Webcams

[GendoIkari2]

Hey, so i am kinda lookin into getting a new webcam and I have a couple questions for anyone that has the answers. I have the Logitech Clicksmart 310 right now and its alright, but the picture comes out a little grainy and there has to be very specific lighting for it to look right. most of the time its too dark or too bright. Anyway, I'm looking for a decently priced webcam, and above all im looking for a cam where i dont have such a horrible time with the brightness. a little better pic quality wouldnt hurt either. Right now, you can see what the pic looks like via:
http://kevskam.tripod.com/
ALSO, I am very intrested in gettin on the ZGeek webcam page, but it wont allow me to email that address listed on the page. If anyone can help me out with that too, I would appreciate it. I use Webcam32.
Thanks for any help guys!

[oracle]

I'm not an authority on the subject, and someone may correct me if I'm wrong, but I pretty sure it comes down to the quality of the image sensor.

The majority of webcams utilise a CIF CMOS image sensor, whereas a digital cameras use a CCD. CMOS image sensors, while being smaller and less power comsuming, generally provide lower quality images than a CCD.

In the past I have used my Sony digital camera as a webcam by connecting it to the video input on my video card. Recently I bought a Logitech webcam because I wanted to do some timelapse movies, and didn't want my digi-cam on all day. The quality of the webcam images (compared to my digi-cam) is horrid... but it serves it's purpose.

To boil it down, you want a webcam with a CCD image sensor. I had a quick look at the Logitech website and they have a camera that uses a 1.3 megapixel CCD; it's called the QuickCam Pro 4000, and I'd imagine you'd get better quality shots out of it than your current cam.

If image quality is paramount to you, then I'd recommend asking to see the webcam in action before purchasing.