Sannce WX400

[testman78]

Introduction

When you’re starting your streaming journey, or when you decide that your youtube channel could use some facecam over your videos, you will obviously be in need of a webcam. Today, I’m going to do a complete Sannce WX400 review. This should help you decide whether this amazing webcam is the right choice for you. The Sannce WX400 2K 4MP Super HD Webcam is an external webcam that can process video at 30 fps at 2560 x 1440 (4MP) or 60 fps at 1920 by 1080 (2MP). It tackles lighting by featuring a built-in light frame that lets you illuminate yourself without any extra equipment. It's a big boon to image quality, and is both innovative and easy to use.



The webcam is compatible with Windows XP/7/8/10, Mac OS 10 10.6 and higher, Linux 2.6.24 and higher. Windows 11 is not on the list yet. The specs of the camera are fairly standard, but complete with WDR (wide dynamic range), 3D DNR, the aforementioned auto-focus, auto exposure, and auto white balance.




Packaging & Contents

This 2K 4MP Super HD Webcam come professionally packaged into a smart box with outer sleeve.



The front side of the box has has a image of WX400. The white label on the side indicated the exact model inside.



The WX400 came nicely packaged with everything needed for a quick easy setup.




The bundle is really impressive so aside the WX400 you will get a magnetic base which can be used to secure the webcam onto pretty much any laptop or monitor.



A magnetic privacy shutter is included in the box, which you can attach simply by sticking it to the front of the camera lens. Once attached, you slide the shutter up and down when in use / not in use.



A tripod stand is also provided to place the WX400 where you want.



A small documentation is provided (English and German only) with images showing the various accessories and installation possibilities.



Finally, a USB-C to USB-A power/data cable with a length of 2 meters gives a nice positioning latitude.




A Closer Look

The camera itself is square in shape. Dimensions are 48mm x 60mm x 48mm.The camera it self is solid feeling. You’ll notice the difference as soon as you feel the weight of it. It’s got a substantial weight to it, for a webcam that is. You can feel the quality of it when you hold it. The cam is so well made of top quality plastics and metals which feel very nice to touch. Several magnets have been incorporated into the webcam, so that you can also easily tilt the webcam from portrait to landscape - and for the privacy shutter - and for coupling it to the base with magnetism.



The lens of the Sannce WX400 is protected behind a piece of clear plastic as is the LED that surrounds the lens. There’s a light sensor located above the lens.



The webcam has a built in flash function which illuminates your face and surroundings gently. This ensures that you are clearly visible, even in the darkest of environments.
The 'torch' is the whole white border of the camera. The lens has a field of view of 90 degrees, which is reasonably wide, which is useful for including plenty of context and room for framing yourself in the shot. It is designed for video at smooth 30 fps (2K 4MP), or 60 fps (1080p) with auto color adjustment. Additionally, the camera will automatically crop to what it detects to be the optimal focal length. A couple of noise cancelling microphone are included, so you don’t need to worry about investing in a separate one of those.



The built-in LED lighting can be adjusted in brightness. There is a touch control light on the top with 5 different levels of brightness which can make a big difference and a perfect addition to those making videos (maybe not so for meetings).



The rear has a USB-C slot. Sannce WX-400 5V 500mA is engraved at the back.




Installation Process

The base has 3 separate hinges. The top hinge will allow the camera to tilt forwards and back, it's nice and stiff, but not too stiff since the magnet of the camera is still able to remain attached when repositioning. The back hinge is what allows the base to accommodate different display types. The last hinge is a small rubberized part that changes angle to ensure the rubber part gets optimal contact with whatever you're mounting to. It's a well thought out little guy.



There’s also a tripod thread at the bottom so you can also mount it completely away from the computer / work setup if you wish - that could make it useful if you’re live streaming a workshop or hands-on type video.



The magnet attachment is strong and it won't budge of fall off easily.



Also included is a privacy cover, but you’ll need to attach it to the camera yourself as it’s included in the box separately.



The mount stays easily on my monitor and as you can see from the picture it does non cover any of the screen on my Dell one.



The mounting base connects easily to the tripod and still allows you to remove or rotate the webcam when needed. The swivel allows you to place the webcam at pretty much any angle and lock it in place.



Tripod is sturdy and offers nice alternative for conferences with a tablet or possible streaming adventures.



The tripod has telescopic legs which work well if you have the space for it.



Setting up the Sannce WX400 Webcam is extremely quick and easy. It’s a “plug and play” device, so you should find that it’s simply a matter of plugging it into your computer and it will be recognized by your video conferencing software. Sannce has an application on their website for the device: Cam In.




Cam In

You may need to select the camera from a menu the first time you use it. It’s also worth noting that while the camera can record 2K video, the choice to have that quality, or not, is very often not one the user is given by some application. You can choose 720p, 1080p resolution. It appears that to make their products as simple as possible for users, many conferencing software creators have left out the ability to specify resolution, refresh, and many of the special capabilities of the WX400. The footage recorded with MJPEG appears the most compressed.



Mic Settings.



The control tool is especially handy since many of the communication applications gave little or no control over the camera to adjust brightness, contrast or saturation. There are some that do, but having this small application installed enables those tweaks to be made with applications that don’t offer those controls.



Not only can adjust all of the usual video settings you would expect but you can also set-up its white balance and WDR. White balance should be set manually.



Cam In lets you toggle zoom, focus and exposure presets and directly customize them with sliders.




Some info about Version and Upgrade possibilities.




Performance

It is difficult to test picture quality as it depends on your software, overall setup and internet connection. The default settings are solid, with auto-focus enabled, good color accuracy, and automatic white balance, but you'll likely want to tweak the settings for yourself. I found the Sannce WX400 offered good color accuracy in natural light and a pleasingly detailed image. It can also snap good quality still shots. I tested it with Google Meet and Skype for video calls and it served perfectly well. Callers said the picture quality is great. The light frame is the headline feature here, and it serves a couple of purposes. Even if you have good natural light in the room, the light frame helps to eliminate shadows on your face. It's obviously also very handy when there isn't much light, or you're in a dark room. Noise creeps into the video when the light is low, but simply turn the outside of the main frame and the LEDs spring to life to evenly light your face. It's extremely easy to adjust and find the level that suits you. Unfortunately for me, it was a bit of a distraction having the webcam just above the monitor with the light on, so I turned the light off for the rest of my testing. The touch control on top does a good job of diffusing the light, so it's never too harsh. The autofocus works perfectly and works quickly, so you can move easily without asking questions. It also allows you to work at a wide angle but also with a very close macro focus (2 to 3 cm) to film an object. This camera adjusts the focal length automatically without manual adjustment, enabling you to get anything in focus within just 0.7 second. The microphones are reasonable. It's a clear sound, and there would seem to be noise cancelling in play here. It's difficult to test how much of that's being done by the camera, or if the applications I'm using (like Teams) are doing some noise cancelling there, but I've no complaints about how it sounds. It seems to be Mono sound capture coming from the camera though. While it has two mics, I wasn't able to get it to record anything in stereo, so it's likely used for cancellation of noise.




Final Thoughts

The Sannce WX400 has a massive and heavy appearance which makes it a quality webcam that gives confidence over time. The Webcam is a very simple and easy to use device, but it comes with a solid set of features that make it appealing for those looking for a step-up from their computer / tablet’s inbuilt camera device. It's a well though out unit, and with magnets on the bottom and sides, there's a fair amount of versatility here. Having the flexible stand so you can position the camera in a number of different angles, as well as being able to attach it to provided tripod means you can place it in the most appropriate place for whatever you need - whether that’s a simple video call or for something a little more in-depth such as showing off products. The privacy cover makes the camera hidden alongside the edge of my screen and thanks to that I don't get distracted and can keep my camera there. The included cable is USB-C, and it's a generous length. I've ran it from under my desk, up through the mechanical arm of my monitor, onto the top of the screen, and there's still some cable rolled up in a cable tie. Colours and sharpness is high quality. Besides the good video quality and image quality that you expect from a product like a camera, nowadays it’s become almost a standard for webcams to have other additions and professional features that will enhance the quality of your content. One very important thing for video quality, together with a good camera, is good lighting. You can film and stream in natural light, but that limits your possibilities when it comes to timing your streams and work, and you might work better in the evening and night hours. Of course, the main advantage being the built-in white light frame, which is basically the main selling point of the Sannce WX400. But even not having the light being put into consideration, the camera quality by itself is really good. You will for sure get high-quality pictures and videos, and the quality of your streams will surely be positively impacted by those qualities. Together with the good frames per second ratio, this will have some great results. The good image quality also includes important things like good auto white balance adjustment, and even a great low light compensation, with or without the light frame being turned on. The autofocus feature is very useful and ensures that the video call quality is never jeopardised with blurring, despite moving around or being expressive with hand gestures. It also has a built-in microphone that works very well and has good sound quality. Another awesome feature, this cam has a 90° field of vision without distortion, so you can capture multiple people in a group on one screen without people looking weird. This is a wonderful feature for conference room meetings where a team wants to do a call together. You can adjust settings for the Sannce WX400 through Cam In’s software, which provides tweaks and firmware updates. One downside of this camera, however, is that it cannot be used outdoors because it does not have a battery.



As this camera includes a number of useful features, it’s perhaps not that surprising that it has a relatively high price tag (£100) compared to the many hundreds of cheaper models that have flooded the market in recent times. A bit expensive but the quality makes the difference. It is top of the range in terms of image quality because we are no longer on 1080 hd but on 2k. In addition, it has an autofocus that allows you to clearly see the focus, regardless of the position of the camera. So the image is always clear. With its light frame adjustable by touch key allows you to have a natural look without the face being shiny or too bright. Certainly the price is high but the quality is there.



https://www.amazon.co.uk/SANNCE-Stre.../dp/B09HTKXXPT