Today's Tech News and Reviews

Here we are, already with a second-round with NexiGo. A company that recently gained an Editors’ Choice award with its N950P 4K model. An option that offers an excellent competitive alternative to brands like Logitech. Now, we have been spending time with the next model up, the NexiGo N970P 4K Webcam. Or simply put, the next best thing.

It looks like if Nexigo keeps it up, some of the other brands that we have been used to all these years will have to step up to keep relevant. The N970P model falls into the exact same point ($199) as the popular Logitech Brio, which has been a dangerous territory for other brands in the past. The Brio has a higher MP count than this one, as well as HDR and a few other tricks up its sleeve.

However, this one has tricks of its own and these tricks sell themselves pretty quickly. Options like built-in flash memory for its settings with user presets that can be called up from the press of a button on an included remote (regardless of what device it is connected to).

It isn’t perfect. It just simply comes close to it. At least when it comes to current webcam standards and expectations.

The footprint is a bit larger than what you might be used to, with a width of around 7-inches. It kind of reminds me of some of the original webcams. Remember the QuickCam Pro 3000? I remember thinking it was one of the greatest peripherals of its time. Although it shares the bulk in ways, it definitely doesn’t share the same weight in features as this model has to offer.

The design of the camera features the modern silver/black theme that you find with today’s laptops (both Mac and PC) and dock/hub peripherals. It’s all plastic, but there is no surprise there. It would be hard to see why they would go with real aluminum unless it was designed specifically for traveling between locations (even though parts of it have been).

It comes with a removable lens cap that simply slides over the webcam body and then flips up and down to block the image. Great for protecting yourself from spying eyes that shouldn’t be accessing it. Sadly, there is a lot of malware going around these days that can do just that. As well as many corporate networks that allow their IT departments to do the same (IT departments have far too much power these days).

It features an 8.5MP 1/2.8″ Sony Starvis Sensor, capable of capturing images up to 4K@30p (60Hz).

The stand is of similar design to many of the other models out there, including NexiGo’s own. Two points of motion that allow it to be fixed on top of any monitors or laptop screen. While also having a thread adapter at the bottom so it can be mounted to something as well.

Personally, we have a habit of fixing webcams to adjustable arms so that they can be used via multiple directions and angles while also being able to push them away and out of sight. It also makes for fun-looking workstations and office setups.

There is no way of removing the stand from the camera, but there isn’t any reason to have to either. It’s both durable and maintains the weight of the camera just fine.

There is a USB 3.0 (Type B) port on the back of the camera. We were a bit surprised that NexiGo didn’t opt for USB-C this round. However, this connection does, at least, offer plenty of durability to its connection compared to Type C. You should also see the cable that comes with this one (it’s quite durable).

You get no physical buttons with this model, but you don’t need them.

The webcam comes with its own physical remote that allows the user to control everything it has to offer with either dedicated buttons or via a menu. It offers three preset buttons that allow you to save the current settings of the webcam so that they can be recalled at any time with the same button, even if the webcam is plugged into another device. So you can have different presets for different locations, lighting conditions, or for what you are using it for in general (casual vs group meetings, etc).

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You can instantly zoom in and out with the button on the remote. Zooming is smooth and constant both ways. It also has an auto-frame button at the bottom. With this option, the webcam will use built-in AI to automatically zoom in and out, track and follow, and widen the shot depending on your distance or how many people are in front of it.

You can open a menu via the remote and adjust just about everything there is to be adjusted on a camera. Ok, maybe “everything” is a little exaggerated, but you have plenty of options. Allowing you to control the brightness, color, and other image properties. You can control the sensitivities of things like auto-frame and then save everything to one of the presets since none of this is coming from software. Everything is built right into the camera as you’d find with a monitor.

This model does a great job of providing a solid image. The colors are fantastic, right out of the box. You can change between all sorts of values, but in many cases, you shouldn’t have to. The image you see above (with our Senior Editor playing with the OSD menu) was take out of the video that can be found down below after our conclusion. was taken. We went through all of the settings and what they do in the video, but the camera looked absolutely fantastic without having to do any of that.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that he was shooting with it inside the studio. Which is in a room that was designed to be perfectly lit from every possible angle so that someone would look good on camera. So the camera had plenty of light to work with. Which reduces noise in the image and promotes a crisp colorful image.

So the menu controls do come in handy if you are using it in an environment that isn’t so suitable. Like an average-lit bedroom or home office. You can dial in the image to get the most out of it and impress everyone else watching (if you’re in a meeting or planning to post anything online).

For a 4K webcam, the image looks great. It won’t replace your DSLR or other professional solution. However, it will likely outperform most other webcam models on the shelf. Which is something I don’t say lightly.

Its ability to continuously and smoothly zoom in and out while holding down either of the two zoom buttons down is pretty nice. As you zoom all the way in, the image does get a bit noisy. This is because it offers up to 10x digital zoom (not optical). So there are no moving lenses. It’s all digital stretching to obtain the end result. Thankfully, it does look good for normal user-case scenarios. No one wants to look at the pores in your skin.

Zoom appears to work no matter what resolution you’re in as well, which is interesting. At least, it did for us. We had to take the resolution down with the N950P model in order to zoom, so this adds a little more use to this one. Just keep in mind that at 4K, you are already at max res. So any digital zooming from there will instantly show noise in the image.

The AI auto-framing is interesting. Best used when you are shooting from a distance and there are a number of people in front of the camera. The AI will detect everyone’s face and try to frame everyone nicely. Manual zoom is disabled when this function is enabled so you won’t need to be messing with anything. Just let the camera do its job.

With the latest firmware update, you are able to take it up to 60fps in 1080p. So if the frame rate is important, it does open this option up to you.

The stereo microphones offer noise cancelation for random noises around you. Allowing it to focus on your voice and not everything else. Allowing you to tune out things like children at play, outside traffic, energetic animals, or maybe even a vacuum in the distance (although we haven’t tested that latter theory out). The sound quality does seem to be a bit better than the other model we tested. It sounds good.

There really isn’t much that we don’t like about this model. It’s a little bulky, so it won’t be perfect for just anyone. However, it still shouldn’t prove to be an issue for most. It looks great and sounds nice. It offers a good selection of settings that can be adjusted from its menu and we absolutely love that you can save your changes directly to the camera. Not only that but with multiple user presets. Allowing you to use it with virtually anything as no drivers are required, nor custom software for its settings. Just the software you use to capture and/or record with.

This model has a lot going for it and just the right price. NexiGo really is doing a great job at making a name for itself.

We could only imagine what one of NexiGo’s models would look like if it had an optical zoom. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the company was working on just that for the future (or at least considering it). It is definitely giving the competition something to be concerned about.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.

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Zack comes with a number of years in the technology industry. Specializing in live production and sound recording, his background also extensively covers other categories such as lighting and A/V technologies. With a strong history of both covering and thoroughly understanding technology and science in nearly every category imaginable.

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