Installation & Testing

Installing the camera is pain-free, requiring you to install the drivers, then plug the Cyclon in where Windows detects it. Now you have a small preview window with controls allowing you to change the image colour, brightness etc.

To test the camera, I used Skype and MSN Messenger. I also used the camera software which allows you to output video at full screen so you can see the noise and any other potential problems much better.

Both Skype and Messenger detected the camera fine, and using it was again, pain-free. The colours where a little off and a quick delve into the webcam settings allowed me to get a better picture, but it was far from the true colours. The image quality is fine for a webcam, and beats the more expensive Creative NX Pro in that department.

Using the camera in low-light conditions made the colours seem to be more true. The usual lower frame-rates were present due to the camera automatically increasing the exposure. The frame-rate was more than usuable however.

Using the camera software, you can see the camera feed in a full screen window (1600 x 1200) where the output resolution of the camera is 640 x 480. This allowed me to see where there were image problems. The edges of objects in the picture were distorted. They seemed to be blurred, as if you were using Smart Blur in Photoshop (I can’t think of a better way of explaining it…). The frame rate in normal office lighting was more than adequate and the streaming video was smooth.

Unless you change the default colour settings, you will get off-colours which makes you look like you’re ill (skin tones are displayed as yellow tinted).

I took a still image using the webcam (1.3 mega pixels), and then with a Sony Erricson W800 mobile phone (2 mega pixels). Below are the results.

The Cyclon shot

Sony Erricson shot

As you can see, the phone managed to beat the webcam hands down. The focus of the image can be negated as the phone has auto focus. The images show the webcams inability to choose the correct white balance which is vital for the correct colouring. The webcam also seems to bleach the colours.

Cost

The cost of the Cyclon comes in around the £20-£25 mark which is perfectly acceptable when it comes to looking at cost/quality.