Review on 💻 Anker PowerConf C300: AI-Powered Full HD Webcam with Zoom Certification, Noise-Cancelling Microphones, and Low-Light Correction by Chris Lacasse

**UPDATE in 3 weeks** Anker continues to release firmware and software updates. At this point I would say that the HDR function definitely affects the color quality. Much better with HDR on. But then why is it an option at all? Who decided to turn off best color rendering? There's still no way to manually scale and crop the image, which I've been wanting more and more. The solo frame feature was a major distraction in most meetings. If you lean forward, turn sideways, or whatever, the camera will zoom in and crop your face down the middle. ALL in the congregation notice this happening, comment, are surprised. It's distracting and unnecessary for most meetings at your desk. While I'm still hoping for software improvements, the picture quality is still very good and a huge improvement over what I had before. Still happy with this purchase; I just hope for more. *** INITIAL REVIEW *** My comparison cameras are 1) the built-in camera on my MacBook Pro and 2) the $50 external camera (3MP, 1080p) that I bought to start with. To work from home. FITNESS Physically, the Anker C300 feels good and solid. The USB-C connector is recessed fairly deep into the camera's body, so it took a bit of fiddling to ensure the cable was fully connected. The cable is about 5 feet long, USB-C to USB-C. The kit also includes a USB-C to USB-A adapter if you need one. VIDEO QUALITY Without any adjustments, the C300 has a significantly better image quality than my built-in and external cameras. These cameras really struggled to capture differences in color and lighting. For example, when I put a black sweater over my old camera, it looks like a dark spot. With the C300 it's more like being in person - you can see lighting changes and more. SOUND QUALITY I already use an external condenser microphone, so I didn't expect the C300 to be any better. But surprisingly, it's not that much! In fact, it focuses on the voice much better than any other sounds that might be in the room. If you work from home and have kids, pets, and other noise around you, this mic should handle some of that noise better on Zoom calls. SOFTWARE The AnkerWork software works great on MacOS 10.15. At the moment, AnkerWork is somewhat limited. You can adjust resolution (360p, 720p, 1080p), fps (30, 60), brightness, sharpness, saturation and contrast ratio. The default settings for each were good. I couldn't improve the image by adjusting them. More interesting and unique settings are called Fixed Angle (78°, 90° and 115°) and Flexible Angle (Auto Frame, Solo Frame). The fixed angle settings serve as a zoom level. The widest field of view (115°) gives you a lot of space, the smallest (78°) less. The difference isn't that dramatic, but it helps to have some flexibility. In addition, you can select Auto Frame to have the software automatically scale and crop the image to include everyone in the picture, or you can select Solo Frame to enlarge and crop the image to include just the one face , which is closest to the camera. It actually tracks your face and adapts to your movements! I *wanted* to like the solo frame, but it places your face right in the middle of the picture, while I think it's better to place your face a little higher than the center. What really appealed to me was the ability to manually scale and crop the image to how I wanted it. (I don't move much from my desk in a typical meeting.) I'm hoping to add manual scaling and cropping to the software in the future. A firmware update has been released to enable HDR and Anti-Flicker. I've tried these settings in different lighting conditions (high natural light, artificial light, low light) and never noticed HDR doing anything! Anti-Flicker should only be used when fluorescent or LED lighting is causing image flicker. I had a hard time creating a lighting script where I got this flicker. Overall, I don't think HDR and anti-flicker do anything special. Overall, this camera is a significant upgrade for my home video, with much more detailed and realistic images than what I could get with my built-in camera or a cheaper camera. external camera. The software has room to grow and I hope Anker will do so with future software updates. I'm very comfortable with the price I paid and hope the value will increase as the software improves.