Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Lenovo 500 FHD Webcam, 1080p, Teleconferencing Video Camera for Desktop & Laptop PCs, Windows Hello, Digital Zoom, Wide-Angle Tilt/Pan, Privacy Shutter, USB-C, GXC0X89769, Black

Top positive review

Great Windows Hello camera for the price

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021

This is a great webcam that works with Windows Hello. Login via Windows Hello face recognition is very quick. The camera rotates a full 360 degrees and can be mounted on a tripod.
This webcam does not come with a built-in microphone. For the price of the webcam, that should not be a deal breaker. Most webcams in this price range that have a built-in microphone usually poor sound quality anyway. Plus, the webcams with built-in microphones in this price range are not compatible with Windows Hello face recognition.

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Roger Dooley

OK for casual use & Windows Hello

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021

My primary webcam is a Logitech Brio 4K, and this Lenovo unit is definitely no Brio. But, at a fraction of the price, it's fine for less demanding applications that don't need a lot of controls like zoom, white balance, etc. (Or, great picture quality.)

On the plus side, I was able to set up Windows Hello Face on a late-model HP laptop whose internal camera (inexcusably) didn't offer that ability. There is a privacy slider, but it's internal and hence a bit more difficult to see if it's engaged. But, if the camera is your primary login device you probably won't be messing with the privacy feature that often.

One unexpected issue was that the support clip isn't designed for very low profile laptop screens. Even in the fully closed setting, it doesn't grip the lid. Rather , it forms a slot (roughly 1/4") that allows the webcam to perch (insecurely) on top of the lid. Not a major issue if your laptop is stationary all the time or you are using the camera on a tripod or external monitor. But, if you are moving your laptop around (e.g., carrying it to meetings, etc.) the webcam will move or slide off. This lack of a tight grip also means you can only adjust the angle of the webcam by moving the laptop lid forward or backward.

For business conferencing, content creation, streaming, etc., get a better camera. This one is OK for logging into Windows and non-critical Zoom calls.

4 people found this helpful

210 total ratings, 59 with reviews

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From the United States

DcIpHa

Great Windows Hello camera for the price

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

Helpful

Julia X

Unlocks faster with Windows Hello than my built in camera!

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

I've had a Microsoft Surface Go for a few years and got used to the convenience of Hello face unlock - so as I'm about to upgrade to a mini desktop with monitors, I needed an external webcam - but realized I also wanted one that could perform the Windows Hello unlock duties. I was SURPRISED to find only about four or five web cams with ir (infrared) that can handle Windows Hello. A few I ruled out due to poor reviews or low res (720) and/or unknown brands. I tried the lauded Logitech Brio (close to four times the cost) and while the video was great, the Logitech software conflicted with my existing Logitech mouse and made the movement so slow and jumpy it was unusable, so I had to return the Brio.

I hesitated on this Lenovo 500 primarily because it lacked a microphone - but then I realized I've never once joined a Zoom or Teams meeting with my computer or camera audio (due to feedback) - I always used my phone for separate audio, so why would the Lenovo microphone lack be a factor?

When I received the Lenovo, I took it out of the box and plugged it into my dock and did not have to install any software or drivers or change any settings to get it to immediately show up in my camera options for Zoom, Teams, etc.

IMPORTANT WINDOWS HELLO NOTE: There was no menu in the Hello set-up for choosing another webcam other than the built-in laptop camera. In order to switch to the Lenovo Webcam:
> Search in the Start menu for Device Manager
> Expand the Cameras section
> Right click the internal web cam and select "Properties"
> Click "Disable device"
> Restart the laptop
As soon as it started up I saw the Lenovo focusing on me and the screen unlocked without any further ado (that was so easy!).

I'm basically thrilled with this Lenovo web cam, and relieved to know I'll have reliable Zoom/Teams video, and Hello unlock, once I get my new mini desktop set up.

Pros:
* Lenovo is a known and trusted brand (I'm in IT so I'm very security conscious and wary of potential malware that might come with unknown brands' webcams and their access to rest of the computer)
* The swivel head is great for adjusting where the camera points (in contrast to other stationary webcams)
* Image is just as good as the built in Surface Go webcam
* Unlocks the screen with Hello instantly (my Surface Go would sometimes take 5 seconds searching for me, sometimes I'd get a message "could not start the camera").
* Very inexpensive compared to MANY other web cams out there (most of which can't do Windows Hello)

Con:
* No microphone (this may be a factor for some people if they have no computer microphone and don't want to use their phone audio). However, I suspect not having a microphone is one of the reasons Lenovo could keep the costs down.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Commander Keen

Face recognition works in both Windows and Linux

Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

I bought this to use with Windows Hello and in that role it works pretty well. Sometimes it does fail to log me in because I’m too close or too far away from the camera, but on the whole it’s more convenient than typing in my password

As an added bonus, I got facial recognition working on Ubuntu 21.10 using Howdy. It took more setup than Windows Hello but works just as well in letting me login and uses the IR cam to automatically enter my password when ever I run a sudo command

The webcam quality is average. This webcam also does not come with a mic, but that isn’t an issue for me since I have a standalone mic

Overall, I’d recommend this product if you primarily want to use it for Windows Hello (or it’s Linux equivalent, Howdy)

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Slow-pC

Perfect for windows hello

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a simple camera with no fancy microphone or anything like that, but it is just fine for windows hello access. Purchase of this device was for that reason, and that reason alone, and for that ... it works great.

If it was used as a webcam , the picture quality is not up to par and with no microphone, I hope you have another audio source to work with. But for windows hello, 100% worth it for the price.

Helpful

Roger Dooley

OK for casual use & Windows Hello

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Michael Usner

Good value for Windows Hello webcam

Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

I bought this camera primarily to login with Windows Hello because I like the feature. After being shocked the price of other Hello capable cameras, I found the Lenovo 500. Once I plugged in the camera and configured Hello, it worked perfectly.

The camera can clip to your monitor and has a standard threaded brass hole in the bottom to accommodate a tripod or other stand. It also has a privacy shutter (which does block facial recognition in Windows Hello).

* I had no issues with the camera in Windows 10 20H2 (19042) and didn't need to download a driver from Lenovo to make it work.
* Image quality seems good enough for day-to-day usage.

So far, I have nothing bad to say about it.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Olivier Lopez Ch

Best face recognition camera for the price

Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

The video quality could be a little better, but you can't complaint for this price. Windows Hello works perfectly and haven't had any issues with face recognition

Helpful

swblake

First one died after 3 weeks

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

Very nice picture quality, Windows Hello feature *usually* works, but a change in lighting, got your sunglasses on, etc, will throw it off. Still, it usually gets it right. I set it up for both myself and my wife, on two different accounts. I had previously ordered this camera, hooked it up, was working great. Then, inexplicably, it suddenly died after 3 weeks. I presumed it was a fluke, Lenovo is a good name, so I had it replaced. So far, so good. As others have mentioned, it has NO microphone. You'll have to provide your own. I actually prefer it that way, because the audio from most webcams sounds kind of tinny anyhow. I have a CMTech microphone I use, which I also bought on Amazon.

Helpful

Small Forest

Works With Windows Hello

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2022

Verified Purchase

I bought this solely to use with Windows Hello facial recognition and it works fine for me for that purpose - so I'm happy. I cannot offer any comments related to video quality because I have never used it for video calls, etc. My only comment relating to Windows Hello that you might find useful is that it "makes you sit up straight, look right at the camera and don't allow anyone else to come into the camera's view while it's trying to identify you". If you slouch in your chair, it will complain that you are "too far away," and if anyone else walks by at the wrong time, it will simply fail to identify you. Otherwise, great camera

Helpful

Schiff

Good for logging into Windows 10 but that's it

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

I bought this with the idea that I'd be able to use it for logging into Windows via the Hello Face feature, while also upgrading my current 720p webcam to 1080p FHD. It took a long time to figure out how to set it up with Hello Face (which after searching different forums I found that I needed to install is via the Optional Features setting in Windows Software Update) but I finally got that working. Unfortunately, the image quality is horrible and there's no Lenovo software to adjust the image settings, and very few options in the Windows Camera app. Even after adjusting some of the camera settings in GoToMeeting, the image was still very poor. I plugged my $30 Logitech C270 (720p) webcam back in and it was a night and day difference. This was not what I had expected from a Lenovo product and I'm returning the two cameras I bought to Amazon.

One person found this helpful

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