Webcams I tested for streaming over 2 years, what worked and what didn't

Streaming on twitch since 2024, mostly fps, bit of just chatting. I've run three webcams .

First was the elgato facecam neo. 1080p, looked clean enough on my monitor. Totally fine in good light but the second my room got a bit dark it kind of gave up on me. It does have autofocus bit it's slow, in low light it just sits soft for a second before it locks on, and if I lean back it takes its time. I didn't really mind it for a first cam tbh.

The kiyo V2 is the one I actually have stuff to say about . A friend had one , his stream looked good, so I grabbed it. 4k, Sony sensor. Image is a clear bit nicer that the elgato and the low light is honestly decent for the money. The autofocus tho. it would hunt and refocus when im sitting basically still, did my head in. went manual which stops it but now im resetting focus every single time i sit down. it also comes with camo studio for the ai framing stuff, which is cool, but its another app chewing your pc while you stream so it depends what you're running.

I've also got the emeet pixy. The thing with this one is it has an actual motor, it physically turns to follow you instead of cropping in on you digitally like the kiyo does in software. i move around a lot, second monitor, reaching for my drink, leaning back, so that bit i like. setup was a faff tho, had to sit there messing with the tracking in their app before it did what i wanted. The low light on it is alright but the kiyo beats it there, which i wasnt especting.

If you don't move much, the motor stuff is kind of wasted on you and the kiyo is just the better camera. i move so the pixy earns its spot for me on that one thing.