There you can see noise and softness, though it's no worse than most 1080p webcams under $100. Don't expect great 1080p picture quality at full-size viewing or in low light, though. There's only so much you can do with the image quality on a basic 1080p 30fps webcam, but the Nexigo still delivers better video quality than many 720p laptop webcams, with relatively solid white balance and autoexposure, even across various lighting conditions. (It's the Creative Live Cam Sync 1080p V2, which remains a fine choice for Windows at an attractive $30 to $40.)

It also supports Macs, something the camera it replaces doesn't. But I was quite surprised at how good this basic webcam is for the price, much of which has to do with the software. I had my doubts about this at first: There are so many small, unfamiliar brands on Amazon that it takes a lot more than a 4-plus star review to pique my interest. If being polished on camera is part of your job, though, it might be worth it to you. It's also really expensive: not overpriced for what you get, but more than a lot of people can or are willing to pay for a general purpose webcam. There's no way to change the default sleep timer or initial framing state, you can't save image-related presets (like exposure compensation or white balance), the app doesn't let you rotate the camera vertically and it can get pretty hot. It's not perfect, though most of my gripes can likely be fixed in software or firmware they're not necessarily hardware flaws. It's got nearly all the must-have features of competitors - including 1080p/60fps streaming, a vertical video mode, a gimbal with automatic tracking, custom presets plus tons more - and is as good or better at everything. With excellent video quality, intelligent operation and software and a good built-in, noise-canceling mic, Insta360's debut webcam stole my heart.

Live cam at work