Smart Home, Software, Hardware, Mobile Computing & Co.At least since the pandemic and the associated trend towards working from home and working virtually, webcams have been back in fashion.There are tons of manufacturers who are vying for the favor of buyers, so you have to set yourself apart from the competition and be able to score with additional functions.Insta360 thought exactly that and presented the Link, a webcam with AI functions that I was allowed to try out.The box contains the camera, which is protected by stickers in certain places, a few whiteboard stickers, Insta360 stickers for your laptop, a sufficiently long USB-C cable and a microfiber cloth to clean the camera if you ever use the fingers.Installation is quick and self-explanatory.The camera can either be used on a tripod - the standard connection is intended for this - or on the monitor using a clamp.Once you've positioned the camera, all you have to do is install the desktop software called Link Controller.Here you have full control over the camera settings.For example, you can set the resolution in three stages, you have 720p, 1080p and 4K to choose from.The camera has an HDR mode that balances light and shadow better and thus ensures a better picture, especially in bright sunlight or backlight.Unfortunately, the mode only works if you're using 1080p or 720p.Disappointingly, this is not possible in 4K mode.You also have four fundamentally important buttons here on the screen.The settings you make here will also be applied to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Meet and other video conferencing software.Back to the buttons in the UI.The first button in the bunch is for the AI-supported auto-tracking feature.This is sort of Apple's center stage on doping.The Link has a gimbal system that can rotate 360 ​​degrees and also move up and down.The AI ​​captures your head, half of your body or the whole body (depending on the presentation type you choose) and follows you.So you stay in the picture at all times.Best of all, you can turn it on and off with a gesture.Simply raise your hand and the LED ring on the camera will glow blue and you will either be followed or not.Since the Link can also be operated on a tripod, the whole thing also works in vertical mode.So you can create even better TikTok videos or shoot other videos in the format.At this point, the incredibly good focus system of the camera should be emphasized.This worked excellently in my test.You know that: You are in a video call and want to show your counterpart an object or something on your smartphone and hold the thing a little distance in front of the webcam.The webcam will do everything but not focus on the subject really well.The background will most likely remain sharp while the object of desire hangs blurry in the frame.But the Insta360 has a Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) that works really well.The object is captured quickly and remains sharp.But closer than 10 cm is too difficult an undertaking for the Link.The second button in the UI starts whiteboard mode.Unfortunately I couldn't test it because I don't have the whiteboard, but let me tell you how it works.As mentioned, you have small black stickers in the box that you stick in the four corners of the whiteboard.If you now press the button in the UI or make a "V" gesture with your index and middle finger, the whiteboard mode is activated.Now the link will look for the four stickers, crop them to the whiteboard and correct the perspective.Your viewers can now see what you write on the whiteboard and can therefore better follow the presentation.The last two buttons are especially useful if you want to show your video chat partner something on your desktop.You can activate the overhead mode if you either use the camera on a rotating tripod or have a monitor tripod in use.Before activating the mode, simply turn the camera down so that the lens is pointing towards the desk.The results are a rectified image and your counterpart's optimal view of what is happening on the desk surface.The Desk View mode, which Apple also provides, does the same if you use an iPhone as a webcam.In the case of the Insta360 Link, however, the image from an ultra wide-angle camera is not rectified.The Link puts the camera system down and then corrects the perspective.A very good picture is also displayed here.In contrast to the overhead mode, some objects can then be displayed distorted.Hands in particular look strangely elongated depending on the setting and the height of the hand.It remains for me to mention the last gesture, which I personally don't find that easy.If you make an "L" with your thumb and forefinger and raise or lower your hand, you can zoom in or out of the picture.Often the camera didn't recognize my gesture correctly and I had to try two or three times before I got the zoom level I wanted.All other gestures work fine though.Otherwise you will find all sorts of image adjustments in the software, which you can do either manually or automatically.In general, the picture of the Insta360 is very good, even without HDR.Especially in low light, the webcam presents you clean and with little noise.The 1/2″ sensor makes it possible, other webcams are much more likely to lose out and then often show an image in which you can hardly see the face because of the noise.I spend an average of 4 - 6 hours a day on video calls and could not identify any real weaknesses during use.Unfortunately, the quality of the image also depends on the software.For example, while you arrive at the other person really sharply in Zoom, teams still adjust the quality in order to optimize the bandwidth.So be careful before you complain about the camera, it doesn't have to be the hardware.I use the 4K setting because you don't really miss the HDR with the good mix of brightness and contrast.The tracking works wonderfully and reacts extremely quickly.While Center Stage is still following and your face is almost out of the picture, the Link quickly follows your face.I tried different speed levels and now I'm stuck on "Normal"."Fast" is too reactive for me and almost a little hectic when you're on the phone.Since I have already praised the picture and the other functions, I would like to say a few words about the microphones.There are two of them that come with intelligent noise suppression.Background noises such as a vacuum cleaner are reliably filtered and your voice is emphasized.My video call partners confirmed to me in a comparison with the microphones of the Apple Studio Display that the Apple screen is better.It has a ring of three microphones with beamforming.However, everyone still liked the microphones of the Insta360 Link.What else is there to say?A conclusion: I have tried many webcams over the past months and years, including the Brio and the Cisco 4K webcam.None of the previous contenders have come up with such a complete package and in terms of image quality I would see the Link on par with the Brio, with slight advantages for the Insta360 model once it gets a little darker.The AI ​​functions are useful and above all offer a lot of advantages to those who also virtually make drawings on the desktop, do unboxings, give whiteboard lessons or, or, or.Is there a drop of bitterness?The price is decent at 370 euros and the camera will probably fall through the cracks with many potential buyers.However, if you find the necessary friction between your thumb and forefinger, you can grab it without hesitation.This article contains affiliate links, so we're marking it as advertising.Clicking on it will take you directly to the provider.If you decide to make a purchase there, we will receive a small commission.Nothing changes in the price for you.Thank you for your support!Based on the test in this blog, I bought the Cisco Webex Desk Camera.However, I am absolutely dissatisfied with the picture quality and could not return it.Were you able to determine an image without "noise" in your test under normal lighting conditions?Even bought a new webcam to compare but the picture was just as bad.With 60fps, the picture and the noise become even worse.I would appreciate an honest answer.Sounds like your lighting isn't optimal.Especially if you have already tested several cameras with the same result.Even if it is daylight in a room, a camera can reach its limits depending on the incidence of light.I know the problem myself, because I have a window 90 degrees to the camera.I got it under control with Keylights.For testing, you can set up two desk lamps that are as bright as possible to the left and right of the camera and let them shine directly in your face.If the noise gets better, it's clearly due to the illumination.Important: Keylights do not dazzle and have a much softer and more widely diffused light than desk lamps.This means that if things get better with the desk lamps, then it will definitely be even better with a keylight.As I wrote in the introduction, the Obsbot Tiny 4k is a comparable product that has fewer gimmicks (desktop mode and blackboard recognition) but costs less than 250 euros.a comparison would be interesting.The first YouTubers found their ad-supported Insta360 better than the Obsbot.Especially with the low light performance.The Cisco Cam in the 4k version makes very good videos here.Although Webex only transmits in 720p, the image is worlds better than a Microsoft Lifecam with HD resolution.Apart from the intense red tone, the Cisco is on a par with the Logitech Brio4k.Tip: Update the firmware, not via Jabber or Webex, where the admin first has to approve the updates, but via the app or website, see https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/ntvy1lj/Upgrade-your -Cisco Desk Camera to the latest firmwareAs an addition to the conclusion: I also own the Insta360 and I am actually very enthusiastic.But like many webcams, it doesn't remember its last settings if the software was closed or the computer restarted in the meantime.This means that if in doubt, you have to reconfigure the position of the camera before a video conference.This is quick to do, especially since you can save up to 6 positions.But there are just 3-4 clicks that you could save yourself.In addition, as of September 2022, you can only control them with the supplied software.That means there is currently no way to control the camera with automation solutions such as a stream deck.Hopefully the manufacturer will deliver here later.With a camera in this price range, it hurts that things like this are missing.On TikTok there is someone who, among other things, runs a small data center himself.He also got this camera, but it kept crashing and getting very hot.He couldn't find a way to return or exchange the camera.There is no return address only a mailbox company in Germany.The company doesn't care about the law.Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked with *Notify me of follow-up comments via email.Notify me of new posts 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