Webcam recommendations?

Want to get a good-quality one for msn messenger / skpe. Shop guy recommended POLAR and v-gear brands but I was not happy with POLAR and v-gear isn't compatible with my computer. The latter worries me as I got into a huge argument with shop as they refused to refund based on the reasoning that it is my computer that is at fault cos it doesn't recognise it (we have a hp Pentium 4 from Fortress).


I have several questions:

(1) Any such thing as computer-webcam incompatibility? IF so, any brand I avoid / go for?

(2) I wasn't happy with POLAR webcam as it cannot zoom OUT ie I see my face exclusively even when webcam is placed on the wall. I need to put myself and baby on the screen (calling family overseas)

(3) I want a webcam that is not gonna cost a bomb eg less than 150, is this unreasonable?


Many thanks.

I have a Pleomax webcam (made by Samsung), which has great picture and audio - which wasn't too expensive. Don't rem exact price but sure it was under hkd200.


I've only had issues on webcams when I've plugged them in without installing the software first.


There are some good cheap options out there - if you already have a mic and only need the imaging, they're cheaper

The odds are that either you did not have the drivers installed or they were not installed properly, therefore Windows would not recognize it. Assuming you have normal hardware (USB jacks for instance), it is most likely software, not hardware that is the compatability issue - you might do a google search on the brands you are thinking of combining - to see if there are known incompatabilities - "XP polar webcam" for example.


Hardware without proper drivers probably will not work the way it is supposed to, if at all.