Toallin Hello Pro 2K review: Confusing models, mediocre performance

Best prices today: Toallin Hello Pro 2K QHD Webcam

$ 53.99

When I bought the Webcam hello pro 2K QHD from Toallin, I did not know if I bought the right one. I don’t think I did it.

Let me explain.

Toallin offers two versions of its Windows 2K Hello webcam on Amazon: the cheaper 2K version, which we recommend, and the version I pass here – I wrongly thought that the most expensive option was the most recent. I also made the mistake of thinking that two webcams with identical names would be the same, even if they seemed slightly different. Even bad!

What I ended up reviewing is a Toallin webcam that I would not recommend because it does a bad job to authenticate you – the entire Windows Hello webcam. As an ordinary webcam, he does a surprisingly good job, less the audio part.

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K QHD Webcam: Design and Construction

Toallin ships his hello pro 2K webcam (at least Amazon) in an ordinary brown box with little ostentation.

Toallin says that the camera only needs a USB 2.0 connection. While the 4.5-foot cable included connects to the webcam using USB-C, the default connection to your laptop is USB-A. Usefully, Toallin also includes a USB-A USB-C Dongle, which effectively makes it a “real” USB-C cable at each end.

Toallin’s webcam is evaluated at “2K”, offering a resolution 2592 × 1944 at 30 Hz. The camera does not exceed 30 Hz in any mode, including 1080p resolutions and lower resolutions. Although you can broadcast a video on YouTube or Twitch to resolutions greater than 1080p, all videoconferencing applications at the time of this review support 1080p or lower resolutions.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Toallin says that the fixed focus camera has an image sensor which measures a third party, with a focal length of 2.88 mm and an AF / 2.2 opening. All in all, the field of vision is 92 degrees, which works well enough for videoconference applications where only your face is in sight. Unfortunately, this webcam does not seem to be compatible with the effects of Windows Studio, which can use PAN and Zoom effects to reconstruct you on your face. To be fair, however, most of the videoconference applications seem to do so automatically.

The Hello Pro webcam has both a small green LED to indicate when the camera is lit, and a separation that lights up when your face is recognized. Toallin also includes two small objectives to see you: an infrared lens illuminates your face, while a separate optical lens is used for video calls. Both can be covered with a sliding shutter of private life mounted on the top of the camera.

Most webcams use what I call a “jaw” construction. The superior “jaw”, on which the camera is mounted, has a long crest or a “tooth” which folds up on your laptop or display. The camera then has an adjustable arm that supports the webcam. I still like webcams that add a small swivel room on the lower jaw that helps cushion and keep the webcam on the back of the screen. Toallin’s webcam has one, which is a little adhesive to start. This is important with a laptop, on which you could frequently move and readjust.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

The webcam support can be folded at a 90 -degree angle to sit flat on your desk or on a shelf. The base also includes the almost omnipresent threaded screw hole for a support or a tripod, although this is not included.

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K QHD Webcam: Performance

I only have to compare the webcam on my own laptop to newcomers like Toallin to see how far we arrived – and it is after the first surface webcams were the most integrated webcams of the pandemic. The quality difference is surprisingly noticeable.

Toallin’s hello pro 2K webcam does not look like a premium camera, although it tries to convince you. Unlike other premium cameras, however, Toallin has not invested in a premium software package or a utility to control the functions of the camera. Everything is manipulated by Windows, and it is not a black brand. You will just have to know to browse the Windows camera settings (Bluetooth and devices> cameras> 2K USB camera) to manage functions such as brightness, contrast, sharpness and saturation.

Toallin claims to provide automatic compensation, and the default image seems surprisingly good. I noticed a little dynamic change in the color after my trip, indicating that the color was also adjusted.

As part of my webcam test methodology for PCworld, I weigh the quality of the image strongly, next to Price. It’s quite obvious. And although you may modify the Windows settings to make adjustments to your specific configuration, I leave it alone. I first test the camera in my basement office, lit by a lamp and my display, then I go to the floor where natural light illuminates my face.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Although Toallin’s webcam has not delivered a perfect image, I think you will agree that it looks pretty good.

Upstairs, I have a side -lit sofa on which I use to take webcam selfies. Here, my face is rude than it should, but otherwise the color seems to be quite precise. The pillows and paintings behind me appear as they should, or quite close. It’s a bit weak, but nothing of a few adjustments to the Windows camera settings could compensate.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Finally, I test the cancellation of the noise, which I record directly via the Sound Recording on the PC application, while playing a rock song as well as white noise via a phone or a speaker that I place behind me and on the side. Some webcams really filter significantly, to the point where the background noise is almost indistinguishable. This is what I like, so that any ambient noise does not distract to whom it is spoken.

The cancellation of the noise of the Toallin Hello Pro 2K is poor. While the sound recorded was significantly lower than the volume behind me, the music and the ambient noise were still distinctly audible. Fortunately, you have an option to use a laptop microphone instead, if it is connected to the webcam itself. But this is a case where the low price of the webcam is unfortunately equaled by its quality.

As for the recognition of Windows Hello? Surprisingly, not great. You expect a minute after saving your face, which the camera will recognize you. And it did, in a way.

I used the camera to make a new capture of my face, using the Windows setting “Improve recognition”. I mounted the camera on my screen, then looked at it directly during the authentication process. It worked. Looking at my screen, slightly far, during authentication? Authentication was not consistent. Windows Hello frequently asked me to go away so that it could recognize me.

Even sit down, cope with the screen and authenticate in this pose has not produced consistent results. I test Windows Hello Webcams over a few days to see how the performance is affected, and that has not improved.

As a webcam, I was very satisfied with the performance of the webcam. As a Windows Hello webcam, you can do better.

It certainly makes me ask me if I tested the “good” camera. This version of the Webcam Toallin Hello Pro 2K was at a price of $ 53 on Amazon and is a fixed focus webcam. The other QHD Toallin 2K webcam – which seems to be otherwise identical – is a price of $ 39.99 and includes autofocus capacities and a tight 84 -degree field of vision.

I think Pcworld bought the bad Toallin webcam!

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K Webcam: Should you buy it?

Accessories manufacturers often exchange a device for another, sending a new design with improved features. As a webcam, it works quite well – at least with regard to imaging. But in terms of audio, and as a Windows Hello webcam, this is not an excellent choice.

The Toallin webcam that we currently recommend as part of our best webcam tour is the “correct”, as far as I can see. I’m just surprised to see such a difference.