Creative's Live! Cam Optia AF is the Rolls Royce of webcams

We're not too big into 'camming' or video chats -- one of the joys of working at home is a mandatory bathrobe dress code -- but had we taken another career path that involved people paying us to perform in front of the camera (you know, juggling, magic tricks, etc.), we'd want to give our customers the best show possible with Creative's new Live! Cam Optia AF. Taking a huge step up from the original VGA Optia (pictured above), the AF offers not only the auto-focus that its name suggests, but a two megapixel CCD capable of 640 x 480 video at 30fps as well. The glass-lensed cam also sports dual microphones, USB 2.0 connectivity, 270 degree swivel with auto reorientation, and a software suite that adds face tracking capabilities, auto levels, video / voice effects, remote monitoring, and background noise filters. No word yet on pricing or release for what Creative immodestly calls "the most advanced webcam on the market," so professional virtual entertainers keep your eyes peeled.

Update: Now with pricing and release info --Creative says to expect the AF in April for around £80 ($155) -- and a real pic!

[Jesse S @ Mar 15th 2007 6:19PM]

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=218&subcategory=219&product=15985 That?

[Tom @ Mar 15th 2007 7:22PM]

No, this is the AF model, whereas the one you linked to is just the regular one.

Not that big of a difference, but cool none-the-less.

(I'm content with my Creative Webcam NX Pro that I bought for $20)

[Jonathan Johnson @ Mar 15th 2007 6:35PM]

Looks like a sewing machine at first glance.

[pcbuilderchris @ Mar 15th 2007 6:52PM]

microscope?

[zack @ Mar 15th 2007 8:07PM]

Too bad today's bandwidth isn't even fast enough to make use of the quality in the isight in my macbook

[keith waddington @ Mar 16th 2007 3:12AM]

zac you need better broadband.

The isight stand alone model is good compared to everything else out there, but compared to a cheap video camera the lens isn't that great. The built in version is. surprisingly, only slightly worse.

my broadband speed outperforms both the isght camera and the admittedly good AOL network Apple uses.

waddo

[Chris LeMay @ Jun 8th 2007 11:13AM]

Its actually capable of 1600x1200, not 640x480 as the article suggests. Sweet~!

[flyby753 @ May 3rd 2008 10:21AM]

you are almost right but it can only do 680x480 if it is trying to shot at 30 fps. So actually, engadget was correct.