Only ten products were selected for PCMag's Beautiful Objects for an Organized Workspace story, and Logitech's $499.99 ConferenceCam Connect was one of them. This is almost certainly the slickest-looking conference camera we've ever seen. Its cylindrical body comes in either silver or red, with a snap-in compartment for the remote. Its tidy design makes it portable, and it can run on battery power, making it a good choice for business users on the go. It doesn't quite match our Editors' Choice, AVer VC520 Conference Camera , in terms of audio and video quality, but it only costs half the price.

Starting Up and Conferencing

There's hardly anything to connect when setting up the ConferenceCam ($499.95 at Amazon) . It's just a single unit, along with a remote control that snaps into the camera tower, a USB connector, and a power adapter in the box. The camera itself measures 11.98 by 2.95 by 2.95 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.7 pounds, making it easy to pack in your luggage. Part of the ConferenceCam's super-slick design is the remote, which magnetically lodges into the main device tube. At first I dropped the remote trying to pry it out of the main unit, but then I found that a push to the side got it sliding comfortably into my palm. 

To get started, plug the ConferenceCam in for an initial charging, after which it can run on battery power for up to three hours. Once fully charged, hold down the power button to turn it on, then press a mode button on the tip of the cylinder. Your choices include Bluetooth, wireless screen mirroring, and video conferencing through USB. To use video conferencing mode, you need to connect the tower to your PC's USB port (the unit supports Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Mac OS X 10.7 or later). When I plugged it into a laptop running Windows 10, the driver was found and installed automatically. I was then able to use the device in a Skype conference call by selecting ConferenceCam in the program's audio and video setup menus.

Participants in my test conferences were generally pleased with the image quality from the device's 3-megapixel, 90-degree camera, and with the sound quality from its dual omnidirectional mics, though both video and audio quality were somewhat less satisfying than that of the significantly more expensive AVer VC520. In particular, the AVer's optical zoom and physical lens panning were more impressive (the ConferenceCam's pan buttons only work after you've zoomed in digitally). The camera autofocuses based on face detection, which is pretty cool.

Both the AVer and Logitech cameras had trouble with backlit subjects, which appeared as silhouettes. The ConferenceCam's digital zoom was no match for the AVer's optical one, however, which could fix the lighting issue by zooming into a face. 

Bluetooth and Screen Mirroring
To use the device as a Bluetooth speaker, simply hold down the Bluetooth button at the top and then choose it on the device you wish to connect. The sound quality from the speaker is nothing to write home about (I prefer the sound from my Bem Wireless Mojo ($69.99 at Amazon) ), but the ConferenceCam is certainly better than most phone or laptop speakers. And the ability to connect a phone by Bluetooth differs from the AVer VC520's need for a direct wire connection with a headphone jack.

You can also use the ConferenceCam to display a mobile device screen on a connected HDTV. I like that the unit sports a full-size HDMI port—no adapter required. But there's a big hole in the screen mirroring functionality: You can't mirror iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, because they use AirPlay instead of the open MiraCast specification supported by Android and Windows phones.

That said, while a Samsung Galaxy S6 ($114.94 at Amazon)  had no trouble connecting to the ConferenceCam as a Bluetooth speakerphone with a simple NFC tap to the back of the cylinder, it refused to complete the screen mirroring process. When I tested mirroring with a Lumia Icon  running Windows 10 Technical Preview, everything went swimmingly and video quality was good.

Conclusions

If portability and a slick design top your list of needs in a conferencing device, then Logitech's attractive, battery-operated ConferenceCam Connect is hard to beat. It has a great design, and features perfectly acceptable video and sound quality. But if image and sound quality, as well as the ability to extend conferencing to mobile devices and multiple speaker units, are paramount, you should check out the AVer VC520. It's twice the price of the ConferenceCam, but it contributes to a noticeable leap in quality on conference calls, making it out Editors' Choice.

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Further Reading

• How to Use Your Canon DSLR as a Webcam
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• China: Stop Blaming Our Companies for Major DDoS Attack