Sensor and Optics

The Elgato Prime Lens is an 8-element fixed focus all-glass unit with an f/2.4 aperture and focal length of 24 mm (full-frame equivalent). Its specified focus range is 30–120 cm (11.8–47.2 inches), with the diagonal field of view spanning from 83.2° (1x zoom) to 24.4° (4x digital zoom). Elgato communicates the diagonal instead of horizontal FOV (it's around 76° at 1x zoom) that would probably be easier for the general population to understand. They could have also used the full-frame equivalent focal length, a value regularly used by photographers and videographers. They do plan to add alternative units to future versions of the Camera Hub software.


Speaking of the things we don't know about the Facecam, add the real focal length of the lens to that list, along with the crop factor, exact sensor model, or even sensor size. Elgato doesn't disclose this information, although we can assume some of it. What we do know is that they're using the Sony STARVIS BSI (BackSide Illuminaton) CMOS sensor, and it's most likely a 1/2.8" or a 1/3" sensor because that would fit the specified focus range of 30–120 cm. With such depth of field, achieving a bokeh effect (blurred background with only your face in focus) is impossible. If you run into photos supposedly showing an image from the Elgato Facecam and there is bokeh present, be aware that those are entirely faked. This of course isn't a comment on performance; webcam optics aren't built for bokeh, so a webcam could only have it if software-generated (think "Portrait Mode" in your smartphone's camera app). Elgato didn't bother emulating this effect in software, which is entirely acceptable.


After connecting the Elgato Facecam to the PC (you want to use a USB 3.0 port for uncompressed 1080p60 video), it quickly becomes apparent that this is not an ordinary webcam. The image looks excellent, with good tonality and accurate, natural-looking colors. Movement is smooth and fluid at 30 and 60 FPS, and the camera does a great job of balancing exposure and framerate, so there are no unexpected framerate dips when lighting conditions suddenly change. Every change of every available camera setting is gradual and subtle. You can use the Elgato Facecam throughout the day on fully automatic settings without noticing a sudden change in white balance, color reproduction, or overall image quality.

Video Samples and Performance Analysis

Let's take a look at several video samples I've recorded with the Elgato Facecam. They include a direct comparison to the Logitech Brio, an identically priced $200 high-end webcam often touted as the best webcam on the market. This first video was recorded during the day. There are two large windows behind my monitor, and I've adjusted the blinds such that one side of my face is more lit than the other for a more dramatic look. The Elgato's Camera Hub software displayed an ISO value of 220 under these lighting conditions. I've also used my gamepad to demonstrate the fixed focus distance of the Elgato Facecam, as well as the auto-focus feature of the Logitech Brio, which isn't available on the Facecam. I didn't record the sound on purpose; while the Logitech Brio is equipped with an array of microphones, the Elgato Facecam doesn't have a microphone of any sort, so there's nothing to compare in this regard.


The Elgato Facecam is the clear winner here. Its colors look significantly more natural and closer to life, and the image is noticeably sharper, especially around the edges. The focus range seems to be in line with what Elgato promises and is definitely wide enough to keep everyone and everything in front of the monitor in focus. In other words, if you want to show an item from your surroundings to your audience, the fixed-focus nature of the lens won't pose an issue—the item in your hand will be sharp, and clearly visible.

In direct comparison, the image of the Logitech Brio looks flat and lifeless, although it seems to preserve more detail in very bright parts of the frame, such as my forehead. To verify this, I opened the blinds on both my windows and let both cameras tackle the onslaught of sunlight in fully automatic mode.


This sample confirmed my initial findings. In automatic mode, the Elgato Facecam is prone to blowing highlights; less so with the Logitech Brio. That doesn't mean the Facecam's sensor can't handle an excessive amount of light because I was perfectly able to fix the exposure of this scene in two different ways: by keeping the automatic exposure settings but lowering the "Compensation" setting to -1.0 or switching to manual exposure and playing with the ISO and shutter speed sliders. I've demonstrated this in the following video, where I'm using the Camera Hub software to fix the over-exposition of the shot.


With that in mind, this is obviously a solvable issue. Elgato simply has to tweak the automatic exposure algorithm further to where it's less afraid to slightly darken the image. In fact, in most cases, I was able to get a more detailed and natural-looking image when I resorted to manual exposure settings, as shown in the following comparison.



What if you're considering the Elgato Facecam not for streaming but your daily videoconferencing needs, which would imply you won't bother to improve the lighting of your room in any way? To check how the Facecam behaves in such conditions, I've recreated my usual home office situation: the blinds are down, the webcam is set to fully automatic mode, and my girlfriend is hanging out on the couch, as my office is currently the only air-conditioned room in our new home. Please excuse her feet—at least you know these recordings are 100% authentic! The first video was recorded on a cloudy day. The Elgato's Camera Hub software displayed an ISO value of around 1,200 under those lighting conditions. The second one was recorded on a very sunny day, with the sun hitting the blinds directly, which is why the Elgato Facecam didn't have to push the ISO past 180 in automatic exposure mode. Like earlier, I've included a direct comparison with the Logitech Brio.


Again the Elgato Facecam completely crushes the Logitech Brio in terms of raw image quality and motion handling. In the first sample, the image is somewhat grainy due to the high ISO value, but this isn't something that would go noticed in the usual videoconferencing environment. In the second image, the ISO is low (120) because the window blinds are diffusing direct sunlight, so the image is very clear. In both cases, the Elgato Facecam is miles ahead in terms of color vibrance, sharpness, and detail.

Let's us now examine how the Elgato Facecam behaves during nighttime. For a bit of added complexity for the automatic white balancing algorithm, I've also activated two LED strips behind my monitor and my table, with one emitting a yellow and the other a bright pink light. There's one more LED strip in the room, located on my right, behind the TV. I'm wearing a red shirt with thin intercrossing horizontal and vertical lines—a nightmare scenario for any camera. Before recording these samples, I've slightly adjusted both cameras. On the Elgato Facecam, I just lowered the Compensation value found under the Exposure section of Camera Hub to -0.8. On the Logitech Brio, I had to manually adjust the white balance and perform a significant reduction of the color intensity setting to get semi-decent results.

In the first video, my room is being illuminated only by my monitor's screen.

In this video, there are two Dynacore EL-500D/T LED panels positioned on top of my speakers and pointed toward my face.

As you can see, the Elgato Facecam once again demolishes the Logitech Brio, especially when proper lighting is added to the scene. Its picture is significantly sharper, and the colors look incomparably better. There's practically no competition between these two. Of course, you should obviously invest in a proper lighting setup for the best nighttime results. Adding a ring and a key light to illuminate the scene will do miracles for the overall image quality during nighttime usage. Elgato charges $200 for their own Ring Light and Key Light, but you can find suitable LED lights for much less if you're willing to go down the no-name route.

All of the samples were recorded with the Noise Reduction feature turned off, as that's the way to get the best image quality out of the Elgato Facecam. If you're using the camera in a well-lit room, the noise-reduction feature has no purpose. In case your room is dimly lit or dark and the camera has to increase ISO to compensate by activating noise reduction, you'll smooth out the details in your scene, effectively making your face and surroundings look very soft. Work on improving your lighting rather than resorting to noise reduction to remove the high-ISO grain from your recordings. I've demonstrated the effects of noise reduction in the following video.


Finally, let's talk about the Elgato Facecam's absent microphone. The official pitch is that all webcam microphones are inherently bad because you're sitting too far away for them to sound good, so why even bother adding one? When Elgato mentioned this in their recent media briefing, many of my fellow reviewers cheered, which I found baffling. First of all, how is removing a feature a good thing? Secondly, while I'm fully aware that no serious streamer will ever want to use a webcam microphone to communicate with his audience, a microphone, even a bad one, would still be useful. If you ever edited a video where the audio wasn't recorded with the video, you know how painful it can be to synchronize the two. On the other hand, when your video contains the audio captured by the webcam, you can import your externally recorded audio and do a simple auto-alignment based on their waveforms. A couple seconds later, your externally recorded audio will have been perfectly synchronized with the video you've recorded with the Facecam. For this reason alone, I'd greatly appreciate it if Elgato found room for at least a basic webcam microphone.