IPEVO Ziggi-HD High-Definition USB Document Camera

I'm very impressed with this little thing. I wonder how well it might stand up to a lot of heavy use if mis-handed (the base is a lot heavier than the head, so you have to remember to always lift by the base), but for sitting on a desk and making videos it's just great. My application is making tutorial videos for an electronics course (not as a document projector) and the auto-focus is very useful for this - this camera can focus down to around 6 cm, which with some zooming in allows very clear imaging of very small electronic components. True, the autofocus is slow at the highest resolutions, but that's not a major issue for me. For reference: this is what Aforge reckons it can get out of it (I've not independently verified these, but the frame rates appear right): 30 fps at 640 x 480 and 1280 x 720 15 fps at 800 x 600, 1024 x 768 and 1600 x 1200 4 fps at 1920 x 1080 and 2048 x 1536 2 fps at 2592 x 1944 I mostly use the 1600 x 1200 at 15 fps; it's fast enough to follow my hand movements when writing without looking noticeably blurred (although there is some delay), and the resolution is enough for me. But it's very useful to be able to move up to the highest resolution to zoom into show the details on something really small. As other reviewers have noted there doesn't seem to be an HD webcam that takes advantage of USB3 rates on the market, certainly not anywhere near this price point. Drivers appear solid (Windows 7). I've not had any problems so far, and am very pleased with it. A built-in light would have helped when focusing on small components with the head very close to the desk, but at this price I'm not complaining.

Far superior to previous cameras we had. Easy to install, easy to use, outstanding definition and at a very competitive price. Our IT Technician was very impressed. We highly recommend it, especially for school use.

Pros: * The product does what it says and is very easy to install and use - good software interface * Full 5 megapixel sensor (not the interpolated pseudoresolution that you get in multi-'megapixel' webcams) * USB powered (no batteries or separate transformer needed). * Heavy base and useful 'anglepoise' stand. * I used this with a 3m USB 2.0 extension cable and it still works. Cons: * The first one I got had an irritating 'fixed blurry dark spot' in the corner - probably a dust particle on the sensor chip (not on the lens - otherwise it would have been easy to clean off. The lens, BTW, is a tiny pinhole lens). I returned this and got a replacement. The replacement also has some faint small dark spots but as these were barely visible I settled for it. It seems this model is prone to such defects, so beware. * I reported the above problem to the IPEVO help desk but they didn't even respond to my email - so a big thumbs down to IPEVO customer services (the retailer, however, was very good at arranging a return / replacement, thankfully). * Live motion is noticeably delayed when using the full 5MP resolution. However, most motion display devices (TV, video projector) do not display at 5MP so you can overcome this by selecting a lower resolution when doing live demos and only use the full 5MP resolution when you are capturing stills. * The autofocus function works but can be very slow to respond. Overall: I don't think you can get a computer-controlled true 5 megapixel colour digital camera with autofocus for less money or even similar money. If you think you can - please let me know the details by leaving a comment reply to this review.

Great, takes some fiddling to use initially, but once you get the hang.......... Has some limitations, I don't think you would digitise your book collection with it, but for most things it is fine. Addendum, I found that the casting on the base cracked so the arm wouldn't stay in place, as one end of the nut was loose, see pics... I contacted IPEVO Europe and included some pictures, they, (Melody) got back to me straight away and offered to replace it with one they had in stock, I only wrote to see if it could be repaired or jury rigged. The item had a two year warranty I was told. I supplied details (don't get rid of the tag on the usb cable, it has a serial no.) and hey presto, the following day after it got approved it arrived I would just like to say the Customer Service was excellent and surpassed what I expected (thanks Melody). Nice to see someone who does the job and doesn't pay it "lip service". Well done!

First of all, Build quality is superb, it has a nice finish and it is for this reason I give it 2 stars not 1. It has a lovely design, truly, it's nice to open, it's so well made, I speak highly of it because it is physically good! The camera is... not bad either, it does well in low light (lots of ISO noise as you'd expect) and the autofocus is great, it's not quick but it does get it right, I put it straight on "Single" (S) meaning "only focus when I tell you to" and this works, I tried continuous, the camera has such a small aperture it isn't really needed and difficult to test. I did these tests with it as high as it could be over a table, with a book and some papers as the subject. So you're probably wondering why did I want to give it one star? The camera's compression is awful, worse than awful, useless even.This isn't ISO noise, this is compression noise, text is unreadable due to the weird squares and compression artifacts surrounding, I tested these at: 720p 24FPS, any higher meant the frame-rate became no more than 3 frames per second) I'll post some samples when I can. This camera does support HD (and beyond) resolutions but the image is not fit for purpose due to the compression noise. I can't stress enough, it's not high ISO noise (a symptom of poor light) it is compression.A page of text looks like a page of text but the lossful compression used means not a line of it is legible. Oh and the microphone on mine just records a weird hissing sound! In short, unboxing this camera is deceptive, it's a lovely device and so well made but it is not fit for purpose, the image quality piped to the computer is beyond awful. It is false advertising to call it a "document camera"

Easy to use software, compact, picture quality is good at that price. Love it. Will buy them more.

The product works pretty well, but when you select a high resolution, the lag makes it hard to use. Considerin for example you want to fill out a form, there is a time lapse between you moving your hand and showind on the screen. The lag gets more noticeable as you increase resolution. If you don't need to write, then you are ok.

fab

講義のプレゼン使用を目的に購入しました。 印刷されたワープロ標準の10.5ポイントの文字も、くっきり写せます。 職場に、エルモ社の９万＋α円の書画カメラがあります。 使いたいけれど、大きくて重たいので気軽に使うには．．．．、という感じでした。 このドキュメントカメラは、とてもコンパクト。 購入前に気になったのは、ズームがどうなっているのかということ。 エルモ社の書画カメラは、レンズのところにズームがついているので便利です。 で、どうなのかなと思いながら購入したところ、ソフトをインストールして、ソフトで倍率を選択するようになっていました。 実際に使ってみると、いちいちソフトを操作して倍率調節するよりも、被写体にレンズを近づけたり遠ざけたりして調節することの方が多いです（ブームスタンドが使いやすい）。 この価格でこのパフォーマンスは、かなりいいと思います。

Ich habe schon einige Dokumentenkammeras in allen Preiskalssen getesten, Daher hatte ich nicht geglaubt, dass es für diesen Preis etwas vernünftiges gibt. Trotzdem habe ich die Ziggi-HD von IPEVO bei einem Händler aus UK geordert. Die Lieferung kam auch pünktlich an. Der erste Eindruck: sehr klein und handlich. Die Kamera ist schnell augebaut und braucht wenig Platz. Der Fuß ist schwer genug, um die Kamera auch bei gestrecktem Arm zu halten. Alle Teile sind aus Plastik, insbesondere der Arm wirkt sehr filigran - mal sehen, wie lang der im schulischen Einsatz hält. Die Installation der Software (nicht in deutsch) ist einfach und schnell gemacht, danach wird die Kamera sofort erkannt. Man kann die Auflösung einstellen, den Farbabgleich und die Belichtung ändern sowie den Autofotoks auslösen. Es gibt einen Vollbildmodus und Foto-Capture. Die Auflösung reicht von 640x480 bis 2592x1944. Die Bildübertragungsrate ist nur bis 800x600 OK, aber das liegt am relativ langsamen USB2.0 Protokoll. Die Kamera kann auch ohne die Software als normale USB-Kamera verwendet werden (zB für Animationen oder Skype). Die Bildqualität war gut, vorrausgesetzt es gibt genügend Umgebungslicht. Bei geringem Licht gibt es ein deutliches Bildrauschen. Sollen im Klassenraum zB Hausaufgaben oder Texte lesbar projeziert werden, sollte man immer eine Lampe dabei haben. Fazit: Erstaunlich viel Leistung für vergleichsweise wenig Geld. Im Unterricht gut einsetzbar. Lediglich die Haltbarkeit der Plastikteile muss sich noch zeigen. Nachtrag: Es gibt noch eine WiFi-Erweiterung, mit der eine kabellose Bildübertragung zu Apple-Geräten möglich ist.

Lo uso para digitalizar documentos y libros de forma sencilla y barata. Para el tratamiento posterior de las imágenes se pueden usar apps gratuitas que dan resultados comparables a las obtenidas con aparatos carísimos.

très bon produit. Adapté à un usage en classe et pratique a tout point de vue, pour un prix qui reste modéré. Rien à voir avec une webcam. Seule la lmise au point gagnerait à être plus rapide (mieux vaut se mettre en single focus)

I wanted a camera I could use to 'scan' my sketchbooks AND use to broadcast video of my working in them. Perfect. Amazing resolution and it is passable video at 1920x1280 and great at 1280x720. Not 30FPS, but usable for demonstration purposes. If you really need smooth motion, just reduce the resolution to 640x480 and it's full 30fps. Perfectly posable and the manual/auto exposure and focus are perfect for the kind of work i'm doing. Be sure to order an extension usb cable, it'll make you're setup a lot easier. I wasn't too crazy about using the included software, but it works great and is a pleasure to interact with, doing a number of things that I didn't expect like image flipping for when the cam is posed in a less than ideal position. The software also controls the camera for other apps. For instance, if you want to record in Quicktime, you can adjust your exposure and resolution in the Ipevo software and Quicktime just records the feed based on those settings. It's great! The one thing I would love: The ability to plug in two cameras and control them simultaneously.