Since the pandemic hit, I’ve found myself increasingly in need of online courses and webinars through streaming services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. While I can use my relatively small mirrorless cameras for streaming, they’re still too big to mount on my monitor, so a good quality streaming webcam is the answer.
A big consideration for me is doing research before I buy. Whenever possible, I use a local store to buy my gear. But I don’t live in a major city—the closest store that has webcams is an hour away—so online shopping is the way to go. But there are hundreds of different webcams out there, and there are so many options. I’m always skeptical of Amazon reviews of gear.
By chance and luck, one of my contacts reached out and asked if I would like to review a webcam. She sent me two to try, and I tried the first one to see if it was something I would use and recommend.
I usually only use and review devices that I know are good. Emeet is not a brand that I know of, but it is based in Shenzhen, China and has a lot of great technology coming from there. Furthermore, it is a company that has won a number of legitimate design and industry awards. The marketing agency that contacted me also promotes other products that have proven to be of great quality. So I thought I would take a chance and give this brand a try.
What is EMEET SmartCam S800?
The EMEET SmartCam S800 designed as a streaming camera. That suggests something more than a standard webcam. One would expect better quality picture and sound, plus more flexibility in how the video is presented. So I wanted to see if it lived up to that claim.
First impression
The first thing I noticed was the relatively small amount of plastic packaging. There is a layer of cellophane and two small pieces of foam to protect the camera while it is in the box, but that’s it.
When I opened the box, I found the camera to be very smart looking and felt sturdy but not too heavy. It has a barrel shape and is mounted on a stand that can fit over a monitor or screw onto a tripod.
Interestingly, the mount opens in a Z-shape and hooks onto the monitor. The camera partially swivels on it, making it easy to align. It’s not held in place by a spring clip, which I never liked because it could damage the monitor, but it is held in place by the sturdy hinged bottom of the mount.
There’s a privacy screen trigger ring on the front. There’s a heatsink and USB-C port on the back of the camera, which houses a high-quality 59″ (1.5 meter) cable.
The camera has an 8MP ½” Sony sensor that can shoot 4K video at 30fps or Full HD 1080p at 60fps. It supports HDR, has face detection autofocus that the company claims will refocus in 0.3 seconds, and has dual noise-canceling microphones.
Important Information
The cable plugs into a USB-3 port on your computer. This is important to note because the USB 3.0 output on your computer is 900 mA. In comparison, USB 2.0 outputs only 500 mA. The S800 draws up to 700 mA when streaming 4K video. If you plug into a USB 2.0 port, you’ll find that streaming is limited to 1080p, which consumes less power.
Use immediately upon opening the box.
The camera worked right out of the box. I plugged it into a USB-3 socket, opened my computer’s camera app, and I was looking back at myself on the screen. I then ran it on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Messenger, Discord, Skype, and OBS, among a few other services, and it worked flawlessly.
The privacy cover is fully functional, but like most webcams it doesn’t mute the microphone. There is a white LED to show the camera is running.
Using Camera and Apps
I recommend installing the Emeet app as it is useful and makes the camera more versatile. Without it, the S800 is just a regular webcam.
First, the app lets you load a bunch of adjustments into the camera, and these will change how your image looks the next time you use it with whatever streaming app you use. It has a bunch of common adjustment settings: Brightness, Exposure Value (EV), Contrast, Saturation, Tint, and White Balance, all adjustable with sliders.
There is a 50Hz and 60Hz anti-flicker setting, as well as a Custom drop-down box that offers a number of filters that change the look of the image. I call them filters rather than presets because they obscure the image adjustment settings, so you can’t adjust them. That’s useful, as I got more pleasing results using the adjustment sliders.
You can also add four different framing grids: Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio, Line of Sight, and Square, and you can also flip the image horizontally or vertically.
The app allows for both auto and manual focus. Digital zoom ranges from 73° at the widest angle down to 40°. When zoomed in, the image is a bit pixelated when viewed at full size on the 21-inch Full HD 1080p display.
The app also allows for a variety of metering modes: center-weighted, global (whole frame), spot, and face metering. These work well. One minor bug in the app is that when you hover over the center-weighted metering icon, a pop-up box tells you what the icon is in German. I have been assured that this will be fixed in a future update.
HDR mode made some difference to the image, bringing out some blown-out details in the window behind me.
The camera focused quickly on me using face detection and similarly, the center focus was responsive. Switching to manual focus, I found the minimum focus distance to be around 4″ (≈10cm), so it should be fine for those streaming close-ups of intricate work.
At a comfortable working distance of around 24″ (≈60cm), I would have liked a shallower depth of field, but with a 4.71mm lens and a ½” sensor, the size typically found in action cameras and drones, the image is sharp and noise-free. I don’t expect the super shallow depth of field I can achieve with Micro Four Thirds cameras when I use them as webcams, but there is enough blur to separate the subject from the background.
Finally, the two built-in microphones deliver clear, loud audio with noise reduction turned on. Oddly enough, turning noise reduction off produces a much quieter recording. Using this for streaming in a room with poor audio, as in the accompanying video, I would use a separate microphone. For Zoom meetings, however, this microphone is more than adequate.
Minor shortcomings of the app
When I first installed the app, there were some minor connectivity issues. However, there was a firmware update available from the app and I installed it. Since then, everything has been running smoothly. If you buy this or any hardware, always install firmware updates.
It would be nice to have a global function to reset each slider by double-clicking on it, but that’s not an option. Also, from a photographer’s perspective, having shadows and highlights along with a mid-tone contrast setting would greatly improve the app’s functionality. Still, the camera can produce good results, and I’m probably expecting too much from a camera that costs a little over $100.
What I like
- Good quality image, less noise compared to other webcams.
- Well made and looks smart.
- The stand hinge is sturdy and helps secure it to the top of the display.
- Good image security feature.
- Nestled neatly at the top of the screen.
- Can be mounted on a tripod.
- Useful functions in the app.
- Can pay.
- Flexible.
- Despite the warning label, the heatsink on the back was only slightly warm to the touch even after an hour of continuous use.
- Reduce single-use plastic.
What could be improved next time?
- This application needs further development to eliminate minor bugs and add more functionality.
- A microphone mute button on the body would be a useful addition.
Conclude
As a webcam, this is a great product. However, as a streaming camera, I feel it was released a little early due to some minor bugs with the software. EMEET was quick to address the bugs when I brought them up. Again, they are minor inconveniences, but finding the bugs is the job of the reviewer. They are not a big deal to me, and I have yet to find any perfect software on the market. Indeed, there are cameras that have been released with much bigger hardware issues.
Would I buy this? Yes, for my purposes it works well. It’s affordable, and while the software isn’t perfect, it’s better than many other cameras in this price range. It’ll do just fine for online presentations and one-on-one webinars. Meanwhile, those who stream their own gaming videos will also find this a good option. As with all streaming cameras, I’d use an external microphone, but the built-in mic is better than the mics on other webcams.
You can buy EMEET Smartcam S800 from Amazon. A variety of other EMEET Webcam available at B&H.
