FREETALK Everyman Camera Review

Impressions

There is a popular saying that first impressions last and it is certainly true about the Everyman Camera. Before receiving the test samples, I viewed the pictures online and formed an impression in my mind.

I thought the webcam had to be a sizable unit to be able to fit in the technology needed to capture HD. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Well no, to be honest, I was shocked! The cam is rather compact as you can see from the pic below. This shows the Everyman Camera sitting on a CD.

I guess there is another, more applicable saying that good things come in small packages. Only the device itself and a small instruction manual came in their “soy-cool” box.  I’m not sure many people will even read the leaflet because the whole setup is so simple that if you know how to plug in a USB cable, you can use the Everyman Camera.

Below are scans I did of the manual. The first shows a basic informative diagram of the device while the reverse shows the set up information in six (6) different languages. Alternately, you can find this information here.

The term Plug ‘n’ Play is becoming long in the tooth but I don’t think I have ever come across a better example. I simply plugged it in and it was ready to go in less than 15 seconds. The little balloon popped up from the tray saying that the new hardware was successfully installed and ready to use. I was yet again so surprised that I said out loud, and I quote, “Wow! That’s it?!”

Already I can see this product being a real winner among the not-so-tech-savvy end users and techies alike. The next step is to launch Skype and just as easily, select the Everyman Camera as your webcam in the Video Settings. If you have more than one device installed, there will be a drop-down menu that you can click on to choose “FREETALK HD”.

I took the liberty of testing the cam on many of the other instant messaging clients such as Windows Live, Yahoo! and also inside Gmail’s Chat to name a few. The performance held up quite well right across the board. I particularly liked the autofocus functionality. Whether I was nose-first into my monitor or slouching in my chair, the cam kept my image clean and sharp. The autofocus transitioning is noticeable but is rather subtle and you have to look closely to really see it.

FREETALK was kind enough to send me two of the devices. This way I could properly test High Definition both ways.  I was not only able to give the other party an HD view of me, but I was also able to see on my end what the camera is capable of capturing. The verdict: Stunning!

The device does however, lack a built-in microphone and that is my only real grouse with this product. I can say though that when I used the Everyman headset along with the Everyman Camera, I was able to achieve a virtually perfect “face-to-face” conversation.