If a year of confusing video calls made you want to update your PC’s webcam, Razer has just announced a new premium USB3 model with all the features you could ask for. Called the Kiyo Pro, this webcam has an adaptive light sensor to keep it running at high resolutions and frame rates, even in low light conditions, and combines a large 1 / 2.8 CMOS sensor with Stravis backlit pixel technology from Sony to provide 1080p 60fps uncompressed video, as well as 1080p 30fps video with HDR. It also has a wide-angle lens, offering a variety of FOV options, as well as several mounting options so you can place it on the monitor or use it with a tripod.
The choice of the CMOS sensor is quite unusual for a gaming webcam. You normally only see them on digital cameras and the like, but the larger lens has some important benefits. It allows more light to enter, for a start, leading to a sharper and more defined image, and combining it with Sony’s Stravis technology (which is often used in surveillance cameras thanks to its ability to capture visible and almost light regions of light) infrared) should mean you still get smooth, sharp video images, even if your room lighting is a little dark and gloomy, or if you’re a streamer in training and don’t want to spend a lot on expensive lights. The glass front, in turn, is made of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, making it extra resistant to bumps and scratches.
The Kiyo Pro is capable of producing uncompressed 1920×1080 video at 60fps, putting it there with the best webcams like Logitech’s Streamcam, but I’m particularly intrigued by its integrated HDR feature. This only captures at 30fps, to be sure, but Razer says it can also correct areas under or overexposed on the fly, which eliminates the annoying silhouette problem if your light source is behind you. It also produces more vibrant colors and uniform lighting, which I can’t help feeling that it was designed exclusively with the idea of ensuring that your PC’s RGB lighting bits and bobs can be displayed in all their rainbow glory without fading. lose or burst on the camera. Who could say?
You can also choose from three different fields of view, depending on how many people you need to fit in front of the Kiyo Pro: 80 degrees, 90 degrees or 103 degrees. Razer says the latter was designed for group calls, while the tighter 80-degree FOV is aimed at normal single-person photos. It even has an integrated omnidirectional microphone so you can also pick up voices from many different angles.
Sure, at £ 200 / $ 200, it’s very expensive, but with several high-end gaming webcams, like the Logitech C922 Pro HD, still hard to find, the Razer Kiyo Pro may be the right choice if you’re behind de – all webcam for games and chats with zoom. It is already available at Razer’s Store and will be available before the end of March in other stores.