You could somehow figure out how to use your iPhone camera as a desktop webcam… or you could spend $69.99 on the Logitech Brio 300 and get yourself a pretty nifty webcam that’s capable of recording at full HD with auto light-correction and a noise-reducing microphone for a video experience that’s pleasantly surprising and well worth the money.
It’s funny how laptop and desktop manufacturers have absolutely dropped the ball on webcams. Everyone’s so focused on sleek builds and powerful CPUs and GPUs that nobody really managed to realize in the past 3 years that the webcam is now integral to businesses. “We surveyed more than 3,000 remote workers* and found that most non-webcam users struggle with poor lighting conditions, unflattering camera angles, and low-quality sound from their laptop speakers,” said Scott Wharton, general manager of Logitech B2B. The Brio 300 was designed to cater to that audience, who just needed a reliable, budget-friendly work-horse for teleconferencing. The Brio 300 isn’t a cutting-edge 4K camera (like its elder sibling, the Brio 4K), but it handles the basic tasks very well. A 70° field of view captures just the right amount and puts you perfectly in the frame (without showing the clutter around you), while auto light correction helps adjust your picture regardless of whether you’re in a dark-ish room or you have harsh light falling on your face and creating a color-burn. Finally, the built-in noise-reducing microphone focuses on just your voice and not the cacophony of kids playing, dogs barking, or cars honking around you.
Designer: Logitech
Brio 300 series webcams are perfect for those who want to make the easy but substantial jump to significantly improve their video meeting experiences with an external webcam,” Wharton mentions. “And for companies who need to provide certified, simple-to-use webcams to employees’ home or office workstations, Brio 305 is that budget-friendly option.”
The webcam is a compact device that comes with a monitor clamp and a USB-C cable that works right off the bat. The plug-and-play webcam is certified for use with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet, and has a manual privacy shutter that lets you close off the camera lens whenever the Brio 300 isn’t in use.
The Brio 300 sports an unconventional cone-shaped design that feels rather individualistic and comes in three colors – rose, off-white, and graphite (pairing rather harmoniously with Logitech’s mice and keyboards). Like other Logitech products, the camera’s designed using recycled materials. The Brio 300 is made from at least 48% certified post-consumer recycled plastic for the Off-white and Rose variants, and a stunning 62% for the Graphite variant.
