Remember a few months ago when it was impossible to find a half-decent webcam because everyone was upgrading theirs to look good during Zoom video calls? Yeah… that was annoying. Fortunately, that time has mostly passed and you can now get a good webcam if you need one. Even better, we’re increasingly seeing new releases with high-end features that allow you to do so much more with your webcam. The Dell UltraSharp Webcam is another model in that growing list.
No, it’s not the sleekest-looking webcam around. Heck, it looks positively goofy, with a tube shape that makes it look like a monocular you will use to watch a stadium concert from the nosebleeds, rather than an essential piece in your work-from-home setup. Appearances aside, though, it does offer some attractive features, all while boasting what Dell claims to be “the world’s best image quality in its class.”
The Dell UltraSharp Webcam is equipped with a Sony STARVIS 8.4-megapixel CMOS sensor that allows to shoot video footage in 4K at up to 30 fps and 1080p at up to 60 fps, as well as a multi-element lens that can capture more light than webcams of old to ensure crystal clear pictures. It offers three field of view (FOV) options, namely 65 degrees, 78 degrees, and 90 degrees, allowing you to do close crop shots and wider angle shots alike, along with autofocus, so you need not fiddle with the lens at the start of every call. There’s also 5X digital zoom, in case you want to show your friend a close-up shot of the painful zit on your nose. Or something.
Like other modern 4K webcams, it can detect the ambient lighting available in your scene and deploy the necessary light correction settings, ensuring you can look your best, regardless of the lighting conditions in your workspace. Beyond the lighting correction, it also boasts digital overlap HDR for preserving true-to-life colors and 3D/2D video noise reduction to eliminate grainy images, essentially deploying a combo of automated adjustments to make your look good in every single frame.
The Dell UltraSharp Webcam has an AI auto-framing picture that can keep you at the center of the frame even while you move around, so you can slide nervously on your office chair during an important call without ever sliding out of the camera’s frame. Do note, you’ll need Dell’s Peripheral Manager software to get this particular feature, so that’s another software you’ll need to have running in the background. For security, it uses Windows Hello for facial recognition sign-in, as well as the outfit’s own ExpressSign-In feature that logs you in as you approach and logs you out as you step away.
It comes with a monitor mount that’s designed to fit seamlessly even in borderless displays, so it won’t cover even a single pixel of the screen panel, as well as a tripod adapter, in case you prefer setting up the webcam right on your desk. Like other newer webcams, there’s also a magnetic privacy cover because nobody trusts their webcams to not spy on them anymore.
The Dell UltraSharp Webcam is available now, priced at $199.99.