Webcam Logitech MX Brio: I've never looked so good

Some things don’t change the world. But they make our everyday lives a little more pleasant. Or they are just nice to have. Or even both. The ZEIT-ONLINE series “nice and useful” is about these gadgets and apps.

Who actually buys webcams anymore? Admittedly, unlike in the noughties, there are plenty of other options for keeping your face on the Internet: every cheap laptop has a built-in camera, smartphones with current Android or iOS versions can be used for video calls, and if you have a YouTube or If you want to start your Twitch career, you’ll probably swear by an SLR camera on a tripod, which creates a nice depth of field effect.

But I don’t think this is ideal. At home I connect my laptop to an external monitor, which means that the laptop camera itself is no longer necessary because the laptop is either closed or, if not, I don’t exactly view it from the very attractive position “from below, from the side “wants to be filmed. I don’t put a huge camera on my desk and I need my cell phone in long meetings for Candy Crush (or Elon Musk’s favorite game). In short: I find a camera on the screen practical, if only to avoid getting a double chin when filmed from below.

A few years ago I compared several devices. The Logitech Brio provided the best picture at the time. Now, after seven years, Logitech is launching its successor, the MX Brio. And I ask myself: Can the best webcam get even better?

More elegant than a post-it over the camera

Logitech’s MX series is intended for advanced users, i.e. for office and home office workers. So far there are mice and keyboards, but no webcam yet. The MX Brio changes that. It’s housed in an aluminum housing that feels – and looks – much more valuable than the plastic shell of its non-MX predecessor. The biggest external improvement, however, is a built-in privacy screen that can be opened and closed by turning the ring around the camera. This is more practical than the removable (and therefore loseable) plastic closure of the old Logitech Brio and in any case much more elegant than a Post-it note over the laptop camera (yes, Mark, I mean you).

The MX Brio is fixed to the screen with its clamp base. If you want it to be very professional, you can also screw it onto a tripod using the recessed thread. It is connected via USB-C, a fast USB-3 port is necessary, but – unlike in 2017 – it is actually standard today on current computers.

This set-up is necessary because the camera has a very high resolution: While the cameras of current Macbooks, for example, offer a resolution of 1080p, the MX Brio’s image has four times as many pixels, i.e. a 4K resolution. It can display this at 30 images per second, alternatively 60 images at 1080p are also possible. A very wide 90 degree field of view is possible as well as images that show more of the face and less of the chaos in the corner of the room (78 or 65 degrees). The predecessor also had the same technical data. Doesn’t sound like an improvement. But it is.

Even visible in the shadows

No matter what lighting situation I take pictures with the old Brio 4K and the new MX Brio, the new camera always takes the better picture. Even with good exposure, the MX Brio’s camera image looks more natural and brighter. The worse the lighting situation, the bigger the difference: While I’m just a black shadow in the backlight with the Brio 4K, with the MX Brio I’m at least visible (the picture is still not perfect). And the MX Brio can also handle very little light. This is probably all because the image sensor has become larger – by 70 percent, according to Logitech. And of course, today it doesn’t work without artificial intelligence: Logitech says that it uses AI to improve the picture.

In my test, the camera delivers this improved image immediately after connecting. If you want, you can adapt the camera to your own needs; Logitech offers three software programs for this purpose. That seems unnecessary to me, especially since you can set the same thing everywhere. However, Logitech is targeting different user groups with G Hub (gamers), Tune (business) and Options+ (private users). Here you can adjust white balance, saturation or exposure. All nice – I think most people will be happy with the default settings.

A significant improvement is the autofocus, which in the test works faster and more accurately than its predecessor. However, the MX Brio generally has a very large sharpness range: If you’re looking for a SLR-like look with a blurred background, you won’t find it with this camera. The camera’s microphones show that it’s not intended for twitching (despite the G Hub): They sound acceptable, much better than their predecessor, but they pick up a lot of ambient noise. An external microphone or a simple cable headset sound much clearer.

At least the camera has a nice gimmick. If you tilt it forward so that the desk is in the picture, the so-called show mode starts: the camera automatically rotates the picture by 180 degrees so that viewers see the desk in the same perspective as you. This means you can easily demonstrate something on your desk, and it also works without additional software. That’s cool – but unfortunately I don’t know what I’m actually supposed to show.

Conclusion: The Logitech MX Brio is an all-round good webcam. Its image is sharp, bright and easy to see even in difficult lighting situations, making it a useful gadget in the home office. However, it is also quite expensive for a webcam (see below). Maybe not necessary, but nice are the physical privacy screens that can be screwed in and in show mode.

Price: 229 euros in dark or light gray. The business version MX Brio 705 costs 249 euros, but has the same functions.

Transparency note: The author independently selected the gadget described in the article at his own discretion and tested it according to professional criteria. It was provided to him free of charge by the manufacturer for the test period.

Some things don’t change the world. But they make our everyday lives a little more pleasant. Or they are just nice to have. Or even both. The ZEIT-ONLINE series “nice and useful” is about these gadgets and apps.

Who actually buys webcams anymore? Admittedly, unlike in the noughties, there are plenty of other options for keeping your face on the Internet: every cheap laptop has a built-in camera, smartphones with current Android or iOS versions can be used for video calls, and if you have a YouTube or If you want to start your Twitch career, you’ll probably swear by an SLR camera on a tripod, which creates a nice depth of field effect.

SOURCE