Ever since the beginning of the international lockdown, several products have become difficult or impossible to find. One of the most high-profile products that are in short supply is webcams. The most sought after webcams are the Logitech c920 and the Razer Kiyo. Because they are the top-rated webcams, they were the first to disappear. Other manufacturers have made webcams in the past, but a whole new crop of companies have entered the fray in this hour of need.
Some of the companies make a high-quality product. Among these rising-star manufacturers is Ausdom. Better known for low-cost headphones, the company's webcams are quickly making their way onto best webcam lists. The top model is the Ausdom AF640, with the Ausdom AW615 right behind. But Ausdom is not the only company to creep onto the list, there is also the strangely named Papalook. While the Papalook PA452 may look sci-fi, it still does a great job for streams and conference calls.
Papalook is far from the strangest named webcam available, however. Amazon is filled with small brands with some bizarre names, and that tradition has carried over to the webcam industry. Sometimes the letters themselves look funny, while others are pronounced oddly. For example, Aoozi sounds more like a weapon than a webcam. However, its price could make it attractive at only $40, plus a 5% coupon. User reviews also look good on the platform, but we have no official knowledge. There's also DEPSTECH, which seems to have been created with a random letter generator. With a sale price of $30 and great user reviews, it might also be an option.
Your best bets will always be the top-rated products if you can get them, but at least we have a wide array of options in the current webcam drought.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.
