Technologies

Best Webcams From 1080p to 4K for 2023

Low-res 720p (sometimes even 1080p) webcams just don’t cut it anymore. These top 1080p and 4K webcams are perfect for meetings, videoconferencing, streaming and more.

Webcams are no longer only used by business professionals and streamers. Almost everyone has a use for one. Most laptops have built-in webcams, though the camera quality can be poor. If you want to look good at work, at school or at play, a high-quality camera can be a necessity. And there are a ton of great webcam choices for every budget.

It’s not that difficult to find a decent external webcam model: Market-leader Logitech makes many of the most popular name-brand models on the market — notably the $60 C920x and basic, education-focused $25 C270 — and you probably won’t go wrong picking one that falls within your budget. Once you venture beyond known brands, you can get lost in a sea of commodity models.

Improving your environment with good lighting or a better angle can frequently enhance the quality of your webcam video more than upgrading the camera itself. Keep in mind, however, that even then the best webcam won’t necessarily deliver great video and audio quality on the other end — that can depend upon the consistency and quality of your network connection.

It depends upon your software as well — especially videoconferencing software, which tends to aggressively process the video for smoother and more consistent transmission over the network rather than looking good.

I’m continually testing new models, and here are my suggestions for the best webcam for your needs and budget. I’ll update this list regularly with more advice and picks as I test them, so stay tuned. And for more advice, scroll down below our recommendations — and check out all the best webcam deals here.

Former favorites

These previous top picks have lost out to newer, shinier models, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still recommendable.

Other notable webcams I’ve tested

Which webcam specs are important?

You don’t need to worry about getting overcome by specifications. Frame rate (30 or 60 frames per second), resolution (720p, 1080p or 4K) and microphone (mono or stereo) are about it. That doesn’t mean they don’t really differ. Some are better than others in less tangible ways, such as how well the automatic exposure, white balance or focus works. Those tend to be what differentiate the just-OK cheaper webcams from better, more expensive ones with higher resolution or faster frame rates.

If you have nothing now, then anything’s a step up. Most affordable laptops tend to still offer 720p webcams, though that’s changing rapidly, while most of the stand-alone webcam models on the market are 1080p (aka FHD). The latter usually has video quality that looks much better than the former, since the greater number of pixels makes your image look sharper for your video calls, video conferencing and live streaming. And because you can put a webcam on a tabletop tripod or perch it higher than the built-in webcam on a laptop, you can bring it closer to eye level which is much more flattering than the from-below-view most laptop webcams deliver.

Though it’s tempting to dismiss 4K models as unnecessary, they are better — you look much better zoomed in, for one thing, and even when 4K is scaled to 1080p, it can look sharper than a basic 1080p webcam. Keep in mind that you’re still at the mercy of your meeting software, which can take a good image and make it look…less good…by compressing the hell out of it for transmitting across the software’s low-bandwidth pipeline.

One thing to consider when buying a webcam for a Mac is that there are no controls built into the operating system. If you want to adjust exposure, zoom, white balance — anything really — then the support needs to be built into the specific application or into a utility that comes with the camera. Unfortunately, few manufacturers offer MacOS-compatible utilities; the Elgato FaceCam is a notable exception.

If you need to zoom in to better frame yourself without looking soft, crunchy or blocky or to demonstrate physical objects, think about jumping to 4K. You can also use your phone or a DSLR camera (if you have one) as a makeshift webcam with an app or utility from the camera manufacturer. The software which allows you to use a digital camera as a webcam frequently caps the resolution at 1,920×1,080, but you may get better zoom results than from a webcam.

More for people working from home

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, June 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough, but 1-Across might make you think of the sky, and that’s not the direction you need to go. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Org. with shooting stars
Answer: NBA

4A clue: Buildings with weather vanes, stereotypically
Answer: BARNS

6A clue: Swiss watch brand
Answer: OMEGA

7A clue: What Santa, Gandalf and Dumbledore each have
Answer: BEARD

8A clue: Pie in the ___
Answer: SKY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «I’m bad with ___» (party excuse)
Answer: NAMES

2D clue: Start of a billiards game
Answer: BREAK

3D clue: Seeing red
Answer: ANGRY

4D clue: Timothée’s role in «A Complete Unknown»
Answer: BOB

5D clue: Feeling blue
Answer: SAD

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 8, #258

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 258, for June 8.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition isn’t too tough, but let’s hope you know the résumé of a certain NBA player to get the blue group. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Let’s go at it.

Green group hint: Signal-callers.

Blue group hint: Hoops star’s teams.

Purple group hint: Great barbecue town.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Competition.

Green group: Names of NFL QBs.

Blue group: Teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for.

Purple group: Kansas City ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is competition. The four answers are bout, contest, event and match.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is names of NFL QBs. The four answers are Baker, Bo, Dak and Tua.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for. The four answers are Iowa State, Kings, Pacers and USA.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Kansas City ____. The four answers are Chiefs, Current, Monarchs and Royals.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #728

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 8, #728.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tricky. The purple category is one of those «sounds like» groups, that can be really tough to figure out. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep at it.

Green group hint: Think Wall Street animals.

Blue group hint: Online encyclopedia subheads.

Purple group hint: $$$.