Get a 4K model for under $150 at Best Buy

Save up to 30: Best Buy has a handful of webcams on sale as of Dec. 10:

One of the less talked-about shortages fueled by the pandemic is the webcam shortage. 

Not everyone owns a laptop with a webcam — a feature that seemed almost futile before March. When millions of people were sent to work remotely without their computer setup from the office and expected to attend meetings via video, people were like, “Uh, I guess I don’t have a webcam?”

One could say that retailers had a hard time keeping up with demand. But they’re back, baby — and on sale. If you’ve recently received word that your WFH situation is longer than originally expected, it’s time to officially retire that crappy webcam that’s making you the pixelated ghost of the Zoom call. Grab a Logitech webcam for as little as $25.99 or a 4K webcam for as little as $149.99 at Best Buy.

BEST VIDEO QUALITY: Aluratek 4K UHD Webcam — $149.99 (save $30)

• UHD 3840 x 2160 video

• 5x digital zoom

• USB Plug-n-Play

Meet the “business in the front, party in the back” webcam: The “Fixed Focus” UHD lens with 5x digital zoom supplies crisp video quality from far away while cropping out distracting backgrounds — an essential feature for anyone who still has to stand up and give a presentation. Universal USB Plug-n-Play allows gamers to quickly switch over to another console for a high-def Twitch stream, no separate software required.

BEST FOR FAMILIES: j5create USB HD 360° Webcam — $44.99 (save $15)

We should all be experts at Zoom by now, but squeezing parents and kids into a single frame continues to cause chaos. The 360-degree swivel of this j5create webcam uses a subtle fisheye approach to capture a wider angle. (This would be ideal for round table meetings, if we were having those.) Reviewers are impressed with how much the microphone picks up, even for folks sitting further away.

BUDGET PICK: — $25.99 (save $14)

If you don’t need anything fancy, Logitech’s affordable C270 webcam is a quick, easy bandaid. For less than $30, you can upgrade your video calls to 1080p recording with echo-free audio. The VGA image sensor with RightLight technology automatically adjusts to dim lighting to stay out of dark blob territory.

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