ELP Global Shutter USB Webcam - 1080P 90fps, Manual Zoom, Variable Focus, AR0234 Close-up Camera for Laptop

The ability to shoot high-speed moving objects without any rolling artifacts has made a difference in the quality of my images. The 2MP resolution and 90fps frame rate ensure that every detail is captured perfectly, even during fast action.The 5-50mm varifocal lens is great for adjusting to different distances, and I love how easy it is to tweak the zoom, brightness, and clarity by simply rotating the lens. The high-quality Aptina AR0234 sensor delivers stunningly clear images, and the plug-and-play setup means I can connect it to my PC and laptop without any hassle. Whether you're a professional photographer or just love capturing life's fast moments, this camera is worth considering.

I would have given the ELP Global Shutter USB Camera a full 5-star rating if it were wireless, as the need for a physical connection does limit its versatility to being used primarily with a laptop. However, despite this, the camera has several impressive features that make it a strong contender in its category. The global shutter is a standout, allowing me to capture high-speed moving objects with sharp, crisp images, avoiding the rolling artifacts that you typically get with other cameras. This makes it ideal for situations where accuracy and a complete picture are essential.The HD resolution at 2MP with 1920Hx1200V ensures that both video and photos are captured in stunning detail. I particularly appreciate the 5-50mm varifocal lens, which allows for adjustable zoom, brightness, and clarity by simply rotating the lens. This flexibility means I can easily adjust the camera to suit various distances, ensuring that I get the perfect shot every time. The image quality is enhanced by the high-quality sensor, which delivers sharp, clear visuals, making this camera a reliable tool for professional and personal use alike.One thing to note is that this camera works best when mounted on a tripod, as it doesn't have image stabilization, which makes it less ideal for handheld use. The USB cable provided gives enough flexibility to position the camera where needed, but again, the lack of wireless capability is a slight drawback. Nonetheless, for stationary setups where high-quality video and photo capture is required, the ELP Global Shutter USB Camera is an excellent choice that delivers on its promises.

I give this camera three stars. Let's look at the "good" aspects first.The camera comes with a very generous USB connection. The camera itself has an additional connection point along the cable, closer to the camera, the rest of the cable is the multi-pin to USB-A connection, which, again is nice and long to reach whatever your application might be.It is focus and zoom capable, manually, which is important in a lot of applications, and it works well with the manual lens on zoom, focus, and we can also open and close the "iris" for a variety of applications.The "sticks" - we must slightly loosen these to move them, a cool feature!Looking at the image of the camera, the closest "stick" is for focus, "N" is "near," and the "8" is actually infinity, or far away focus, as in - at which, it is fully focused not matter how much further something is from the lens. This is a great feature.The further away from the camera body, further out on the lens, the other "pin" is for zooming, which also worked very well, and is an excellent feature many newer cameras simply don't have... it is OPTICAL zoom, not Digital, Optical is superior.There is a "non stick" adjustment between these two sticks, "O," and "C." Open and Closed, and this is where you set the amount of light coming into the lens, so, like open and close the iris. This is an excellent feature as well, and again, many new cameras do not have this sort of thing, but if they do, it is often some digital operation... unless it has a physical iris to manipulate.There is no built in microphone, and I knew that, and it did not matter to me, because the operation I was hoping for was more of a webcam, and I'd use an external microphone anyway.The really great feature was that I connected the camera via USB directly to a Windows 11 Computer, and it instantly worked once I opened the Camera App... in fact, since that recognized it instantly, it would also work with every other app I have which can accept a camera. This was rather impressive.I took one star away, because there was something on the lens that I could not remove. I'll look again, but I cleaned the lens (safely) three or four times, it was a speck, but I see stuff like that instantly, and as a professional videographer, it is not acceptable like that at all.I also knew that the camera was NOT 4K, but 1080p (or Full HD (FHD), also known as 2K). This is also fine for my application hopes, but the image also flickered a bit - this is probably due to the lights I have, and the camera being sensitive to such lighting. I do not fault the camera for that, and the 2K image is great, other than that speck.The look of the shot - image from the lens - was just not there, where I needed it to be.For most applications which might use this type of camera, it would be fine, and for the price point at the time I acquired it - it is veery much affordable, and probably superior to any webcam... but webcams are going to be better for my hoped application.The camera offers excellent functions that other cameras don't have, but the speck on the lens (or inside the lens) was the real deal breaker for a higher rating.