Anker unveils 1080p webcam — Why Logitech and Microsoft should worry

(Image credit: Anker)

The webcam business is booming thanks to the pandemic pushing so many of usa to work from abode, and at present Anker is launching a new competitor to category leaders similar the Logitech C920.

This week Anker appear the PowerConf C300 Smart Hard disk drive Webcam, a $130 1080p webcam with multiple field-of-view options and onboard AI designed to automatically proceed the photographic camera centered on the user. The PowerConf C300 is office of Anker's new AnkerWork family of home function products, and if it performs well, it could offering potent competition confronting some of the best webcams on the market.

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Just that means going upward against the likes of Logitech and Microsoft, the latter of which but unveiled its ain 1080p Microsoft Modern Webcam for a cool $70.

Anker PowerConf C300: Pricing and availability

Anker'south new Powerconf C300 is bachelor now for $130 via some of your favorite online retailers or Anker's ain website.

This is Anker's first webcam, and it looks like a premium piece of kit that may have a difficult time competing confronting lower-priced 1080p competitors like the $70 Microsoft Modernistic Webcam (which hits stores in June) or the $eighty Logitech C920.

Anker PowerConf C300: Specs

The Anker PowerConf C300 sports a 2MP CMOS sensor that tin capture 1080p video at either 60 or 30 frames per 2d. Information technology has three field-of-view options: 115 degrees, xc degrees, and 78 degrees, affording you the selection to prove off a whole room or narrow things down to go along people, pets, and unsightly accoutrements out of frame.

The PowerConf C300 also sports dual stereo microphones, giving it a leg up over the Microsoft Modern Camera (which has just one microphone) and makes it a stiff competitor against the dual-mic-wielding Logitech C920.

Anker also includes an optional privacy comprehend you tin can install to embrace upwards the PowerConf C300's camera, though, the cover does zero to cover the microphones or the webcam'south LED light.

Anker PowerConf C300: Special features

The PowerConf C300's big special characteristic is something Anker calls "smart framing." It substantially means the webcam uses a congenital-in AI chipset to recognize faces and automatically track the movements of whoever's onscreen, keeping them centered in the frame.

Anker claims the smart framing algorithm can recognize insignificant movements (similar reaching for a drinking glass of h2o) and filter them out, which could eliminate potential headaches if you're someone who likes to fidget with things during Zoom meetings.

The PowerConf C300 too offers autofocus, machine low-lite correction and auto color-correction, making information technology competitive confronting the best webcams currently available. It connects via USB-C, which is something worth noting if your current work setup is old plenty that USB-C ports are in curt supply.

Anker PowerConf C300: Outlook

Nosotros won't know how well the PowerConf C300 stacks upward against the competition until we exam it for ourselves, just based purely on specs information technology appears that Anker's new webcam may be ane of the best you can buy. Whether information technology'southward worth the rather steep request cost depends on your needs. The hardware looks top-notch and the smart framing tech may testify useful, but information technology'due south difficult to imagine information technology being worth twice the price of its top competitors.

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Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than than a decade of feel covering both for outlets similar Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC World mag. He currently serves every bit a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.