Great all-in-one webcam speaker solution for home/office work-from-home video conferencing! The  SmartCam C980 PRO webcam is tailored made for those who do not have computer speakers or want to upgrade their laptop webcam with a 90 degree wide angle lens for conference rooms.

The SmartCam C980 PRO webcam is a single-piece unit, meaning it has no detachable parts. It integrates a hinged clamshell base, which allows the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam to be tilted up to 180 degrees. 

 

The clamshell base is dual purpose. It is designed to act as an anchor clutching the top edge of the computer monitor. The clamshell base also integrates a small plastic lip, which helps anchor the front end of the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam.


The clamshell base has a wide surface area (5cm deep x 4cm wide) to easily stand the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam on top of a desk. The clamshell base is rubberized on both sides and integrates a gold-plated 1/4 inch 20 female thread so, you can attach the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam onto a tripod.

 

On the back of the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam, there is a non-detachable rubber cable (1.9 meters) attached to a USB-A connector, as well as a small loophole with a removable fabric lanyard with a plastic protective disc attached to it to cover the lens. 

On the front of the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam, you find a fixed focus lens (up to 1080p/30 fps max resolution), led ring lights, an array of four omnidirectional noise cancelling microphones (above the lens) and stereo speakers (located on either side of the lens). The camera is powered by a 1/2.7" CMOS sensor (2.07 megapixels).The microphone audio quality is very good - clear, detailed and natural sounding. The noise cancellation performance is good too. It doesn't block external noises entirely but the noise filtering is able to suppress a loud background (check out the video below for a mic test).

 

The speakers are concealed by a plastic grille mesh and have a total RMS output of 1 watt, which doesn't sound like a lot and, it isn't compared to a regular bluetooth speaker. That said, you will be pleasantly surprised at the amount of volume you can get out of the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam and with decent audio quality too (check out the video volume test). The bass response is very minimal, although this isn't surprising considering the small size of the webcam.

The SmartCam C980 PRO webcam measures 15cm long, 2.5cm deep (without the clamshell base) and 4cm high and weighs 230 grams so, it's about as lightweight as a smartphone. The SmartCam C980 PRO is plug and play. 

 

Simply plug it into a USB port of a computer and the driver software automatically installs. The SmartCam C980 PRO supports old and newer Windows computers (e.g. Win 7 and Win 10) and Mac computers (MacOS 10.4 or later).

 

The SmartCam C980 PRO webcam is worth the investment if you want a plug-and-play solution that you can quickly setup and reset by unplugging the cable. Once setup, you can can forget about it making it the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam more convenient to use. 

 

That said, if you already own a mirrorless/DSLR camera or smartphone it may work out cheaper to use as a webcam. You can use a USB HDMI video capture and turn a mirrorless camera into a webcam. You can also use your phone's selfie camera and microphone as a webcam and use services like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, which have Android and iPhone apps available. There are also third party webcam apps (e.g. DroidCam) that you can use.

If you own a laptop too, you may find that the SmartCam C980 PRO webcam has better video/audio quality than your laptop's internal webcam. The SmartCam C980 PRO webcam comes with a velcro strap, and an eMeet-branded PU leather drawstring pouch, which is thinly padded and internally lined with cloth fabric material. A user guide is also included and worth reading as it's very detailed. It shows how to setup the webcam with a Windows and Mac machine and also includes a troubleshooting section. 

 

You can buy the SmartCam C980 PRO from amazon. There is also a second version of this webcam called "SmartCam C980" which are virtually the same with the only difference being the SmartCam C980 doesn't come with built-in speakers. Check out the review of the eMeet Luna speakerphone.