Of course, it was bound to be a webcam. Yes, Elgato, arguably the biggest name in streaming technology, has finally announced Facecam. This is the company's first webcam, although the company has bought the phone-based EpocCam app and is dominating the streaming cam market with the ultra-serious goodies Cam Link 4K and Cam Link Pro.

Given that webcams peaked this time last year, one might say that it was a bit late to the party, but Facecam is not a knee-jerk reaction to the global situation. We didn't start development in response to Covid," an Elgato representative told us at a preliminary briefing on the new camera.

And this is not your typical webcam that the masses keep on their monitors to spite themselves for being dry in a Zoom quiz; Elgato's Facecam is not just a face cam, but a serious alternative to buying a $50 camera on Amazon and rigging your DLSR It's the perfect half-step for serious streamers.

The uncompressed 1080p/60 video is likely the biggest draw for budding streamers, smoothing out the kinds of artifacts you might get from most other webcams you might have. Also, because it is a fixed-focus camera, the autofocus will not go haywire in the middle of the stream.

Facecam also comes with excellent software: the Camera Hub application allows users to control the webcam with simple sliders and switches.

The heart of Facecam itself is the Elgato Optical Module, a combination of a custom Elgato Prime Lens and a Sony STARVIS CMOS sensor. The lens is made entirely of glass and contains studio-quality optics, mounted on a Sony sensor optimized for low-light conditions.

Don't expect Facecam to be the final word on Elgato's own webcam range, as Elgato told us it is the baseline for the company's future camera developments.

The Elgato Facecam is available now for $199.99 ($189.99). Not cheap, but beautiful.