Razer Kiyo Pro review | Laptop Mag

Our Verdict

The Razer Kiyo Pro webcam offers solid 1080p HDR video and photo quality every bit well every bit a decent microphone, but it's likewise expensive for a webcam without 4K.

For

Solid 1080p video and photo quality
HDR works wonders
Included privacy cover
Useful companion app
Decent microphone

Against

No 4K for the price
Autofocus is finicky
Saved settings are hit or miss
Included cable is too curt

Laptop Mag Verdict

The Razer Kiyo Pro webcam offers solid 1080p HDR video and photo quality as well as a decent microphone, but it's too expensive for a webcam without 4K.

Pros

+
Solid 1080p video and photo quality
+
HDR works wonders
+
Included privacy cover
+
Useful companion app
+
Decent microphone

Cons

-
No 4K for the cost
-
Autofocus is finicky
-
Saved settings are hit or miss
-
Included cablevision is also short

Working from dwelling house has acquired a significant surge in webcam sales, and Razer jumped on this opportunity by releasing the Razer Kiyo Pro, a webcam built for both gaming and business utilise.

It'southward a decent entry to Razer'due south peripheral lineup, equally it offers solid 1080p, HDR video and photo quality as well every bit a decent microphone. It even includes a neat privacy cover and a super useful companion app. Yet, for $200, it'due south hard to justify this webcam not having a 4K resolution. Plus, the webcam can be a piddling finicky between autofocus and some of the saved settings. More annoying, though, is its curt ability cable.

I wouldn't call the Razer Kiyo Pro one of the all-time webcams around, but if you like Razer products, this is however a pretty adept webcam if yous don't demand 4K.

Razer Kiyo Pro blueprint

The Razer Kiyo Pro is a thick boy. Information technology's like having a DSLR photographic camera lens mounted on your monitor, with his bulbous course staring you lot down. Autonomously from the large lens, the face up is surrounded by white labels detailing the webcam's capabilities.

Razer Kiyo Pro review — (Prototype credit: Rami Tabari)

The circular frame extends to the back where you'll find a USB Type-C port for ability. On the underside of the Kiyo Pro is the connector for the mount, which can exist detached and reattached to a tripod (not included). Otherwise, the included 50-shaped mount is flexible, then you can either position information technology on your monitor, sit it on a flat surface, or even mountain the bottom to a larger tripod. The mount too allows the webcam to pan 360 degrees and tilt roughly 90 degrees.

Unfortunately, the webcam isn't as sturdy as I'd similar, so if you accept a heavy cable attached, then it'll move the webcam. That brings me to my next problem, the included detachable 4.9-foot USB Type-C cable is as well short. I had to employ the Type-C cable included with the Logitech Panache, which is 7.two-anxiety long.

However, Razer was kind enough to include a webcam cover, which is nice to plop on the webcam when I'm non using it so I don't get creeped on.

Razer Kiyo Pro picture and video

I have mixed feelings about the Razer Kiyo Pro's movie quality. The 2.one-megapixel, 1080p shooter is expert, but non $200 practiced. The webcam can also shoot at 1080p, 60 frames per second or 1080p HDR at 30 fps.

The picture quality balances colour and contrast very well, highlighting the blue copse on my white shirt and capturing the outside of my window also as my face without bravado either out. It likewise provides equally much detail as a 1080p shooter, but the movie isn't 100% clear. There's no color noise, similar y'all'd find in cheaper webcams, but there'southward a consistent noisy layer in the shots. It doesn't move like typical noise does, but rather, remains still, and so much so that if I sit still, it looks like I'thousand frozen. Information technology's definitely hard to describe, merely when jumping from the Logitech Brio to the Kiyo Pro, I noticed information technology immediately.

The Kiyo Pro besides has an adaptive light sensor that helps make up one's mind how bright or nighttime the image should be. In that location are likewise Wide, Medium and Narrow field-of-view options for the lens, merely I found Wide suited most situations best and provided better images than the rest. The difference in FOV is very minimal, so I can't really speak to the usefulness of the other field-of-view options.

I institute that the autofocus was hit or miss because it's pretty consequent when I sit still. However, if I movement and come back to the position I was in, information technology'll remain out of focus until I force information technology to focus on me past waving my hand in front of the photographic camera. However, y'all can set a consistent focus if needed.

When comparing this to the Logitech Brio, which offers 4K, HDR and Windows Hello capabilities, it's hard to justify ownership the Razer Kiyo Pro when it costs the aforementioned. Razer really needed to add together 4K.

Razer Kiyo Pro microphone

Surprisingly, the Razer Kiyo Pro microphone is decent.

My voice sounded clear and crisp as I monotonically sang a song. Still, the microphone volume can be a little low at times. It's like someone put the noise-cancelling on max, and since at that place are no settings for the microphone, that's an issue. If you lot're going to utilise the Kiyo Pro every bit a recording microphone also, I recommend tinkering with the sound levels in whatever app you're using to tape.

Razer Kiyo Pro software

What makes all of the bells and whistles piece of work is the Razer Synapse app. Once you get to the app, you can enable preview to see yourself, and inside that prototype, you can mess with the HDR, FOV and AF settings. To the right, y'all'll get basic options for brightness, dissimilarity, saturation and white residuum (I recommend leaving this on auto). You can customize these settings yourself or choose from one of the presets higher up, including Default, Cool, Vibrant and Warm. It'll default to Custom if yous offset messing with them yourself.

Above all of that, you'll find the Advanced Settings, which is where all of the fun happens. Showtime, let's talk near how all of these settings are located in a crappy 2000s macOS settings screen. Why can't they just be embedded in the super clean Synapse app? Ugh. Anyway, there are two tabs on this page: Video Proc Amp and Photographic camera Control.

The erstwhile includes settings for brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, sharpness, gamma, white remainder, backlight comp, gain and anti-flicker. The latter tab lets you mess with the zoom, focus, exposure, aperture, pan, tilt, curlicue and depression light bounty settings.

Razer'southward app provides plenty to get you what you need out of this webcam, but I encountered two problems. The beginning, and more frustrating, is that the saved settings sometimes don't use. Information technology took roughly four applications before my personal settings carried over to other apps. Don't fifty-fifty get me started on the Windows 10 Camera app because 70% of the time, the Kiyo Pro would freak out and non work, requiring me to unplug it and plug it back in.

Additionally, you lot cannot change the photographic camera settings while using other software. You accept to use Razer'southward preview software to actually suit the settings, which is annoying coming from the Logitech Panache, which permit me change settings on the fly.

And non to go along comparing the Kyio to the Brio, simply Razer offers only a i-year limited warranty while Logitech offers a three-year limited warranty.

Bottom line

The Razer Kiyo Pro is an overall solid webcam thanks to its 1080p HDR video and photograph quality, decent microphone, included privacy cover and useful companion app. However, it's frustrating that it costs $200 when information technology doesn't even have 4K capabilities. Non to mention, I've run across some issues setting it up.

If you're looking for another webcam for a similar cost that'll give you 4K and more, check out the Logitech Brio, which has Windows Hello back up and the ability to change settings in different programs.

Despite that, the Razer Kiyo Pro is a good webcam if you don't really care nearly 4K.

Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well every bit all sorts of cool tech. You tin find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his style out to civilization, you lot can catch him watching actually bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He'southward the best at every game and he merely doesn't lose. That's why yous'll occasionally take hold of his byline attached to the latest Souls-like claiming.