1080p webcams: Smarten up your video calls with these external cameras

The Aukey raises a question that Logitech won’t like: is it worth paying almost £100 for a 108op webcam when you can buy something this good for £28? It’s tough to justify, even though the Aukey can’t quite match Logitech’s webcams for quality; it’s crisp enough, but detail isn’t captured to the same level, and its colours lean towards the conservative, pastel scale. Even Donald Trump would come out looking pasty on this webcam.

However, in a 100m sprint for quality, the Aukey would only be a few steps behind the Logitechs, which is quite an achievement for the price. What you don’t get is Logitech’s software support, with no utilities that let you control the colour intensity or the field of view.

That means you’re stuck with a wide viewing angle, so you’ll need to move within a foot or so of the camera to fill the frame during calls. This is too close if you’re using a big, widescreen monitor – or even a 27in screen. The good news? At whatever distance, the two mics picked up audio well.

You can take control of the focus – to switch between auto and manual – and brightness, but that’s it. The autofocus worked seamlessly too, so that manual focus adjustment is largely academic.

Note the lack of a privacy cover, but a blue LED appears when the camera is active. At 81mm wide and 25.5mm deep, it’s also the most compact and travel-friendly model on test.

The Aukey PC-W3 isn’t perfect, but for £28 it will deliver a huge upgrade over most laptops’ built-in offerings.

Aukey PC-W3 1080p Webcam specifications