Logitech’s MX Brio webcam has transformed my virtual team meetings

Are you still using your laptop’s basic built-in webcam for video calls? Then you’ve probably not had to give much thought to your working from home setup. Because even if you can find an angle where the lens isn’t pointed directly up your nostrils, the low-res sensor is probably making you look more mushy than model employee. I had the opposite problem once I mounted Logitech’s new MX Brio webcam over my monitor.

This 4K capable all-seeing eye has such a wide field of view and high resolution image that I’ve had to start tidying my desk before joining team meetings. My colleagues are suddenly able to tell if I didn’t get a good sleep the night before, because they can see the bags under my eyes. If that’s not an indicator of image quality, I don’t know what is.

That’s largely down to the 8.5MP sensor having 70% larger pixels than the outgoing Brio 4K, letting in loads more light and producing a pin-sharp image. There’s even some AI-assisted image processing going on behind the scenes to account for low light and make faces more visible. So don’t think you can get away with rolling out of bed and into your home office any more.

The two beamforming microphones are precise enough to pick up whispered moans about co-workers, so be careful what you say when not on mute.

I love the mounting bracket, which holds the camera in place with a magnet for fuss-free rotating. It tilts up and down, and can be balanced in place without having to use the pre-applied 3M sticky pad – handy if you move between desktop and laptop as much as I do. The magnets are also strong enough that the camera barely moves a millimetre when adjusting the twist-to-close privacy shutter.

The MX Brio camera itself is satisfyingly small, and light enough to perch on a laptop lid with no issues. You can get one in Graphite or Pale Grey colours – I tested the Graphite version, which is a very close match for the Space Grey Apple MacBook Pro.

Everything was plug and play on my work MacBook, and the USB-C cable was long enough to snake over to my desktop PC whenever I fancied a spot of live streaming. It works perfectly with Logitech’s Logi Options+, Logi Tune, and G Hub software for tweaking things like exposure, colour tint and vibrance, or field of view.

It joins the MX Master 3S mouse and MX Mechanical keyboard in Logitech’s professional-grade peripheral line-up, and as such carries a professional-grade price. The MX Brio is on sale right now, directly from the Logitech web shop, for £220.

• Related: the top webcams for streaming and calling – tested