Zoom Telephonics ZoomCam-ISA Videoconference Camera
Last updated 2/4/99

That's me at QCIF trying to click my mouse, look at the camera, and smile at the same time.  Not bad for a $55 videoconference camera, I'd say.  Claudia says it's a lousy picture of me.  I said it was the best of the bunch I took.

The camera I tested (Model 1575) came with a video capture expansion board.  If you have one of Zoom's' video-ready MODEMs, such as the 2822 FaxModem, you can return the interface board for a $20.00 rebate.  The 2901 model of the camera comes with a video-enabled 56K MODEM.  The 1575 PC interface is a well designed and behaved ISA PnP board with a wide variety of settable interrupts and port addresses.  It makes a noticeable difference smoothness of picture motion as compared to cameras I've seen which plug into printer ports.  Fairly decent motion is obtained at 15 FPS, but pictures will blur with fast motion. The board also frees-up the CPU so other tasks, such as scrolling or using the Windows Start Menu, are not noticeably interrupted when the camera is uploading frames to the computer.

The camera is easily focused manually using a ring around the lens.  It handles various lighting conditions quite well.  It automatically adjusts for exposure, contrast, backlight, and fluorescent light flicker.  My office, above, is not very well lit and it was a dark, rainy day in Maine.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.  First, before buyIng this camera, you are going need a 133 Mhz or faster processor and  least 8 MBytes of memory.   I recommend something faster and at least 32 MBytes of memory.  You'll also need a sound card and 28.8 or faster MODEM.

ITEMS INCLUDED:

• Camera
• Weighted base for the camera which accommodates a tripod
• ISA video capture board
• Microphone
• 10' cable to connect the camera to the video capture board.
• Installation manual
• CD with software.
• Floppy with Windows 95/98 driver.

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