I ditched my laptop’s camera for Poly Studio P5 webcam, and I don’t regret it

If you read my reviews of any laptop released during the pandemic, I called a webcam the worst part of the device. They are terrible in the age of Zoom and Teams. I don’t know from where PC companies get the courage to ship a $2000 laptop with a 720p webcam. Maybe because brands do not consider laptop webcams an important part of the experience despite the establishment of the culture of a professional video call from home during the pandemic. And there lies the problem.
Instead of waiting for a miracle to happen, I ditched my laptop’s webcam for video calls, and switched to a Poly (formerly Plantronics) Studio P5 webcam. If you’re thinking about making the jump from a crappy laptop webcam to a real webcam, my experience might help you decide. Or at least give you a reason to question PC brands and know when they will start using high-quality cameras in laptops. I’ll be the happiest person to see an improved webcam on laptops. 

I hate my laptop’s webcam, and I am sure you do too 
Before the pandemic, I rarely saw myself taking video interviews unless the situation didn’t allow me to meet the interviewee in person. But Covid-19 changed everything all and I had to use video for all interviews. Soon I started to realise how bad the webcam’s quality is on laptops. I did everything – from tweaking settings to changing the lighting in the room to improve the picture quality and despite the brand’s overdose of putting AI in everything including webcams, I was disappointed. I tried to find out the reasons why the cameras are so bad on laptops. My off-the-record conversations with executives revealed that physics doesn’t allow PC makers to use high-quality cameras in laptops. That is why, even premium laptops from makers including Dell and Lenovo, use 720p webcams. In comparison, the front-facing cameras on smartphones are constantly getting improved and can shoot videos in 4K UHD. Whatever the reason is, I feel PC makers need to come up with solutions to design their laptops in such a way that allows them to fit 1080p Full HD webcams. The hybrid work environment will continue to ex and video calling is the reality of the new real world. 
The Studio P5 comes with a regular USB port, but I wish it would have used USB C. (Imag credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express). For those with a MacBook Air, you need to use USB Hub to connect the P5 to your notebook.
Poly Studio P5’s layout is simple
The Studio P5 packed a lot of power in a pretty compact package. It’s small, sleek, and is available in a white finish. The lens sits in the center, which is mounted on a hinged monitor clip. The monitor clamp is adjustable and mounts easily and securely on top of my MacBook, iMac and Asus notebook. It can be rotated left and right on the clip, but has no tilt option available. When connected, a small-led light on top of the webcam glows right when powered and lens covered. And when active, it turns green letting you know the camera is on. A 3-foot cable connected at the camera end and USB-A on the other is supplied with the webcam. The back of the camera comes off, where you can plug in wireless dongles for headsets which is a useful feature and make a lot of sense, especially for those users who own laptops with limited ports.

You will find a camera shutter for added privacy. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
Setup and usage 
The Studio P5 is designed to be plug and play. In simple terms, you need to insert the USB-A cable into your PC and the webcam works instantly. That said, Poly also offers an app (available on Mac and Windows PCs) that will allow you to tweak basic camera controls such as the ability to calibrate brightness, contrast, sharpness, saturation, and more. The app makes a lot of sense for large corporations who wish to install the Studio P5 webcams on multiple computers in the office. It makes the job of the IT department a lot easier. I don’t think an individual needs an app but yes, it always comes in handy to adjust settings and update the firmware. 

Does the Poly Studio P5 perform better than my laptop’s webcam?
Absolutely. Although the P5 is designed to be used in office environments, anybody can use this webcam for video conferencing. It supports 1080p shooting, with a lens having an 80-degree field of view and an f/2.0 aperture. The level of quality you get with the P5 is way better than a laptop webcam. Details are sharp, and colours look rich and accurate when I use the webcam for video calls sitting in my room and balcony. It supports auto-focus, meaning my face will always be visible even when I move around a bit on my chair. I also liked the webcam’s low-light performance.
I attend video calls at odd times, sometimes post the dinner and my current laptop’s webcam was making me crazy before calls. Thankfully, now that I use the Studio P5, I can attend video calls in a dark room with a lamp turned on next to my bedside table. While noise still creeps in, the camera quality doesn’t disappoint in a low-light environment. The microphone on the P5 is impressive. In fact, I rate the built-in microphone on the P5 as the highlight of the webcam. The audio is clear, and even though it picks up background noise, it does a fine job in muting ambient noise. The only caveat of the P5 is that the webcam’s field of view of 80-degree is not adjustable. However, the image can be digitally zoomed up to 4x. 
The P5’s picture quality is impressive despite my room having uneven light. Note: The image got compressed after I uploaded it online. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
Should you buy the Poly Studio P5 webcam?
It depends. Poly is charging Rs 9,440 for a webcam and that may seem on the higher side, but the picture and video quality you get with the P5 is unquestionably better than your average laptop camera. What I really like about the Studio P5 is the ease of use and simplicity. This is an excellent high-resolution webcam that works for me, simply because it delivers superior video quality in low-light conditions and has an excellent microphone. It’s certified for Microsoft Teams and works with any video conferencing app, including Zoom. After using the Poly Studio P5 I am certainly not going back to a laptop webcam unless PC brands commit to using higher-resolution cameras in their notebooks.