List Price: $116.21 Our Price: $69.99 You Save: $46.22 (40%)

Product Description

The Creative Live! Cam Optia AF Webcam with USB 2.0 cable is the easy & powerful Webcam that makes it easy to stay in touch. Take clearer and sharper photos at up to 8 megapixel resolution - Live! View Auto Tuning technology automatically sets the best lighting and brightness levels for you. Revolutionary Noise Cancellation technology and Adaptive Array Microphones reduce unwanted background noise from your video chat, leaving just crystal clear speech. Live! Audio technology that lets you deliver stunning image quality and crystal clear voice. Best of all, you can use this great looking Live! Cam anywhere on any notebooks or computer displays without having to worry about driver installations. Turn your PC into a video phone with SightSpeed - stream photos and videos to Web-enabled devices like laptops, PDAs and mobile phones Works with Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and other compatible IM services Create your own videos easily with muvee autoProducer's video editing technology Parental Control feature

Just when you thought all webcams were created equal, along comes the Creative Live! Cam Optia AF--the first webcam to offer an autofocus lens and a ceiling-busting 2-megapixel resolution. But that's just the start of the technical enhancements, which also include dual microphones with noise cancellation capability, a wide range of visual and audio effects (which you can also create), parental controls, and still image capture up to an interpolated 8 megapixels.

This screenshot was taken with the Apple iSight...

...while this was taken with the Optia AF--notice the deeper shading of colors compared to the iSight.

The Optia AF offers easy plug-and-play operability on either a Windows PC or a Mac--just slide in the USB 2.0 plug, select the camera from your chosen video chatting program (it works seamlessly with Skype, Yahoo!, Windows Live, SightSpeed, and iChat), and you're good to go. The Optia's autofocus feature gets engaged whenever you make movements more pronounced than just moving your head from side to side--the picture mildly blurring for about a second before it adjusts to a crisper focus. We found it best not too move too much, otherwise the picture tended to constantly adjust itself, which was frustrating for our chat partner.

However, our chat pal did notice that the colors from the Optia AF were much richer when compared to a test we did with the Apple iSight (see images at right), and that the flow of video was smoother with the Optia's 30fps (frames per second) capture. He also noted that my voice seemed to come in clearer, thanks to the dual adaptive array microphones.

While the Optia AF works as advertised right out of the box, you'll benefit from installing the Creative software package, which includes the Cam Console from which you can make a wide range of adjustments. (Note that this software is available for Windows users only; it's also Vista-certified.) From the Autofocus section of the console, you can specify a focus area from an Advanced menu that will help cut down on refocusing, or choose to manually focus on one point if you're going to be more stationary.

Add special effects such as crocodile eyes, which will follow your face around the screen.

The Cam Console is also where you can select from a host of special effect add-ons that range from draping a background around you (such as the Eiffel Tower) or adding elf ears or crocodile eyes, which will follow your face as you move. Unfortunately, it seemed we needed a green screen behind us as we could never get the backgrounds to fully form. But we were much more successful with the facial additions and such whole-scale manipulations as half-tone and mirror image.

The included CD-ROM also includes Muvee Autoproducer software, which can help you stitch together a movie from different clips captured from the Optia AF, as well as Orb, which enables you to broadcast your video feed to a Web page that friends and family can check in on. Coupled with the Optia AF's parental controls, the Orb service could be handy for parents who want to remotely check in on what their tykes are up to in another room, or back at home with a babysitter.

Like its predecessor, the Optia AF's stand can sit freely upon a desk or older CRT monitor, and the rubber grips on the bottom help to keep it from slipping. A clip is included on the bottom to stabilize the stand on your laptop's screen or LCD monitor, making the Optia one of the most secure webcams we've used. You can twist the black high-gloss camera body around 270 degrees, and the image automatically flips when it's rotated more than 90 degrees. Adding to its stylish looks is an inner ring that lights up in blue when the camera is turned on. Swiveling the lens so it's pointing down turns the camera off for when you need privacy.

Overall, the Optia AF is a welcome advance to to the world of webcams, thanks to its sharper focus, richer colors, and clearer audio. But it's also chock-full of extras that will add fun to your chats with family and friends. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• 2-megapixel resolution helps improve the tone and depth of colors
• Noise-cancelling dual microphones handy in loud environments like coffee shops
• Plug-and-play operability on both Windows PCs and Macs

Cons:

• Autofocus can overcompensate if you move around too much

Customer Reviews:

• good alternative to the expensive isight
  yeah. it works. but it doesnt look great.
  cheaper than the Apple iSight - Web camera - color - audio - FireWire...more info
• good alternative to the expensive isight
  yeah. it works. but it doesnt look great.
  cheaper than the Apple iSight - Web camera - color - audio - FireWire...more info
• So So
  The camera itself isn't too bad but the supplied software has "issues". If I am doing a Skype video call and start playing with the audio FX, sooner or later my system will freeze and have to be powered cycled.
  
  Also the video FX background replacement just doesn't work very well. I really wanted that.
  
  The animated avitars are pretty lame and unresponsive. The marketing information makes it all look quite a bit better than the reality of the product, at least at the current software levels....more info
• Works with OSX, works better with Vista
  I've had this cam for about a week now, and at first I had a few troubles with Vista, this was because I used the disk that came with it. My best advice to you is to download all the current software and drivers from Creative first, and follow the instructions. At this time the only complaint I have about this item is when I use it with Vista, the image may appear to be to dark when the cam is activated (this is easily corrected by changing Hz from 60 to 50 and back to 60 in advanced settings, then clicking apply).
  
  I spoke with several Creative customer reps and currently there is no support for Mac OSX, but don't let this hinder your purchase of this item, it will work right out of the box, almost as well as it does in Vista 64-bit and 32-bit, it just lacks the software. The software available to Windows users is great, I especially like the facial recognition logon, trust me you will be impressed. I only had to have the users log on normally, and do the setup, from that point on, users only had to look at the camera to log on, no more passwords.
  
  I only had regrets about my purchase when I used the included software, other than that it was an excellent purchase. Just remember to download the current software for Windows, and tweak the camera to your liking. It works great with my instant messengers like Yahoo! and MSN, but only one application can have access to the cam at anytime. Macs don't require any software to work.
  
  Good Hunting!...more info
• Not sure yet.
  So far I haven't been able to get this thing to work. The CD is not helping and it doesn't attach securely to my computer. I am giving it a 3 star review because most of the difficulties probably have to do with me being techno-challenged, but I'm not very hopeful at this point. If you're a computer geek you most likely won't have my problems....more info
• Creative Live! Cam Optia AF (VF0280)
  This camera only works with bundled applications and a few others like AOL IM, etc... and barely at that. Even when using Creative's bundled software, switching between modes (video mode, picture mode, etc), the software locks up and forces you to restart.
  
  IF you use another IM client, like Trillian, forget about it. And using it as an imaging device for other software like Photoshop, Paint.net, etc - double forget it.
  
  The camera turns off whenever you are not using one of the bundled apps. Other applications can see the camera is installed, but since it automatically turns itself off (with no manual way to turn it back on), you can forget about using it to grab snapshots for editing.
  
  Customer support? Horrible. They ask you to do the same things any novice would even know to do - download the latest drivers, re-install, etc etc... none of which work.
  
  I returned mine after 3 days, got the Logitech 9000 instead and am VERY happy I did so. These 2 cameras are approximately the same price - but look at the actual customers ratings... Logitech mainly has nothing but praise, while you can see the comments on this one. Check Newegg's reviews; this one barely gets 2 stars there and you know most of Newegg's customers are the tech-y type.
  
  To sum it up - this sucks (like all other Creative cams), has driver issues (like all other Creative cams), and horrible customer support (like everything else Creative - just check their company support forums - you'll see it's filled with unanswered complaints & questions).
  
  [...] Trust me, You'll thank me later.
  ...more info
• Don't buy this camera
  Focus is medicore at best, supplied software didn't install properly on Vista (had to go to website for updates), video quality is poor, and the promised 30 fps rate is a myth. I've had numerous webcams over the past 5 years on multiple computers...this one is one of the worst!...more info
• Excellent product
  The Creative Live! Cam Opia AF camera is easy to install and delivers a sharp, clear picture. We are very happy with our choice and recommend it without reservation. ...more info
• I plugged it in and pictures did indeed come out!
  it doesn't work so well in conjunction with a mac pro. I bought this webcam back in march 08, and so far have been totally disappointed with its performance. the picture is grainy at best and all broken up at worst. sound appears to echo when used, I've often had to cut short video calls due to problems with the sound.
  I've since replaced this with the logitech 9000 pro, which at $20 less i consider a complete bargain. so far the 9000 pro provides a much crisper image ( i have yet to try the sound out)....more info
• Trial & Error
  My reasons for selecting this camera were because of the time lapse and motion detection features. I wasn't particularly interested in using it as a web cam. On the third or fourth try I finally got the time lapse mode to perform but could not see any way to change the interval from the default period of 30 seconds. My major complaint with this product is the total lack of an instruction manual with any useful information content at all. So you are stuck trying to figure it out by trial and error. Apparently the manufacturers approach is "you bought it, you figure it out". I plan to return it for a refund. ...more info
• Works great with a Mac
  I bought this to work with a Mac Mini and it does so at an affordable price....more info
• Optia AF 2.0: Not for live meeting
  Although the video quality is great with this camera, there are some driver problems that lead me to give it only a 3 star rating. The camera is advertised as working with Vista. I installed it under 32-bit Vista Enterprise with SP-1. The camera appeared to work great until I tried to use it with Live Meeting or Office Communicator.
  
  The problem centers on the built-in microphones, or their driver. The microphones use the USB bus. They automatically find and use the Microsoft generic USB audio driver when the camera is plugged in. Because this device is not of the type "Microphone" it does not show up in most programs that are looking for "Microphones," including Live Meeting and Communicator. There is a "Virtual Microphone" device that does show up; but, the driver does not route the audio signal to this device. So, what it boils down to is that the built-in, noise-cancelling, stereo microphones are useless with most software.
  
  In order to use this camera as I intended, I had to purchase a headset to use for audio.
  
  Which brings me to Creative Support. I exchanged a long series of e-mails trying to explain the problem to Support. They seemed utterly un-interested in actually solving the problem. Instead they kept pointing me to existing web resources that pertained mainly to XP or other operating systems. They ignored my repeated pleas to refer the problem to their software development team and kept trying to shift the responsibility of diagnosing and fixing the problem back to me. The responses were also painfully slow, with approximately 24 hours elapsing between each. Finally, they stopped answering my e-mails.
  
  I recommend that anyone using Vista and looking for a camera and microphone to use with Live Meeting or Communicator look elsewhere. Some of my colleagues seem pleased with the Logitech camera....more info