
- Elgato Facecam (Amazon)
Best Logitech Webcams:
- Logitech BRIO (Amazon)
- Logitech C922 (Amazon)
- Logitech C920 (Amazon)
Recommended Gear & Resources
Check out an up-to-date list of all the gear, software & tools we use and recommend right now at Primal Video on our resources page here!
