Logitech rolls webcams with Carl Zeiss optics

Logitech this morning chose to revamp its webcam line with two new webcams using optics previously reserved for dedicated photo cameras. Both the desktop-minded QuickCam Pro 9000 and QuickCam Pro for Notebooks use Carl Zeiss-made Tessar glass lenses that provide sharper pictures than normal webcam-grade or plastic lenses. They similarly share a refined autofocus system that can properly center on a subject slightly less than four inches from the lens. Both further record at a standard-ratio HD resolution of 960x720 at full speed, a useful addition for full-screen video.

Technology from Logitech's more recent webcams also makes its way into the cameras, including advanced versions of its brightness-adjusting RightLight illumination technique and noise-canceling RightSound microphones. The 2-megapixel sensor functions as a still camera and takes images as large as 1600x1200 without interpolation, Logitech says.

With the primary differences only being their form factors, which includes an adjustable stand that works both with desktops and notebooks in the case of the QuickCam Pro 9000, the new webcams are set to ship in July for $99 each.