After the LifeCam VX-5500, it's now time for Microsoft to release the VX-2000, and at first glance, this webcam is a carbon copy of its big sister. 

The two models share a similar design, a 640 x 480 resolution and manual focus.  So what's changed?  Well, this new model is plug and play, and so it can get you video chatting without the need to install any extra software.  The stand has also been redesigned, and is now smaller.  It still works on any surface though.  Finally, the noise-cancelling treatment   is no longer available.  Let's see if these changes have any effect on the  quality of this webcam.

Image Quality

In general, both the quality of still images is good and video is responsive.  The picture doesn't break up, and there is no ghosting with movement.  There could be more detail, though.  The webcam tends to block out dark areas, losing detail.  In night mode, the webcam does well and there's no noticeable drop in the framerate.  There is, though, a small amount of overexposure, which means a lot of detail is washed out in lighter areas.

Microphone Quality

When using VoIP, your voice is clear and is easily recognisable by the other caller.  However, it's very easy to tell that the noise reduction features aren't there any more.  When you listen to the video below, you can hear the interference that sounds like audio feedback.

---

New: What does the webcam really see?

Our Product Face-Off allows you to compare still images to give you an idea of a webcam's colour handling and other details.

This video, though, allows you to listen to the sound as well as check the fluidity of movements and transitions and see how it copes with different light levels.

This clip represents what the webcam would produce in a Windows Messenger video chat with an ideal Internet connection.  We captured the stream directly at source, and host the video ourselves to avoid any loss of quality from re-encoding.