Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision-Smart Cam

There's a lot you can do with a good webcam. If you want one to video chat with friends and relatives, then you should look elsewhere. But if you want clear, high-res pictures, high-def video recording, special effects, automatic face tracking and funny avatars that mimic your actions on screen – this is for you.

You can also interpolate the stills up to 4 megapixels, but that's best left untouched. What's nice is that you can use this with any sort of monitor (CRT, LCD or even a laptop) thanks to the flexible rubber grip. Loads of proprietary technology ensures that you have brighter pictures even in low light.

The high-def video mode is useful if you're recording video to save on your own computer, but most video messenger applications currently only support VGA (640 x 480 pixels) and most internet connections won't be able to transmit high-def video smoothly either. Buy it if you desperately need to be future-proof and need something that easily outperforms any webcam you've ever seen.