Depstech DW49 Pro 4K webcam review: don’t be swayed by the marketing

It’s amazing how quickly 4K has become the go-to resolution for webcams. Even if such high quality doesn’t necessarily make a difference to the person on the other end of your video call – what with computer processing, internet connection and conferencing platform limitations all taking their toll – 4K has quickly become a must-have.

This is even the case at the lower end of the webcam market. That’s where the Depstech DW49 Pro fits in, as it carries a price of around $70 in the US and between £60 and £85 in the UK, depending on what sort of deal Amazon has running.

As well as the 4K resolution, this is also a webcam that has ‘Pro’ in its name, and from Depstech’s imagery appears to have a nice, big lens for capturing lots of light and producing good video quality with Sony CMOS sensor. Does all this – plus dual microphones, an included tripod and even a remote control – add up to create a must-have 4K webcam on a budget? Read on to find out.

Depstech DW49 Pro: Specifications

Depstech DW49 Pro: Price

As I alluded to in the introduction, the DW49 Pro appears to be competitively priced, at around $70. This puts it well below flagship 4K webcams like the Logitech MX Brio and it even slots in below the excellent AnkerWork C310, which I also reviewed recently.

This puts the Depstech in an attractive position, especially given the promise of a 4K resolution and the ‘Pro’ suffix in its name. It also seems like good value given the extras it comes with, like the small tripod for shelf or desk use and the battery-powered remote, which can be used to adjust the brightness, zoom in, and control other webcam settings. One negative here is how the remote’s required AAA batteries are not included.

Depstech DW49 Pro: Design & Handling

Have you spotted it yet? The DW49 Pro reviewed here doesn’t look quite like the one used in Depstech’s marketing images. It also doesn’t look like the webcam featured on the box. The lens on the actual webcam is significantly smaller than it appears in images.

Buyers will expect to see a nice big lens, far larger than the laptop webcam they might be upgrading from. But instead, they’ll be greeted by a lens as small as the one on the front of their smartphone. This feels somewhat deceptive.

The rest of the hardware is mostly fine. It’s quite a large webcam (lens notwithstanding), but looks smart enough and the universal monitor stand works as expected. I also like how the stand includes a screw for attaching to a tripod. You can use your own tripod, or use the one Depstech handily included in the box; it’s made from metal and feels fairly durable. If you’d rather place your webcam on a shelf or have it pointing up at you from your desk, it’s a decent solution.

I also like how the webcam is attached to its mount with a ball-and-socket fixing, so it can be adjusted in any direction. This is especially useful if you have a desk light on top of your monitor, so you need to mount the webcam off to one side and point it to face you. Even some of the priciest webcams miss out on this breadth of adjustability.

There’s a white light on the front to clearly show when the webcam is on, and a privacy cover is included in the box. Unusually, this sticks onto the webcam with an adhesive strip, then can be slid open or closed. There’s also a set of two stick-on graphics to change the look of the webcam; one depicting the solar system and the other a Christmas scene. It’s a bit of a strange inclusion and doesn’t really fit the ‘Pro’ name, but I can see children enjoying the decoration.

Annoyingly, the USB cable is hardwiring into the camera, so you can’t plug in one of a different length. It uses USB-A but comes with an A-to-C adaptor, so it’ll plug into any computer.

Depstech DW49 Pro: Performance

Exposure, colors and white balance and all mostly acceptable, but I found the DW49 Pro really struggled with bright background light.

There’s a window behind where I sit at my desk, and with the morning sun shining through on a clear day the DW49 Pro really struggled with exposure. However, as I write this in an overcast afternoon, with the sun now on the other side of the building, things are better. I still look rather under-exposed, and my skin tone appears far more flushed with a red/pink hue than with other webcams I’ve tested, but it’s just about good enough for the occasional video call. Clicking the ‘adjust for low light’ button in Zoom’s settings menu helps, and so too does Apple’s Studio Lighting function.

Less impressive is the autofocus feature, which rarely sticks to my face for more than a few seconds at a time. It’s a shame, because once in focus the image produced is impressively sharp with a nice blurred bokeh effect behind. But the slightest movement, even just a change of facial expression, often causes the camera to refocus. This puts the subject out of focus and, more often than not, the camera focuses sharply on my background instead of me. Even when my face is fully in shot, and taking up the majority of the frame, it’ll still prefer to focus on objects 10 feet behind me.

It’s the sort of autofocus that’s frustrating for the user and distracting for their audience. I raised the issue with Depstech and was told it can be switched off, which I feel misses the point.

The included remote is a better idea than I first realized. How often do you need to make a quick adjustment to your webcam while on a call, but are unsure of how to get to the right setting? I like how the remote puts key image controls on good, old-fashioned buttons. This is also a handy way to quickly turn the camera or its microphones on and off.

Speaking of microphones, they produce clear enough sound but are far too quiet. I have the webcam positioned about an arm’s length away from my face, and even with a raised voice in an otherwise silent room, the audio captured was far too quiet. It was also muffled and in no way a high-quality experience.

Depstech DW49 Pro: Image samples

The four images below show how the webcam’s quality is mostly fine, but falls some way short of what buyers would expect from 4K resolution. The autofocus struggled to stay locked onto my face when I grabbed these screenshots, constantly searching for a subject to lock onto. And even when it did, there’s still little detail in my facial features.

The lower-left image was taken with Apple’s portrait and studio lighting features enabled. I also played around with the webcam’s remote, but its ability to raise or lower brightness, saturation and contrast did little to improve the overall result. Ultimately, the image quality isn’t terrible, but it isn’t what buyers should expect from a 4K ‘Pro’ webcam.

Depstech DW49 Pro: Verdict

As you can probably tell by now, this isn’t a great webcam. Or rather, it isn’t a great webcam if you purchase it because it’s described as being a “Pro” product with 4K video and noise-canceling dual mics.

The image quality is fine, so long as your environment has the right lighting and you have a clear understanding that 4K doesn’t automatically produce a cinematic experience. But the rest of the product struggles to deliver. The marketing images are deceptive, the autofocus performs very poorly, the microphones are muffled and far too quiet, and I’m left feeling that Depstech has aimed this webcam at entirely the wrong sector of the market.

If it had instead stuck with a Full HD resolution, dropped the Pro name, and spent its development budget on better microphones instead of the included tripod and decorative stickers, the DW49 Pro could have been a decent, entry-level webcam. Instead, it’s going to leave buyers disappointed.

It is not a huge amount of money when it comes to a webcam, but there are plenty of higher-quality alternatives from better-known brands, such as the AnkerWork C200, or even more affordable options from Logitech. One final note is how every 5-star review I could find on Amazon UK came from customers who received the webcam for free through the retailer’s Vine program, rather than verified purchases.

Alternatives

AnkerWork C310
It’s only slightly more expensive but delivers on its 4K promise with great video quality and good audio too. It also has high-quality hardware, an integrated lens cover, USB-C connectivity, twice the frame rate (60 fps), and a wider lens (95 degrees vs 80).

eMeet C960
At less than half the price of the Depstech, our favorite budget webcam produces good video at Full HD, a wide 90-degree lens, and good audio quality.