How to choose a Webcam for Skype

Nowadays, Skype is extremely popular, and webcams are in huge demand. As video communication may be required for various purposes, choose a webcam depending on what you need from it.

The most important thing to consider is the image sensor. That's what defines the quality and sharpness of the video taken by the webcam. The sensor can be of one of two types, CCD or CMOS. CCD, which takes high-quality video and introduces minimum video noise, is the best choice. It's more costly than CMOS, but you might want to buy CCD anyway.

The second important factor is the definition of the webcam's lens.

 There are some options to choose from:

• 320 by 240 pixels. That's the lowest definition. It's quite okay even for some business talk. It probably will be good enough for a video conference.
• 640 by 480 pixels. This moderate definition is available in many webcams. This definition will do for recording a small video clip intended for uploading to YouTube or sending to a friend.
• 1280 by 960 pixels. This is the highest definition for a webcam. It's only available in the more expensive devices. It provides the best image quality.

The third important parameter is the image sensor's sensitivity. The higher the sensitivity, the better the video quality. Even if you have the most expensive webcam, its low sensitivity may degrade the video quality to that typical for the cheapest devices, and annoying video noise may be present.

The fourth parameter to consider is the number of frames taken per second. It's usually referred to as FPS. For high-quality video, FPS must be 45 or higher.

Another important thing is which company made the webcam. It's advisable to choose vendors that have a good reputation. If you buy a webcam made by Genius, Creative, or Logitech, you most probably won't be disappointed.

Besides, webcams may be equipped with a number of additional features, such as autofocus, night mode, and so on. Actually, you may not need all those bells and whistles if you only use your cam for Skype. What is important is the availability of a built-in microphone - unless you have an external mike or prefer using sign language!