Best webcam

[foredeck]

I'm looking for a good, yet cheap webcam. It'll only be used with Skype, doing video conference.

It'll be on a laptop, but it doesn't have to be a laptop webcam.

And, what's the difference between 1.3 mp and 1600 x 1200 Pixels?

Thanks

[chinesedevil]

1600x1200 is about 2mp.

Don't get fooled by these 2mp, 1.3mp marketing crap, im pretty sure they will NOT take videos at that resolution. Most webcams only do 640x480 in video mode, which is VGA. the 2mp are probably still pictures.

[foredeck]

So, what am I looking for when I buy a webcam?

[GroceryBagHead]

I got QuickCam Pro 9000 recently and it's quite good: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/webcams/devices/3056&cl=ca,en

[Kwirky]

So, what am I looking for when I buy a webcam?

You'll want to look for reviews, really. A webcam's specs won't reveal anything about how well it renders colour, detail, or how well it works in low light, etc.

[itsjed]

For USB cameras, I don't think you can do better than the Logitech Quickcam 9000. But I don't think it's cheap, it's around the $80-100 usually, but I think it's worth it if you want better quality.

If you have an old firewire-capable DV CamCorder lying around, that will give you the best quality. But given that this is for a laptop, you're probably looking for something you can carry around.

[ChinpokoMon]

http://cowboyfrank.net/webcams/index.htm#revews