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Logitech Brio Review: New 4K Webcam (2018)

6 years ago
home office, review
10 Comments

Logitech’s brought out a new 4K webcam called the Brio, and it goes for about $200. It’s quite a step up from the ~$100 former top-of-the-line Logitech C930e that I’ve been using for a couple of years. Here’s some sample comparison photos:

Bright Light Comparison Photos

My back wall is painted chroma key blue, and in these shots I’ve got a CowboyStudio light kit turned on in front of me.

Logitech Brio, bright lights – click to see full size
Older Logitech C930e, strong lights

The new Brio 4K captures good details, whereas the C930e blows out all the details in a smear of white. The Brio also has the same wide field of view (seems even a little wider) than the C930e, too – much wider than normal webcams.

Medium Light Comparison Photos

In this set, I have the room lights off, and only one of the CowboyStudio lights on, further away from me:

Logitech Brio, medium light
Logitech C930e, medium light

Again, the C930e just can’t deal with head-on lights. If the room isn’t lit perfectly evenly, it has a really hard time with highlights.

The Brio has it much easier, but note how much the background paint changes in color. It’s all over the place with the Brio.

Low Light Comparison Photos

In this set, the CowboyStudio lights are completely off, and the only light is the overhead ceiling fan light.

Low light, Logitech Brio 4K
Low light, Logitech C930e

The Brio 4K manages to capture more details, but notice how the color’s just gone from the background wall.

For comparison, here’s the low-light setup using an iPhone 7 Plus:

Low light, iPhone 7+

So in summary, the Brio gets way more detail in medium & strong light, but when it comes to low light, it’s still bested by a camera phone.

The medium & bright light results are so good, though, that I’d strongly recommend the Logitech Brio. (Strongly enough that we just got ’em for the company staff, too.) Shipping dates are already slipping on it – I bet enough people like me were frustrated with the crappy-cameraphone performance of all the other webcams out there.

Logitech Brio 4K Webcam, Ultra 4K HD Video Calling, Noise-Canceling mic, HD Auto Light Correction, Wide Field of View, Works with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Voice, PC/Mac/Laptop/Macbook/Tablet
Logitech Brio 4K Webcam, Ultra 4K HD Video Calling, Noise-Canceling mic, HD Auto Light Correction, Wide Field of View, Works with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Voice, PC/Mac/Laptop/Macbook/Tablet
Price: $138.99
You Save: $61.00 (31%)
Price Disclaimer

About My Office Video Setup

If you read this far, you’re probably interested in the other gear I use these days:

Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface with Pro Tools | First
Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface with Pro Tools | First
Price: $139.13
You Save: $92.87 (40%)
Price Disclaimer

The Focusrite Scarlett lets you plug pro microphones into your computer with USB. For a microphone, I use this, but fair warning, it ain’t cheap:

Electro-Voice RE20 Microphone Kit with Shockmount, Two-Section Broadcast Arm and Microphone Cable
Electro-Voice RE20 Microphone Kit with Shockmount, Two-Section Broadcast Arm and Microphone Cable
Price: $499.00
Price Disclaimer

The ElectroVoice RE20 lets me get right up on top of it without a noise filter, and the bass sounds fantastic. Really gives you a lot more presence than the cheesy microphones that come built into webcams & computers.

CowboyStudio Photography & Video Portrait Umbrella Continuous Triple Lighting Kit
CowboyStudio Photography & Video Portrait Umbrella Continuous Triple Lighting Kit
Price Disclaimer

Cowboy Studio lighting kit is a great price for 3 lights, tripods, and umbrellas. They’re not spectacularly robust, but I don’t take them out of the house, so it’s not a big deal. I put one on either side of my desk, and then when I’m doing green-screen techniques, I use one to light up the wall and reduce shadows. This is important though:

LimoStudio [4 Pack] 85W 6500K CFL, Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb for Photography Studio, Day Light Balanced Pure White, AGG120
LimoStudio [4 Pack] 85W 6500K CFL, Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb for Photography Studio, Day Light Balanced Pure White, AGG120
Price: $54.90 ($13.72 / Count)
Price Disclaimer

LimoStudio 85W CFL bulbs – the bulbs included with the Cowboy Studio kit are alright, but in my new condo, I’ve got one wall of windows in my office. Despite thick blinds, I couldn’t light my office evenly, and these monster bulbs make all the difference. They don’t get hot when they’re on, either.

I put these over the lights to make it easier on my eyes:

Neewer 32 inches /80 centimeters Octagon Softbox Octagonal Speedlite, Studio Flash, Speedlight Umbrella Softbox with Carrying Bag for Portrait or Product Photography.
Neewer 32 inches /80 centimeters Octagon Softbox Octagonal Speedlite, Studio Flash, Speedlight Umbrella Softbox with Carrying Bag for Portrait or Product Photography.
Price: $49.49
Price Disclaimer
home office, review
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10 Comments. Leave new

  • way0utwest
    February 24, 2017 4:35 pm

    Interesting. I wonder if this is why some of the shows on TV seem brighter and more vivid. I suspect they’re all moving to 4K cameras.

    Reply
    • Brent
      February 24, 2017 4:36 pm

      Yeah, everything’s moving to bigger sensors.

      Reply
      • Aaron Lowe
        February 27, 2017 12:19 pm

        Yeah there was about the Marvel movies not having a true black, instead a dark gray (grey) – https://sploid.gizmodo.com/why-do-all-marvel-movies-look-kind-of-bad-1789290660 – that described something similar.

        Reply
  • Tim Roche
    February 27, 2017 1:50 pm

    Brent are you using that just for streamed content or for recorded content edited later. Most of the people I have seen talking about 4k cameras are more excited about it for down sampling to 1080 with more control of color correction and digital manipulation.

    Reply
  • Derp Sauce
    April 17, 2017 10:26 pm

    Lol ure tarded if u dont know how cameras work u have to calibrate the image…. any camera can handle tons of light.

    Reply
    • Brent
      April 18, 2017 6:28 am

      Heh – that’s only true if the image never changes. In a live webcast, where I hold up different pages and props with different colors…yeah. Not so much.

      Reply
  • Alexander
    August 27, 2017 4:44 am

    would you recommend the Logitech Brio over something like a GoPro Hero as a webcam? Or what would your choice be for optimal webcam?

    Reply
    • Brent
      August 27, 2017 5:46 am

      Alexander – that’s a great question. I personally use the Brio even though I’ve got GoPros and HDMI/USB3 gear for two reasons: the Brio is simpler, and it has a nice monitor-friendly attachment. The GoPros are a little harder to attach to a monitor.

      Reply
      • David
        July 26, 2018 6:41 pm

        What is your setup for using other cameras as webcams? How can you attach a GoPro to a monitor?

        Reply
        • Brent
          July 28, 2018 7:30 am

          David – I’ve blogged about that over here: http://ozarme.wpengine.com/2015/04/how-to-use-a-gopro-as-a-web-camera-skype/

          Reply

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Hi. I’m Brent.

That's me, Brent.

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm on an epic life quest to have fun and make a difference.

I co-founded Brent Ozar Unlimited to help make your SQL Server go faster. I also maintain sp_Blitz® and the open source First Responder Kit repo.

My current car collection includes a Jaguar XKR-S, Porsche 944 Turbo, Porsche 356 Speedster replica, and a Ferrari 328 GTS.

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