We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; in this new world forever colored and changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for rugged webcams is always on the rise. Whether it’s starting your Twitch career from the comfort of your bedroom or looking your best for your next meeting, all the makers behind them already know it.
Most manufacturers immediately increased webcam development and production, but Razer is now trying to put everyone to shame with one of the most expensive webcams, and perhaps the best. This is the Kiyo Pro Ultra.
Yes, there are “Pro” and “Ultra” in the same name. That’s crazy in itself, but there’s also action behind the words. First off, this is the biggest sensor you’ll find in a webcam anywhere, a 1/1.2″ Starvis 2 sensor that captures primitives at 2.9 microns and can shoot at 4K/30fps in RAW speed delivered, or at 4K/24-bit uncompressed through the f/1.7 aperture, so there’s some serious hardware here.
The unit itself is round and glued to the computer screen a lot. However, there’s a physical aperture, a piece of plastic that sits in front of the sensor when not in use, and the USB-C cable can be removed so you can fiddle with the cable yourself. The clamps are versatile and can be adjusted as needed. It should be said that it weighs 348 grams, which is really nothing, and it requires a little fiddling to get the desired result.
Here is an ad:
The Kiyo Pro Ultra is completely plug and play and even if you don’t have Synapse installed the autofocus, autoexposure and autobalance will be turned on and this will give you the best results when a face is centered in the middle of the frame anyway the 99 % of the time this is the case. However, you can set ISO, shutter speed and other settings through Synapse, as well as turn on face recognition so that when, for example, you place an object in front of the face you want it to focus on, the focus shifts more naturally.
However, with such a large sensor, there is more light to play with, which also means the camera performs much better in worse lighting conditions than the Logitech Brio. Not having 60fps here is annoying, some would say it’s critical, and we can certainly follow that. You can theoretically get it here too, but it requires you to downgrade to 1080p.
Truth be told, though, we’ve never seen focus as good as the Kiyo Pro Ultra. Natural face detection produces a silky-smooth bokeh effect that naturally blurs backgrounds and creates bold layers in shots, but is in sharp focus every time. Frankly, it looks better than anything else you’ll find on the market.
Here is an ad:
There’s also a microphone, but it’s not a direct replacement for a solid microphone. But otherwise, and a ferocious price tag of nearly £300, it’s hard not to recommend the Kiyo Pro Ultra to anyone wanting a solid profile.