Verdict

The Logitech Brio 100 is a decent budget webcam. It’s got a solid and compact chassis that looks good, while its software adds some useful functions. The 1080p/30fps is good in a variety of light environments, although it can be grainy in lower light conditions. Just watch out for its slightly thin-sounding microphone.

Introduction

The Logitech Brio 100 isn’t a flashy or extravagant webcam. Instead, it’s the Swiss brand’s most affordable option in a series of releases that has refreshed their webcam lineup over the last few months.

It was released after Logitech had covered higher-tier options with the likes of the Brio 300 and Brio 500 in previous months, making the Brio 100 one of the more affordable choices within Logitech’s catalogue.

It’s good a good spec sheet and some compelling features for the price, but is it one of the best webcams out there? Read on to find out.

Design and Features

• Familiar, oval design
• Sturdy mounting clip
• Useful additional software

As opposed to offering more of a left-field shape or design like its more expensive brothers, the Brio 100 borrows looks from another one of Logitech’s value hero webcams of years gone by, the C505 HD. It features the same oval-shaped front as the C505 HD and even the same two-tone grey colourway. Put the two side by side, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a difference between them.

Take a closer look, though, and you’ll find that there are some slight differences. The Logitech logo is removed from the main chassis of the Brio 100, and it’s now on a small webcam cover that clips over the frontage. The lettering denoting the 720p output has been changed to reflect the fact that the Brio 100 can record at 1080p.

Otherwise, it’s a compact shell that’ll fit well on a variety of different devices, including laptops and monitors. I had no trouble attaching the Brio 100 to either my main 27-inch monitor nor my 16-inch MacBook Pro. The integrated stand for attaching it to the top of screens is secure and folds away nicely when not being used. Unfortunately, it isn’t detachable, and there is no threading for tripod mounting if you don’t want to use the Brio 100’s clip.

The Brio 100 is plug-and-play, which is always handy, and its USB-A plug ensures compatibility with a wide range of devices. There is some additional software which can be downloaded in the form of Logitech’s excellent Options+ suite. It’s wowed me in the past when paired with some of the brand’s top brass in terms of keyboards and mice, and offers reasonable customisation with the Brio 100.

There isn’t a live view of the camera’s output, unlike with some of Logitech’s more premium options, but it does at least provide the chance to fiddle with the brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness settings, as well as to enable features such as Auto White Balance, Auto Exposure and Low Light Compensation. These genuinely make a difference in less-than-well-lit environments and provide a helping hand to make the Brio 100 a solid performer.

The Brio 100 in this Graphite colourway is also mostly comprised of PCR plastics – 77% to be precise – which is nice to see. Its packaging, according to Logitech also FSC-certified, although it was a surprise to find the front of the Brio 100 wrapped in plastic.

Performance and Video Quality

• Decent video quality
• Tight FOV
• Reasonably clear microphone

Much like the Brio 300, Logitech’s entry-level Brio webcam outputs at 1080p/30fps. This is especially nice to see, given the tendency for more basic and cheaper webcams to stick with the equivalent of the HD-ready resolution of 720p. The Brio 100’s output in well-lit environments is solid for the price point with good colours and contrast, as well as excellent auto-light balancing. In some instances, however, it didn’t deal with light shining in from my bedroom window that well, leading some images to look a tad overexposed.

Low light performance is reasonable too, and while images were a tad grainy in places, the Brio 100 does a solid job of countering the lower light. The bothersome thing regardless of the lighting environment though is this webcam’s tighter 58-degree FOV. At times, it almost felt too tight, as I had to adjust myself to fit in the frame, and it is a fixed FOV too, meaning you can’t change it in any software.

On a brighter note, the omnidirectional microphone present on the Brio 100 offers solid pickup and clarity at its price point. It is a little thin-sounding, as is typical for more affordable webcam mics, but for the job of video conferencing, it’s perfectly serviceable. Friends I spoke to over Discord have little complaints about it, as did I in my testing.

Latest deals