Zoom ZoomCam 1598 USB Full-Color Web Camera
Good webcam for the money
I've wanted a webcam to play around with for a while but didn't feel like paying the typical price for one. After reading up on the Zoomcam III, I decided to give it a try since it's inexpensive but still has the two features I'm most interested in: low-light capability (i.e. normal room lighting) and close focus (some other webcams can't focus closer than 3 *feet* - this one goes under 1.5 inches).<br />Installation was simple and worked fine on my Windows 98 SE machine. With a little adjusting of the settings, it does very well in daytime lighting (including indoors) and also does a good job with nighttime lighting, even from a single bulb (though that's a bit grainy). By turning the lens knob, the focus can be made sharp for very close or for across the room.<br />One pixel isn't working in the upper-right corner on the one I received, but that's minor to me. At 320x240, it has a very smooth framerate; the 640x480 mode is better for snapshots, since the framerate gets sluggish. It works fine with Booru webcam software. The swivel mount is a little loose, but with a few tries you can get it positioned correctly and then it stays put.<br />Overall, I'm quite happy with what it can do for much less than many other webcams cost.