HyperX Vision S Webcam Review

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HyperX has just released a new 4K webcam that was designed specifically for content creators. Most webcams on the market seem to be made for low-res video conferencing and were never meant to hold up to the high-resolution demands of content creation. A lot of live streamers can probably get away with the 1080p resolution offered by cameras like the Logitech C920 S for the little box cams on their ‘In-Game’ screen. Others who like to spend more time on their ‘Just Chatting’ screen might want something to light up a few extra pixels though.

4K has become the standard resolution for YouTube and has grown increasingly popular on live-streaming platforms like Twitch. Those who have money to burn might choose to opt for a fancy DSLR camera coupled with a capture card, but others may be looking for a cheaper and simpler solution. In the wake of this gap in quality, several companies have started making high-end webcams targeted at these content creators. Elgato, Razer, and Logitech have all made their models. Now it’s time to see what HyperX has up its sleeve.

Build Quality

Inside the box, you’ll find a quick start guide, a red and black braided USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable, and the camera itself, which already comes with a monitor mount and magnetic privacy cover attached.

The Vision S has a discreet, all-black design and a long rectangular tube shape. This might make it tricky to mount on top of stacked monitors, but it seems like a very efficient design overall. The camera has a bit of weight to it which makes it feel like a quality piece of equipment, but it is light enough that you shouldn’t have any trouble mounting it on virtually any surface. The included monitor mount has threading on it to fit a tripod or boom arm and has built-in adjustability features that allow you to rotate the camera vertically or horizontally to ensure that you can get a good angle of the subject.

Picture Quality

The Vision S has several different resolution and frame rate settings that it can operate at, but the two most important ones are 1080p 60fps and 4k 30fps. The 1080p 60fps setting is ideal for capturing movement. Higher frame rates are needed in situations where eliminating motion blur is more important than image fidelity. That said, the 4K 30 fps setting is probably the bigger selling point for the camera, since most people buying something like this are primarily interested in higher resolution.

The picture is pretty impressive for a webcam. The camera seems to work reasonably well in low light and its colors are less washed out than most webcams. The autofocus also seems to work significantly better than the average and there are a few adjustability options available via the software.

NGENUITY Software

There are a few different control options available through the HyperX NGENUITY software. To start, this is where you will be able to adjust the camera’s resolution and frame rate in order to suit your specific needs. There is a framing option where, at the click of a button, you can digitally zoom the camera to one of three preset levels. However it’s worth noting that a digital zoom means a loss in resolution, so this is only really useful when the camera is filming in 4K.

The camera is preset to automatically adjust focus, exposure, and white balance, but the software allows you to manually adjust these settings if you want more control. You can also turn on a few more minor picture adjustment options, HDR, low light compensation, backlight compensation, and anti-flicker settings. The options available through the software are far from comprehensive, but they do offer some basic visual adjustment settings that add to the versatility of the camera.

I have to be honest though. My experience with the software was frustrating. It didn’t work the first time I connected the camera. I had to uninstall and reinstall the software in order for all of the features to become available. Even then, I encountered several issues with lag, freezing, and settings I’d changed going back to their defaults unprompted. Hopefully, HyperX will be able to sort these problems out in future updates.

Is the Vision S Worth the Money?

The HyperX Vision S MSRPs at $199.99. That’s definitely on the expensive side for a webcam, but it’s a lot more reasonable when you compare it to other 4K webcams that were designed for streaming. It’s a bit more expensive than the Logitech Brio, which is probably the most comparable product on the market, but it’s still significantly cheaper than the Elgato Facecam Pro.

We wish that the Vision S was cheaper so that it could be more competitive with other webcams, but we feel that the picture quality and versatility of its design make the extra cost reasonable.