Logitech’s MX sequence of peripherals is the corporate’s high-end product line for content material creators and different professionals who need good construct high quality and loads of options. The road beforehand solely consisted of keyboards and mice just like the MX Grasp 3S, nevertheless it’s increasing into webcams with the MX Brio. The $199.99 Logitech MX Brio sports activities a 4K sensor and a large f/2.0 lens that provides equally glorious video high quality to the HyperX Imaginative and prescient S (additionally $199.99). It additionally has a microphone array, which the Imaginative and prescient S lacks, a intelligent Present Mode that flips the video whenever you wish to showcase what’s in your desk, and three separate configuration apps catered to totally different use circumstances. Its efficiency and flexibility give it an edge on this worth vary and earn it our Editors’ Selection award for 4K webcams.
Design: Compact and Useful
The MX Brio is a reasonably small webcam for its worth and backbone. At 1.7 by 3.9 by 1.4 inches (HWD) with out the bottom, it’s flatter and thinner than the Razer Kiyo Professional Extremely (a 3.0-by-2.4-inch puck) and the HyperX Imaginative and prescient S (a 3.7-by-1.8-inch rounded sq. tube). Its broad physique has a gunmetal shell with an oblong grey plastic panel on the again holding a USB-C port. The lens meeting sits squarely in the midst of the digicam’s entrance face, which is comprised of a black disc with ridged edges and a protecting clear cowl within the heart. Turning the disc closes a bodily privateness shutter over the lens, just like the Kiyo Professional Extremely. A built-in cowl is a pleasant contact, particularly in contrast with the separate magnetic panels of the Imaginative and prescient S and the Dell Professional Webcam that connect to the again of the system when not in use however can nonetheless be simply misplaced.
That doesn’t imply the MX Brio eschews magnets altogether, although. A strong magnet attaches the digicam to its included monitor clip. It holds the digicam securely whereas letting it rotate horizontally as wanted, although with maybe a bit much less resistance than very best. The magnet has a normal quarter-inch screw gap within the center, so you’ll be able to connect the webcam to a tripod or the monitor clip.
(Credit score: Will Greenwald)The clip itself is a normal hinged plastic arm with a large lip on the entrance and a rotating foot on the again. The foot is barely sticky to assist maintain the clip in place on the highest of your display screen, and an extra hinge for the magnetic a part of the mount helps you to tilt the webcam ahead to level straight down for the view-flipping Present Mode. Flipping the webcam down makes it very front-heavy, and the included thick USB-C cable serves as a significant counterbalance when it’s on this place.
Specs: 4K30 With a Huge Lens
Whereas the MX Brio makes use of a 4K Sony Starvis sensor, Logitech doesn’t specify its dimension aside from noting it has 70% bigger pixels than the earlier Brio 4K webcam. Sensor (and pixel) dimension could make an enormous distinction in image high quality, particularly in low mild. Sony makes Starvis sensors in a spread of sizes together with the pretty large 1/1.2-inch sensor within the Kiyo Professional Extremely and the smaller 1/2.8-inch sensor within the Imaginative and prescient S. To be truthful, each cameras seize glorious video in most situations together with low mild, however noise is rather more noticeable in darkish scenes on the Imaginative and prescient S.
The MX Brio’s 4K sensor is paired with an f/2.0 lens with a 90-degree discipline of view that may crop right down to 78 or 65 levels. An f/2.0 aperture is sort of broad, however not as broad because the Kiyo Professional Extremely’s f/1.7 lens. On one hand, this implies much less mild reaches the MX Brio’s sensor, which implies the digicam has to extend sensitivity, and thus noise, to seize an image with the identical publicity because the Razer digicam below the identical lighting situations.
(Credit score: Will Greenwald)Then again, this additionally means the MX Brio has a a lot deeper focal airplane in contrast with the Kiyo Professional Extremely. The MX Brio, together with the Imaginative and prescient S and its equally wider lens, can hold you and your background in focus on the similar time. The Kiyo Professional, in the meantime, can seize simply you whereas retaining the background out of focus for an expert photography-like bokeh. It’s a placing impact, nevertheless it’s a lot more durable to work with as a result of it’s essential to continuously hold observe of precisely what distance the lens is about to and keep inside that vary as a result of every thing nearer and additional away can be blurry. In the meantime, I can sit two toes away from the Logitech webcam, with my counter a strong eight toes away, whereas holding a figurine only a foot away, and all three topics look clear.
Software program: Select Your App
Logitech needs the MX Brio to attraction to avid gamers and sport streamers, people who work remotely, and companies unexpectedly, which is why the webcam works with three separate Logitech apps. For probably the most half, all three allow you to make the identical changes to the image, however the apps are constructed round totally different use circumstances and Logitech product households. No matter which app you utilize, you’ll be capable to set the sphere of view, crop, zoom, and toggle auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-white stability, HDR, low-light compensation, and Present Modes. You too can manually set quite a lot of image choices together with brightness, coloration temperature, distinction, publicity compensation, focus, and tint, and save any of those guide changes as presets to shortly use as wanted.
(Credit score: Logitech/Will Greenwald)For fundamental residence workplace use, The Logi Possibility + app supplies a easy interface for adjusting the webcam and different Logitech equipment. When you have a Logitech MX keyboard or mouse as nicely, it helps you to arrange Sensible Actions that change the behaviors of keys and buttons based mostly on what software program you’re utilizing.
For avid gamers and streamers, The Logitech G Hub focuses on managing the corporate’s Logitech G gaming peripherals and Astro gaming headsets, and replaces Sensible Actions with related habits profiles for video games slightly than productiveness software program.
The Logi Tune app is the enterprise software program for the MX Brio, and the one one that permits an auto-framing characteristic known as RightSight, which retains the digicam digitally zoomed in your face at the same time as you progress across the scene. Not less than, that’s how the characteristic is meant to work; in testing with early software program, RightSight didn’t appear to do something and left me with the identical mounted body as earlier than.
Efficiency: Sharp, Effectively-Uncovered Video
Video seems to be glorious on the MX Brio, particularly in well-lit environments. With my condominium totally lit, high-quality particulars like particular person beard hairs and the feel of the material of my chair may be clearly discerned. Background particulars drop off a bit, however not drastically. Be aware, as an illustration, how one can nonetheless plainly establish the Triforce brand on the Sport Boy Advance SP within the glass case behind me within the picture under.
(Credit score: Will Greenwald)In low mild, with my condominium lights turned off and my face illuminated solely by my monitor, my beard and hair each lose just a little element however their textures are nonetheless obvious and my face seems to be well-exposed and sharp. The darkish background is noticeably noisy, which is widespread for all webcams we’ve examined. A fill mild just like the Logitech Litra Glow will carry out these particulars and hold your face sharp even when the remainder of your scene is darkish, however even with out a separate mild, the MX Brio works very nicely for dimly lit conditions.
(Credit score: Will Greenwald)Automated coloration stability and publicity had been correct whether or not my condominium lights had been on or off, and my pores and skin tone seemed pure in take a look at captures even when solely my monitor lit up my face. In full mild, the digicam discovered a surprisingly correct white stability that made my white ceiling seem correctly impartial whereas preserving the marginally hotter off-white of my partitions.
Present Mode is an easy however intelligent characteristic designed to allow you to simply present no matter you’re engaged on that’s in your desk or a desk. When it is enabled, tilting the MX Brio ahead 90 levels robotically flips the image, so the underside of the body is the sting closest to you and the highest is closest to the display screen or wherever else the digicam is positioned. Mainly, this view affords a perspective just like what you see when trying down at your desk, as an alternative of the upside-down picture you’d get if you happen to rotated any webcam down with out Present Mode.
It’s a good suggestion on paper, although it makes the digicam susceptible to tilting ahead and falling down. I may get it regular in Present Mode by tilting it simply wanting 90 levels after which arranging the USB cable to tug simply sufficient to maintain it from tipping, however that is not a really safe or dependable resolution. Furthermore, focus and publicity high quality lower in Present Mode. Even in good lighting, the automated capabilities resulted in a mushy and blown-out image. If you wish to use this mode to indicate something, get able to arrange a profile with guide tweaks for it.
Excessive-end webcams prioritize image high quality above audio to the purpose that some fashions, just like the HyperX Imaginative and prescient S, don’t have a mic in any respect. The MX Brio has a set of beamforming microphones that make sure you’ll be heard clearly, however they don’t seize the cleanest sound. My voice sounded loud and distinct in take a look at recordings, however the digicam additionally picked up an enormous quantity of room echo. It’s actually higher than nothing and is probably going a bit higher than your laptop computer’s built-in microphone for video calls, nevertheless it doesn’t come near the efficiency you’ll get from headset or a USB microphone.
A Prime Webcam for Simply About Anybody
The Logitech MX Brio is a superb high-end webcam for each video calls and streaming that provides sharp, well-exposed video and powerful low-light efficiency. It’s similar to the HyperX Imaginative and prescient S in efficiency, however options extra steady and versatile software program and provides a purposeful microphone in addition to a intelligent Present Mode for views of your desk and palms. The Razer Kiyo Professional Extremely stays the sharpest webcam out there for its giant sensor, broad lens, and slender focal airplane, and our prime decide for content material creators who stream video to web sites like YouTube or Twitch. For everybody else, we suggest the MX Brio, which is simpler to make use of than the Kiyo Professional Extremely and prices $100 much less, incomes it our Editors’ Selection award.
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