Page 3 - Sample Videos and Analysis
As the GAMDIAS IRIS M1 is a webcam, I set it up on my computer and placed it above my monitor. I set the IRIS M1 to record at its maximum resolution and frame rate, which is 1080p at 60fps for videos and 1920x1080 for photos. I used Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS, to record all of the sample videos. On an aside, I tried to use the default Camera application in Windows, but I found it would always drop the framerate back to 30fps regardless of what I would set in the settings, which is why I ended up using OBS. Otherwise, there was not much else to do after plugging the webcam in and turning my computer on. Thankfully, my PC recognized this camera immediately and setting it up in OBS was trouble-free. The only thing that you might have to set up is making the microphone on the IRIS M1 as the default audio input, if you so desire.
With adequate lighting, the images captured by the GAMDIAS IRIS M1 was decent with no real issues to speak of. It may not have been on the same levels as a DSLR or mirrorless camera, but it was respectable for a webcam. With a maximum resolution of 1920x1080 or 2MP, it is not too surprising we did not have much detail from the background, especially if you look at the items on my shelf. Furthermore, the shelf and window were generally blown out and oversaturated by the daylight, as the IRIS M1 clearly focused more on keeping my face in reasonable lighting. If we look closer at my facial details, you can see some details in my hair and skin, but it was a bit soft. Areas on my face were slightly blurred and blotched, almost as if I had a smooth face filter applied, but unfortunately that was not reality. This image quality was still passable for a webcam, but there were some tradeoffs to note.
In trickier lighting conditions, the GAMDIAS IRIS M1 struggled further, albeit some of the struggles were self-induced. In a pitch-black room with just the ring light on, my face was completely blown out, as I was made as white as Casper the Friendly Ghost. In this case, the shelf was a bit more illuminated and visible, but the light was quite harsh. The second photo had the ring light at one-third its brightness, as you can see from the reflection in my glasses, but everything was very soft with a lot of noise in the shadows, background, and on my face. The smooth and blotched image meant more of my facial details were lost, although you can make out my individual front teeth. With the ring light completely off, my face was just reflecting the light from the monitor, which is why you can see more noise in the background as the shelf was completely hidden in the shadows. None of these results were too surprising, as these are probably the worst lighting conditions for any camera.
As for our video samples, our daytime video was very similar to the daytime image. As I mentioned in the video above, the auto-focus hunted quite a bit, even when I did not move away or toward the IRIS M1. I am not entirely sure why it does this, although I have seen this behavior with other auto-focusing webcams. It is nice that the camera automatically changing focus when the subject changes. However, the time it took to change focus between a close-up object and my face was a bit slow. At a recording frame rate of 60fps, the recorded movement felt smoother than other webcams I have tested. Otherwise, the recorded quality was similar to the still image with the oversaturated shelf and window. One thing GAMDIAS prides itself is the near-zero distortion lens while still being able to capture a wide 74-degree image. This would normally be more notable on the edges of the image. Thankfully, we did not see any noticeable distortion in the video or images captured.
Moving into the evening, our video sample at night displayed similar qualities to our night image capture. With lighting in the room, the picture quality was fine, albeit a bit fuzzy in the background. Once again, with just the ring light on, my face had its ghostly-white color. You can see the camera took some time to bring a bit of color back to my face. It was not until I turned the LEDs slightly down that my face started to resemble that of a human. Interestingly, at this brightness, there was a bit more detail on my face, including the stubble on my chin. When it was fully dark, the blur, softness, and noise returned, which was not too surprising either. All in all, the motion regardless of the lighting was relatively smooth, but the camera definitely struggled in low-light conditions.
As for the audio quality, you can hear our tests from the video samples as well as the dedicated test with Audacity. The omnidirectional microphone on the GAMDIAS IRIS M1 was generally good at capturing my voice, although we had some lacking elements. For positives, even though the mic is located on the webcam, my voice was picked up clearly. There was a bit of peaking at the beginning of the recording. As for negatives, the sound quality was a bit nasally as it was not fully able to capture the lower end of my voice. There was also a hollow-like quality to my voice. As for background noises, GAMDIAS says this has a noise-cancelling microphone, but the recording picked up other things in my room, including the constant whirring from my computer fans, clicks from my mouse, and background music from my speakers. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it should be kept in mind if you do not have a dedicated microphone. For casual use like in-game communications, the IRIS M1's microphone should suffice, but I would suggest a dedicated option for serious streaming or recording work.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Sample Videos and Analysis
4. Conclusion
