CE Pro February 2022 - 58

CE Products
EDITOR'S PICK
Konftel Cam10
Makes WFH Look
& Sound Good
By Andrew Nichols
AS AMERICANS HAVE
adjusted to working from
home full-time or to a hybrid
office schedule, a wealth
of work-from-home (WFH)
products and systems have
flooded the CE market. While
many high-priced systems
make use of multiple cameras
and fancy add-ons, most
at-home workers simply need
a high-quality camera and a
good microphone to accomplish
their daily tasks.
Thankfully, companies like
Swedish-based Konftel have
created products targeted
at this core audience of
WFH-ers, with options like
the Cam10 occupying the
base model slot. Beyond the
Cam10, Konftel also offers
a number of other webcam
and unified communications
(UC) products, including the
Cam20 which focuses on video
quality with a 4K ultrawide
camera, and the Cam50,
which provides a range of
pan-and-tilt options.
Since the Cam10 is designed
to be easy to install
and set up, I expected
getting things up and running
would be easy, and I'm happy
to report that's exactly the
case. All users need to do is
plug the Cam10 into a USB
port on their computer and
the camera will be automat58
| CE Pro February 2022
ically set up and ready to go
on both PC and Mac (tested
on a custom-built PC and a
2016 Macbook Pro).
The webcam also comes
with a clamp that runs along
the bottom of the product,
allowing it to grab onto a
range of monitors. One thing
to note: The monitor for my
PC is thicker than many others,
and I noticed the clamp
on the Cam10 doesn't play
nicely with it, so the camera
ends up resting on top vs.
being properly stabilized
on it. This didn't impact the
performance, thankfully, but
something to consider.
The Cam10 features a
1080p resolution camera
that includes 4x digital zoom,
although this feature is rarely
used in practice. It has a wide
90-degree viewing angle that
is considerably wider and
fuller than a standard laptop
webcam or smartphone
front-facing camera, making
it a great fit for use during
multi-person meetings or
presentations that require
more greenscreen space. For
privacy purposes, the camera
has a manual privacy slider
that blocks the camera when
not in use.
An interesting feature of
the Cam10 is its use of dual
microphones, which the
Camera images are clean and crisp from the 1080p webcam,
which also provides dual microphones as an appealing WFH
attachment sale.
company says helps enhance
audio and provide a fuller,
clearer sound. The two mics
flank the camera lens and are
equally spaced out so they
cover multiple angles, which
can be useful when recording
with a coworker.
The whole unit features a
compact body styling with an
all-black finish, allowing it to
integrate into any home office
with minimal distraction and
without taking up much real
estate when using a laptop
or another device where the
camera isn't clamped onto a
monitor. Like most modern
webcams, the only light emitted
from the device comes
from the indicator light that
stays solid while in use.
When it comes to the
performance of the Cam10,
there's not a lot to dislike.
After spending around 20
hours on various Zoom,
Skype, Discord, and Teams
video calls, the main comment
I got from call participants
was how good the video
looked on their end. When
I swapped between my old
720p Logitech webcam from
six years ago and the Cam10,
the difference was even more
pronounced. With the Cam10,
faces and background details
look considerably crisper, and
the lens seems to adjust to
low light levels better than a
standard laptop webcam.
The Cam10's wider viewing
angle is also pronounced,
similar to changing between
the old 4:3 and 16:9 on
a TV. The image doesn't
feel stretched or distorted,
and I've found myself
really appreciating the wider
viewing angle when trying to
demonstrate something with
my hands while on-camera or
when trying to show a physical
document to someone.
I did I expect a bit more
meaningful audio quality
bump from the dual mic
setup, especially to my
speaking voice. To be fair, this
is an issue with most unified
communication systems that
use integrated microphones
instead of a dedicated cardioid
mic. The audio quality is
fine, just a little hollow sounding
and can get a bit echoey
depending on your location.
I suggest integrators package
the Cam10 with a similarly
priced dedicated microphone.
$90-$110; konftel.com
cepro.com
http://www.konftel.com http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro February 2022

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