The Facecam Neo won't blow you away with image quality, but it works with more than just a Windows PC or Macbook, and it's pretty darn cheap.
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It might seem like all of today's best webcams are packed with crazy features — 4K resolution, AI-powered tracking and focusing, giant sensors, and next-level color and level balancing. But not everyone is looking for a webcam that they can shoot an Academy Award-winning motion picture with — some people just want to look… good enough.
Elgato's Facecam Neo is designed for those people: It's a simple, budget-friendly webcam that records video at 1080p / 60 fps, and has a 1/2.9" CMOS sensor, an autofocus lens, and a physical privacy shutter. It's part of Elgato's Neo lineup, which is all about being easy — easy to use, easy on your wallet, and easy on the environment (it all comes in recycled packaging). The Facecam Neo has a fixed USB-C cable that can plug into your Windows PC, MacBook, or iPad, which already makes it more versatile than most webcams. It's simple, straightforward, and easy to use — and Elgato permanently slashed the retail price from $99.99 to $59.99, which makes it one of the best budget-friendly webcam options we've seen.
Design of the Facecam Neo
The Facecam Neo is a budget-friendly webcam that records in 1080p / 60 fps. It's a pretty standard-looking webcam, housed in a lightweight plastic chassis that measures 3.5 inches (88mm) wide by 1.6 inches (40mm) tall and is 1.3 inches (32mm) deep. The front of the webcam features the lens, which has a black ring around it denoting the specs, as well as a large white LED on the left side that lights up to indicate whether the webcam is currently streaming.
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On top of the webcam, there's a small oval-shaped slider that controls a physical privacy shutter. It's not very fancy — it slides into place and has Elgato's circular "play" symbol logo debossed into it. The slider works well enough — it's smooth but has a little resistance, so I did find myself moving the webcam on my monitor when I went to open or close the shutter. This isn't a big deal, but it can be frustrating if you've spent time perfecting your webcam setup.
That said, the webcam is extremely lightweight — it weighs just 2.82 ounces (80g), not including the cable and stand, or approximately 3.1 ounces (88g) if you include the cable. The cable, which feels sturdy and is braided, is hardwired to the back of the webcam and is fairly stiff — in other words, this webcam is pretty easy to accidentally knock out of alignment even if you're not operating the shutter.
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