The Logitech Master Series, or MX, is a range of products created to unbridle your capacity to create, make and do. The origins of MX products goes back over two decades, to 2002. The first of the “modern” Masters though hark from 2015 with the MX Master mouse – a mouse that I still remember very fondly.
Since then we have had a few iterations of the mouse, a few keyboards have joined the ranks. And now we have the first webcam under the branding, the Logitech MX Brio.
The MX Brio is the new flagship webcam for Logitech, eclipsing the Brio 4K which if I recall correctly, was launched in 2017. It’s a little staggering to think that Logitech left the previous flagship on the shelf unchanged for seven years, particularly through the pandemic where webcams were selling out like hotcakes.
First Impressions
Whilst the predecessor is an elongated pill housing all the working parts behind the black fascia, the MX Brio puts the camera loudly front and center in a more DSLRsque configuration.
There is a bezel around the lens, which is intuitively the mechanism to open and close the privacy shutter.
My review unit is in the graphite colourway. Looking on the Logitech website, the differences are not very in your face – predominantly the bezel and the cable colours are different, and the housing is a subtle shade difference.
The MX Brio is a USB-C device. Logitech has provided a nice reinforced cable in the package. Whilst the cable is not braided, it does have what feels like a solid sheath of plastic to give it a decently long operational life.
In Use
The MX Brio comes in two parts – the monitor clip and the camera itself.
The monitor clip has three joints which can be articulated freely in two dimensions. There is a super sticky part if the mount is intended to stay on the monitor “permanently”. Logitech says the micro suction pad is designed so you can place it and remove it later without leaving marks.
The camera has a ISO standard tripod bolt thread. The little extruded part magnetically attaches to the monitor clip and can swivel from side to side.
The magnetic attachment is quite strong. If you have not elected to stick the clip to the back of the monitor, then you will need both hands to detach the camera from the clip.
The MX Brio works out of the box, just plug in the cable into the camera module, and the other side into the computer. My computer detected it automatically and I was straight into a Teams meeting with my team. My poor colleagues weren’t warn that:
- I was putting my webcam on for once
- I wasn’t using the mediocre built-in webcam on my laptop
My mug coming up in 4K definition with incredible clarity on the screen was a nasty surprise. (Sorry guys!)
Compared with the previous generation, the MX Brio has 70 percent larger pixels, and leverages AI to enhance the image quality by automatically performing light correction and further with to generate a more natural image.
Like all things Logitech, the Options+ software is necessary for updates and customisation. I have noted in my previous review that the Options+ software has seemed to be more stable in recent times.
The software allows you to tweak the MX Brio to set the image suited to you and your environment.
From changing the field of view, either 65, 78 or 90 degrees, to zooming in to cut out the background (blurred or not). There is an option to change the exposure compensation, or EV in photographer parlance. Perhaps you want to convey your mood lighting accurately, then turn off low light compensation and HDR.
Things you can do with images, can be done on the fly with the MX Brio. White balance, temperature compensation, brightness, contrast, saturation are all part of the package.
Last but not least, you can manually set the focus if you have an objection in a fixed location so the camera does not try to focus on anything else that might creep into view.
Looking at the screen captures, you can see clearly in the Options+ ones that the colour is much more natural and accurate. Compared to using the built-in webcam the colours are more mute, and blown out where the highlights are.
Where I have positioned my desk isn’t the best for natural light, and it shows when I use the built-in webcam. But with the MX Brio, the difference in the picture quality was chalk and cheese particular when I am testing it out in low and no light.
With just a room light to the side of me, the internal webcam was soft and grainy. And with just the light cast from the monitor, the imagery was useless. In comparison the MX Brio manages to keep my mug exposed and sharp. There is some loss of definition with finer details like hair, and a bit of noise in the darkness but the image is perfectly serviceable.
Autofocus seems to be pretty decent, and does not seem to have to hunt for focus even when it is getting up close and personal.
Audio
The MX Brio sports dual beamforming microphones which works well. Anything is better than a built in mic on a laptop, but it falls short of a dedicated USB microphone. Part of the problem is the location of the mics is … wherever you place the camera. A dedicated microphone allows you to place it where it will perform the best.
With background noise reduction comes with penalties. There was no issues in terms of legibility but if you are needing top of the line voice reproduction, then this is not where you look for it. Voices can sound a little hollow and processed as a result of the processing.
This of course, is caveat on how much ambient noise there is for the MX Brio to handle. In a fairly quiet environment, the sound can be quite warm and full.
Evening, dim room lighting
Other Features
The monitor clip allows enough movements for the camera to point straight down from the screen. This is useful if say, someone needs to witness you signing a document, you just need to adjust the camera to the right angle.
However that said, the camera can get front heavy when put into this position. This is where the heavy duty USB cable serves as a counterweight to keep the rig balanced and in check.
Options+ is not the only software to support the MX Brio. That one is suitable enough for my basic needs.
If you want a little more clout, the Logitech G Hub is the software of choice catering to gamers and streamers.
Or if you are in a professional, read corporate, environment, then the Logi Tune is the enterprise software. My reading says that it is also the only software to enable RightSight, which purports to keep the camera digitally focussed on your face even if you are moving around.
Gripes
A couple of things to point out.
There is no customisation profiles for the microphones, Logitech has focus on the image quality through the Options+ software. Research indicates that even with the G Hub or Tune software this is not a focus.
There is no Windows Hello support, not that I would cry over it since I have never used it and actually not aware of anyone ever enabling facial recognition on their Windows devices. There are still plenty of enterprises where Windows Hello is disabled by group policy.
Conclusions
Is the MX Brio good bang for bucks? It’s a tough call. It is not a cheap product coming in at AUD$329.95 and while it’s hard to fault the experience, Logitech is leaning more on software to bring home the bacon.
What I can’t fault is that the overall experience, between both hardware and software just works and without needing me actually do anything other than to plug it in. The default settings are already good but you can fine tune the image a bit more if you desire.
The audio however has no fine tuning option but again, the out of the box experience is very acceptable.
Also of note is that at time of publishing there is a modest 6% discount on the graphite colourway.
DRN would like to thank Logitech for providing the review unit.
