Kensington Professional Video Conferencing Solution
Kensington's Professional Video Conferencing Solution is a nice turnkey option for those who need a complete system to connect to co-workers, clients, and even family. The newest camera in the Kensington webcam family is a fixed-focus camera that has a fantastic video signal. When you add on the ring light and mounting products, it's a full system.
- DESIGN
- EASE OF USE
- PRICE
A great system for video conferencing — from any location.
Working from home has its ups and downs. I’ve been working exclusively from home now for nearly two years and while my team has very few problems connecting, there are others that struggle with having the right equipment for the job. One of my favorite technology companies – Kensington – just came out with a complete kit for video conferencing that makes it super easy to make sure you are seen and heard around the world.
About Kensington’s Video Conferencing Solution
This past week, Kensington announced the release of their Professional Video Conferencing Solution. It’s a unified, plug-and-play video conferencing experience that helps users customize and optimize their video presence when they are connecting with their teammates remotely.
The system includes a webcam (W1050 1080p Fixed Focus Wide Angle Webcam, W2000 1080p Auto Focus Webcam, or W2050 Pro 1080p Auto Focus Webcam), the L1000 Bicolor Ring Light with Webcam Mount, and a mounting option (A1000 Telescoping C- Clamp, A1010 Telescoping Desk Stand, or A1020 Boom Arm).
The element that brings it all together is the Kensington Konnect application. This software is designed to help you produce the best video output for your conferencing needs. It’s meant for everyday users but has professional settings included. The camera can be used without it, but Kensington Konnect enhances the experience.
Features (for the system I selected)
W1050 1080p Webcam
- Optimized Video Technology: 1080p (1920×1080/30fps)—with improved low light performance.
- Fixed Focus with Versatile Positioning: Ensures you are always in focus and manually adjusts up to 37° vertically and 360° horizontally.
- Wide Video Frame with Privacy Cover: 95° diagonal field of view and an integrated lens cover.
- Simple & Powerful Kensington Konnect Software: Customize your video settings with the click of a button.
- Omnidirectional Stereo Microphones: Noise-reduction technology ensures you sound professional in every meeting and presentation.
- Wipe Down Protection: Meets MIL-STD-810H Method 504.3 Contamination by Fluids with disinfectants with no degradation.* *No visual degradation or inability to use as directed upon test completion
- Industry Leading Warranty: Trusted reliability with a 2-year warranty.
L1000 Bicolor Ring Light with Webcam Mount
- Optimized Office Lighting: Distributes light evenly and eliminates harsh face shadows.
- Adjustable Color Temperature: Select the best light color for you (cool, natural or warm).
- Push Button Controls: Easily change lighting levels at the touch of a button.
- USB-A Powered: No outlet required—simply attach to any open USB-A port (5V/2.0A).
- Center-Ring Webcam Mount*: Perfect light distribution—even if you change the angle of your webcam. *Stand sold separately
- Flexible Positioning: Easily accommodate the best camera angles (360° horizontal; 200° vertical).
- Wipe Down Protection: Meets MIL-STD-810H Method 504.3 Contamination by Fluids with disinfectants with no degradation.* *No visual degradation or inability to use as directed upon test completion
- Industry Leading Warranty: A 2-year warranty is included.
A1020 Boom Arm
- Built for Video Conferencing: Accommodates microphones, webcams, and lights.
- Easily adjusts: Three friction hinges allow you to position the boom arm exactly how you need it.
- 360° Swivel Base: Easily rotate the entire boom arm.
- Professional Grade Mounting Options: Ensures a stable experience for any connected accessories. Includes hardware to support both c-clamp and through-hole fixed mounting.
- Cable Management Channel: Keeps your workspace organized.
- Wipe Down Protection: Meets MIL-STD-810H Method 504.3 Contamination by Fluids with disinfectants with no degradation.* *No visual degradation or inability to use as directed upon test completion
- Industry Leading Warranty: A 2-year warranty is included.
Pricing & Availability
This solution is designed to be turnkey and the user can customize their setup with the pieces they think will work best for them. These can be ordered through Kensington or through one of their authorized retailers.
Webcam
- W1050 1080p Fixed Focus Wide Angle Webcam $49.99
- W2000 1080p Auto Focus Webcam $59.99
- W2050 Pro 1080p Auto Focus Webcam $89.99
Lighting
- L1000 Bicolor Ring Light with Webcam Mount $39.99
Mount
- A1010 Telescoping Desk Stand $29.99
- A1000 Telescoping C- Clamp $44.99
- A1020 Boom Arm $89.99
Software
- Kensington Konnect FREE
User Experience
Since I’ve been working from home, my video conferencing system has been composed of a webcam and a set of headphones. I have the lighting set up in my office so that I don’t necessarily need a direct light on my face. I have a 34-inch monitor that provides a lot of light on its own as long as I have white pages up on my screen. That said, I do like having access to a ring light. Since the Kensington system is designed for you to pick and choose the pieces that make the most sense for you, let me outline my set-up.
- W1050 1080p Fixed Focus Wide Angle Webcam
- A1020 Boom Arm
- Ring Light (as needed)
I want to point out that with the boom arm, it becomes a challenge to use the ring light. The ring light’s mount is designed for use with the desk stand or c-clamp more than it is with the boom arm. There was an occasion when I placed it on a smartphone mini tripod and set it on my desktop. That worked really well and it might be good for Kensington to look for that as an add-on specifically for the ring light.
As I said, I have a 34-inch monitor as the main ‘window’ for my computer setup, and for a long time, I’ve had whatever webcam perched on top of the monitor. Because the monitor is curved, it’s not really designed to hold a webcam like that and it was always a precarious solution at best. In fact, the webcam was more ‘balanced’ than mounted there.
So, adding the boom arm in made a lot of sense for me. The arm is similar in style to the Blue Microphone Compass Boom Arm. It’s very sturdy and locks into place nicely. I clamped it onto my desk so that the arm actually sits behind my monitor. This is great because the cable for the webcam and the camera itself are both out of the way. The camera sits above my monitor so it’s a little hight than it has been in the past but it works for my purposes really well. The only wish I had was that the cable for the web camera was longer.
I was able to start using the camera directly out of the box without any special setup. Kensington’s Konnect software is a great add-on, but it’s not essential in order to use the webcam. As soon as I had it connected via USB, my system recognized it in QuickTime, ScreenFlow, Zoom, and a few other apps as a camera that was available for recording.
In the past two years, I’ve used two main webcams – the Jabra PanaCast and the Logitech HD Pro C920. Even though the PanaCast is capable of 4K video, I thought the video quality of the W1050 was much better. It does a really good job of creating a clear picture for the user and when used in conferencing circumstances, I saw a huge difference between my video feed and the others on the call. The W1050 is a really nice camera and it’s very affordable.
One of the features that I really like about it is that it is ‘fixed focus’ which means that it’s not going to shift on you even if you move around. When you are creating content, you want to have more control over focus, but on a conference call, you want to deal with as little as possible. So, having the focus fixed is a great feature in my opinion.
Konnect is mostly intuitive. I say mostly because the one feature I really want is being able to zoom/tilt/pan the camera angle so that people see me and not the entire room behind me. At first, I wasn’t able to find the feature. That’s because it appears below the camera preview window rather than in the sidebar like the other adjustments do. Also, those camera angle adjustments are very minimal. I have a third-party app that allows me to zoom in much farther than the Konnect software does.
That said, the third-party app is not compatible with Zoom the same way that Konnect is. With Konnect, I can have the video preview open in Zoom and see the adjustments I’m making in Konnect happen live. Konnect is a nice piece of software that works well with the webcam. I do wish that it could be more of a passive app and only live in the menu bar rather than be active in the dock.
Conclusion
Kensington has put together a really nice system for video conferencing. The newest web camera in their lineup is easy to use and affordable. It produces a great picture and even comes with a privacy screen that users can manually slide across the screen when its not in use to ensure that no apps are using it without your knowledge.
I love the ring light and mounting arm options that Kensington has rolled out with this camera. The Konnect App is great for dialing in the exact settings you want, but I do hope that Kensington adds more to it in the days ahead. Overall, it’s a great system.
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