laptop with camera capable of using Teams SOLVED thank you

soolin

Short version of story.

I am looking at buying a laptop capable of running Teams type applications with a requirement for a camera and mic. It won't be used constantly and I have been recommended to a site called Back market on the basis I don't need a brand new top of the range laptop just for work.

I am aware that a laptop camera is a poor substitute for a standalone one on the PC but as long as it is clear enough that I can be seen easily and can see others and talk to them it will suffice.

My recommendations so far have been for a Asus Vivobook , an HP pavilion or even a 4 year old (or thereabouts) Mac, although I'm nervous of a Mac as I am so used to a windows machine.

Is there any spec or utilities that can help me check how decent the quality of a camera is likely to be?

~~~

long version of story

I work infrequently and all my work requires me to be on camera and at the moment I'm using a PC at home.

Due to a really bad health scare in my immediate family we are planning to travel more going forward and the nature of my work means I often work a few hours here and there - and I want to do what a lot of my colleagues do and travel with a laptop so wherever I am (all probably still in the UK) I can log in do a couple of hours scheduled work and move on - not be tied to having to be home.

I am not allowed to use an Ipad - no idea why, but that's the rules - although I did once in an emergency and it was awful as it had none of the functions to change rooms or to have a private chat screen that my PC version has (That's probably why I am not supposed to use it). 

I was intending to use Back Market as I have had more than one recommendation for it , but will probably go for a 2-4  year old laptop and for the top rating of excellent.

Any pointers as to makes or spec would be appreciated, thank you 

ButterCheese

Any laptop is capable of running MS Teams. The biggest thing to consider is your internet connection and the quality of the screen and webcam of the laptop. Budget will decide how new you want to go.  You can get a new one for around £350 that will be more than adequate for your needs (Intel coreI3 processor, 4GB RAM, 14.5" screen, built in webcam).  Anything more expensive will be overkill but it will be better and faster.

You can also look out for used ones, this is more of a minefield and I wouldn't entertain doing this unless buying used from somewhere like Amazon, Currys etc where they sell returned items for a bit cheaper.  Make sure it comes with a warranty and/or buy an extra 3 years cover.

I've just had a look at Back Market - their used laptops are very, very old.  10 years in Laptop terms is ancient, and their newest model is 10 years old.  I would not buy one of those unless your budget is limited to £100.  The built in webcams will be awful, and the screen won't be very good

soolin

ButterCheese said:

Any laptop is capable of running MS Teams. The biggest thing to consider is your internet connection and the quality of the screen and webcam of the laptop. Budget will decide how new you want to go.  You can get a new one for around £350 that will be more than adequate for your needs (Intel coreI3 processor, 4GB RAM, 14.5" screen, built in webcam).  Anything more expensive will be overkill but it will be better and faster.

You can also look out for used ones, this is more of a minefield and I wouldn't entertain doing this unless buying used from somewhere like Amazon, Currys etc where they sell returned items for a bit cheaper.  Make sure it comes with a warranty and/or buy an extra 3 years cover.

I've just had a look at Back Market - their used laptops are very, very old.  10 years in Laptop terms is ancient, and their newest model is 10 years old.  I would not buy one of those unless your budget is limited to £100.  The built in webcams will be awful, and the screen won't be very good

I've been looking at 2021 models or later on Back Market I certainly wouldn't go as old as 10 years - I'm not really tech savvy so prefer something easy with an operating system I understand.

ButterCheese

Chromebooks are cheaper and arguably simpler, but they will only run using the Google suite of online software i.e. Gmail, Google Sheets (instead of Excel), Google Docs (instead of MS Word).  If that's not a problem then these are cheaper.

Another option - https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-i3-1215U-Processor-Graphics-14s-dq5003sa/dp/B0D1K27PW6/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ruthSbH-tMbwLd6GpGbU-jB30gpHs3A5YH7NUxWTsBDM-ju6TSkKFJUfwHuBOyxY4mWKy1ocWNNV1cy2D9zWqYzp7D_-sZAwPGD7hiJR-1-gytIqrGDnNlhowd0yLUPXu9Uitm5jNLhPm97aQYZsqaY1lCLE7HvWbGEkA27KeLg_So4FZY9GN47xPt0mZWGh_LFd07m2kszyq-yP-VyQGc5V8KHPC2LvzAh8xqSoxL-OGTEptWTQ6Rrs8Gslx-SZqhsfxFEnchC9qgOpJsY5AccHPVhZjzQ3QcG3frTBmPU.8N8vCCrL_XeHrofzFuP3RSdZIvhQusHR0YQ93a9sr4c&dib_tag=se&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1727945107&refinements=p_n_feature_fifteen_browse-bin%3A8322529031&rnid=8322509031&s=computers&sr=1-4&ufe=INHOUSE_INSTALLMENTS%3AUK_IHI_5M_VF 

This one is £370 but you can pay in 5 interest-free installments.  Another advantage of buying from a big company

DullGreyGuy

Your typical business are buying large volumes of fairly basic laptops... at most they consider the weight because staff always complain about having to carry them around. They certainly dont give big consideration to webcam quality etc and we all carry on using whatever there is. 

Any reasonably recent laptop running Windows or MacOS will be perfectly fine, you may not want to use it to produce professional videos but for Teams we all just live with whatever camera the laptop has.  Certainly wouldn't be buying a 5+ year old laptop 

Neil_Jones

ButterCheese said:

Chromebooks are cheaper and arguably simpler, but they will only run using the Google suite of online software i.e. Gmail, Google Sheets (instead of Excel), Google Docs (instead of MS Word).  If that's not a problem then these are cheaper.

This one is £370 but you can pay in 5 interest-free installments.  Another advantage of buying from a big company

Little tip:

When posting Amazon URLs you can stop at the slash before the /ref bit, so your link can become https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-i3-1215U-Processor-Graphics-14s-dq5003sa/dp/B0D1K27PW6 instead.  All that other junk in the URL is just what you did to get that far.

As for the OP, pretty much any old piece of junk with a supported version of Windows and any webcam and microphone will work - it won't be pretty but it'll work.  you don't need anything fancy, its more about your internet connection and Teams will, on a poor connection, make any pretty HD picture look like a mushy mess if it requires it.

Note that Teams will run on Mac and a relatively recent version of Android on your phone, so unless your phone is older than God's dog you may not even need any new hardware:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/hardware-requirements-for-the-teams-app

Cisco001

What is your budget?

Vitor

I've been buying 2nd hand HP Elitebooks for years, staying a couple of generations behind the £1,000+ new ones that businesses are buying so in the £300-£400 range. Very robust as designed for business travel, run W11 and have decent camera and mic/speakers for video conferencing. Check out certified refurbs on Amazon or Ebay.

HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels) is the minimum for a camera for Teams in a business context.

NB whatever the merits of Apple Macs, relearning everything for a Windows user will be incredibly frustrating plus Microsoft will optimise Teams for Windows.

400ixl

Any laptop with a 720p or higher resolution camera will do the job for teams. Best to buy one which is Windows 11 compatible if it doesn't already have it installed. Something with an Intel i5 / Amd Ryen 5 processor, 16Gb ram (8Gb minimum, 256Gb SSD drive and you will be pretty future proofed for a few years.

DullGreyGuy

Vitor said:

NB whatever the merits of Apple Macs, relearning everything for a Windows user will be incredibly frustrating plus Microsoft will optimise Teams for Windows.

Guessing you aren't a Mac user?

For the average point and click user the differences are not vast and many of us switch between the two OS often. For those that often dive into the command prompt to do things there are more differences but those types tend to like learning new systems etc.

I wouldn't recommend a Mac for the OP but for the reason on an ultra budget it will be an Intel machine and their days are very much numbered when it comes to supporting software updates etc.

I equally dont agree on the point of Teams either... Microsoft are not so small minded to hamstring an established corporate tool on other OS's. Every large corporate I've worked in has had at least some Macs in use, be that in the Marketing department who "need" them because they're creatives or the CEO who demands a MBA because they're light etc. Microsoft tools are made to work across the two OS else the CEO will say they should look at Zoom or another platform that does work on their machine. 

Sure, major new developments may come to Windows first (eg Copilot) but then they also tend to be for English (US) first too before being expanded out to Mac, English (UK), French (France) etc. Always a question if you really want to be a first adopter which can sometimes be more like a beta tester. 

soolin

Just an update with thanks to all the responses.

I decided that rather sit her all day ploughing through websites and website recommendations I would go to a very large branch of Currys and try every single camera on every single laptop in my price range. It was very interesting and the one thing that stood out was that the more expensive machines didn't necessarily have the best cameras. I also learnt the difference between a Chrome book and a laptop - I hadn't realised they were not the same .

I discounted several brands immediately, poorly coloured. washed out images even with adjustment and good lighting and narrowed it down to the brands with the better cameras. I then narrowed it down to what they had in stock, and also what i could afford- and they did me a very nice deal on an HP Pavilion SE 14" laptop. It is fairly mid range but with my son advising me on the phone, and a very patient assistant I think this will do exactly what I want.

I'm glad I spent almost 2 hours in the shop as there is a huge variety in camera quality - and I'm pleased with the one I have chosen.

Thank you all for your help.