Having the best webcam has become an essential for any workplace or home office, so it is important to have one that you can rely on to:
- Maintain a smooth image
- Capture your best angles
The Logitech MX BRIO 705 captures (literally) everything so there is no hiding from the 4K camera.
This detailed streaming webcam produces great image quality, with decent autofocus and automatic exposure capabilities. And with the Logi Tune companion app, you have the ability to tailor what people see on the other end of the camera.
Having used other Logitech webcams, including the C270, in the past for online video calls, I wanted to figure out just how much of an upgrade the MX BRIO 705 actually is.
To find out what I thought, check out my full Logitech MX Brio 705 review.
Logitech MX BRIO 705 review: Specs
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Price |
|
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Image sensor |
4k at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps |
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Field of view |
90°, 78° or 65° |
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Focus type |
Autofocus |
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Digital zoom |
4x |
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Size |
5.5 x 5.5 x 2.63 inches |
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Colors |
Graphite, Pale Grey |
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Tripod thread |
Yes |
Logitech MX BRIO 705 review: The ups
For the $199 / £219 price tag, you’d expect this webcam to meet some pretty high expectations, and it does. It looks sleek with a premium feel, captures detailed 4K footage, and has a handy free companion app.
Intensely good camera quality
The Logitech MX Brio 705 shoots 4K, and picked up every stray hair coming off of my head in testing — it did not miss a trick. But if you did want to hide away from the intense detail provided by the MX BRIO 705, it also supports full HD at 1080p and HD at 720p.
I have previously used the Logitech C270, which is one of their more basic HD webcams priced at $19.99/£19.99, and the difference in the quality was staggering, even with the MX BRIO set at the 720p level.
Day to day though I use the built-in webcam on my 2022 MacBook Air which shoots at 1080p. I directly compared the two by asking the rest of the reviews team how they thought the quality differed by switching between the two cameras.
Although not drastically different, the Logitech camera offered a much wider frame with a 90-degree diagonal field of view and a 30mm minimum focal length. It also delivered noticeably sharper details, whereas the MacBook’s camera had a smoother, more processed look.
I found that the webcam produced good contrast and captured a fairly wide dynamic range. Even though I have a large window behind me in the office, my face did not appear too dark but the camera also balanced my background well.
The temperature of the Logitech MX BRIO 705’s factory settings pull slightly warmer than the built-in MacBook Camera, but I personally like this effect. But I know this isn’t for everyone, so you can edit this in the Logi Tune app. When testing out the webcam in low light, I found that the picture had increased noise and was not as detailed.
“Auto” features
I didn’t find that the Logitech MX BRIO 705 had any issues with focusing on me when I was in shot thanks to the cam’s autofocus, which is super effective.
Not only that, this camera does a very good job of making sure I am evenly lit, too. In the office, I sit with my back to the window so whenever I join online calls — a nightmare scenario of too much backlighting that could result in me looking like I’m giving an anonymous interview. However, I had no issues with the MX BRIO 705.
The auto-white balance, noise reduction and autofocus all mean that you don’t need to mess around with this webcam at all to get the perfect setup.
However, Logitech says the Logitech MX BRIO 705 uses AI-processing to enhance image quality, which is a little misleading. Autofocus and automatic exposure can be found in pretty much every webcam on the market — and most cameras for that matter.
Any other camera released in the last 20 years that can autofocus and automatically adjust exposure is doing the same thing. There’s no advanced AI business taking place here.
Logi Tune app
The Logi Tune app has many features that allow me to customize my video feed to suit the situation and my surroundings during testing. The camera has a wide lens but with the app the field of view (FoV) is adjustable, so if you don’t want as much of your at-home office on show, you can choose between 90° (widest view), 78° or 65°.
You can tweak the image’s color yourself by adjusting exposure, white balance, brightness, contrast, saturation, vibrancy, and sharpness. But honestly, the camera’s automatic color and exposure metering did most of the work, so I never really felt the need to mess with the settings.
That’s kinda what you want in a webcam, though: plug and play. This isn’t one of the best mirrorless cameras, after all. Still, if you did need to adjust settings, it’s nice to know you can.
The Logi Tune app also offers filters, which may not be necessary for work calls but are a fun bonus feature. I tried the “forest” filter which kind of gave a cold, blueish hue like that used in the Twilight movies — although I’m not sure when this would come in handy apart from a Twilight themed Zoom quiz.
The filters here are not as impressive as what you can do with the Obsbot Tiny 2 webcam which can even add make-up or slim facial features. In that respect the Logitech cam is quite basic.
The app is where you can alter the webcam to best suit your needs, but it also offers a zoom feature. That 4x digital zoom still manages to retain great quality, and picks up on every tiny detail with the 8.5MP sensor. I tested this out by zooming into the background and it was displayed in crisp, clear detail. There was no major drop in resolution or sharpness as you’d typically expect from digital zoom.
Multipurpose mount
The foldable mount of the Logitech MX BRIO 705 is extremely versatile. The mount itself is lightweight, but has no issues supporting the weight of the camera which is on the heavier side. The 705 is also supplied with adhesive to stick the mount to the screen or monitor and make it more secure, but I did not find this was necessary to keep the camera stable.
The camera snaps onto the mount with a strong magnet, making it easy to remove while staying securely in place—even when adjusting the mount or screen. Plus, there’s a thread on the bottom for a tripod, so you’re not limited to mounting it directly on your device.
Something I really like about the mount is that it attaches well to the thin screen on my MacBook Air. The mount of the C270 doesn’t attach easily to thinner screens so took some troubleshooting. For a laptop-only webcam, you could also look at the Opal Tadpole, which is much smaller and lighter than the MX Brio.
Easy set-up
The Logitech MX Brio 705 is super simple to get set up and takes no time at all. Included with the camera is a UBC-C cable which plugs into the desktop.
All I had to do was change the camera settings on my laptop to the Logitech camera and I was away. Annoyingly, I had to change my camera manually each time I used Google Meet, but that’s likely a Meet issue rather than an MX Brio one.
Compatibility
The camera is compatible with Zoom, Google Meets and Microsoft Teams. I tried the camera with both a MacBook Air M2 and a Windows desktop, and had no issues with compatibility.
The MX BRIO 705 is compatible with the Logi Tune and Logitech Sync apps. Sync allows the camera to be accessed remotely for the management of meeting devices for any trouble shooting or software modifications.
Sync isn’t available for the non-business version of the camera, Logitech MX BRIO 4K, so this is a perk for the same price point.
Logitech MX BRIO 705 review: The downs
The Logitech MX BRIO 705 is not without its issues though. Aside from the hefty price tag, the webcam’s tendency to heat up with prolonged use and the mics that pick up surrounding noise may be a dealbreaker for some.
Expensive
While the camera performs amazingly, 4K webcams are expensive and it will be hard to find a good one for under $100. The cheapest 4K webcam recommended by Tom’s Guide on our best webcams guide is the Obsbot Meet 4K which is $149 on Amazon U.S.
The 705 is priced at $199/£219 direct from Logitech, so it isn’t cheap. That said, as I’ve discussed above, it performs well. So if your work life is full to the brim with video calls and remote meetings I would say go for it!
However, if you’re only joining zoom calls two or three times a week, you don’t need that 4K quality. Go for something lower resolution like the Anker Power Conf C200. The 2K resolution is still solid and comparatively dirt cheap at just $59/£59.
Weight
I found the Logitech MX BRIO 705 to be quite heavy at 174 grams, although it was supported by the mount. It is also quite large, at 10cm long and 5cm tall, so would be great for an at-home office set up but not so much for taking to and from the office.
Heats up
The camera becomes warm to the touch after about 30 minutes of continuous usage. While it isn’t all that inconvenient, I updated the firmware to see if it helped at all but the issue remained. It didn’t hinder the performance, but when business calls can go on for upwards of an hour it is definitely something to take into consideration.
I also found that the hotter the camera became, the faster my laptop battery was draining. This is something to be mindful of as if you have a high volume of calls in one day you may want to keep a laptop charger handy.
Mics pick up everything
The Logitech MX BRIO 705 has two onboard microphones which Logitech say filter out background sounds even in noisy environments. However I didn’t find this to be the case. In a short video clip I took in the office, it picked up the sound of mechanical keyboards around me and some chatter — so I’m not sure how effective the noise cancelation is.
Logitech MX BRIO 705 review: Verdict
The Logitech MX BRIO 705 webcam is clearly a great webcam, but it’s not without a few flaws. It is a pricey camera, and there are better and more affordable options if you are only jumping on the odd video call here and there.
It is pretty heavy too, and the mics pick up more ambient sound than they should so I would recommend using a separate mic — especially for streamers.
That said, the Logitech MX BRIO 705 gives you a lot for your money. It’s a solid 4K camera, and the price isn’t anything crazy compared to other 4K options. If you’re constantly on video calls and want top-notch image quality, it’s definitely worth it.
