Product: Microsoft LifeCam Show webcam

Features: It has a 2-megapixel video sensor with a wide-angle lens and takes photos at a 8-megapixel resolution. It has five-times digital zoom, a wide-angle lens, a side button to connect with Windows Live Messenger, and the option to just record audio with the built-in microphone. It works with services like Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger and Skype. Software comes with 79 video effects like facial exaggerations, filters and 3D accessories. Accessories include a hard plastic carring case, desktop stand, laptop clip and stickable attachment discs.

Price: $99.95

Ups: It has a stylish and sleek design that makes it very portable. It attaches magnetically to the stands, which makes it easy to position it anywhere. Video capturing software is very simple to understand and works well -- not to mention that the video effects are just lots of fun, even if they are sort of pointless.

Downs: There were a few glitchy moments where the video effects weren't working when I was in the video resolution of 800 x 600 pixels, or the video would look delayed while it was recording -- but it was only a handful of times, and it could have been my computer's fault. It automatically saves videos in a folder within ''My Pictures'' and there doesn't seem to be the option to change that. Also, it limits what types of changes you can make to the video settings. You can mess with things like brightness, contrast and saturation, but options to change hue or white balance are grayed out and unclickable, which is a strange quirk. If I can't change certain settings, then don't tease me with unclickable boxes!

Bottom line: This is the webcam to get if you are looking for something that takes high-quality video or if you are using it for business trips. If that's not important to you, you could probably save a few bucks and get another type of webcam.

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