Webcams are expected to capture clear video. They’re most often used for video chatting and teleconferencing, so they should be able to transmit clear audio as well. Few webcams truly excel at both, and the $99.99 Razer Kiyo might have the biggest gulf we’ve seen between these two measures. Its 1080p lens is capable of a sharp, detailed image, and its built-in ring light means it works very well in bright and dark environments alike. Its microphone, on the other hand, is soft and muddy. If you already own a good USB mic, adding the Kiyo to your setup will make for some excellent video calls. If you don’t, you might want to consider a different webcam if audio quality if your top priority.
A Ring Light Makes the Difference
The Kiyo is roughly the size and shape of a hockey puck, a circular black disc measuring 2.7 by 0.6 inches (HW) for the camera itself. A small lens sits in the middle, framed by a ridged, glossy black plastic surface with a status LED above and a Razer logo barely visible below. A translucent white ring sits around the black disc, and runs to the edge; this is the built-in ring light. The sides of the disc are textured like a camera lens, and twist to adjust the brightness of the light.
The camera folds upward from a similarly disc-shaped base. The bottom of the base folds back to reveal grippy rubber surfaces that, with a wide front tooth, can secure the camera to the top of your monitor or laptop. The camera can freely tilt up and down from this position, but can’t pivot left or right from its completely flat, forward-facing angle. The bottom of the base has a threaded hole for use with tripods. A five-foot, fabric-wrapped cable extends from the back of the base of the camera and terminates in a USB-A plug.
While Razer doesn’t specify aperture size, the Kiyo’s autofocus lens has an 81.6-degree field of view. Its sensor has a still image resolution of 2,688 by 1,520 pixels, though video capture is limited to 1080p at 30 frames per second, or 720p at 60 frames per second.
Razer’s Synapse software can adjust the Kiyo’s exposure settings, with multiple image presets including white balance. You can also use the software to disable the autofocus and manually set the focal distance. This isn’t capture software, however; Razer recommends OBS or XSplit for streaming or recording with the Kiyo, and of course any standard video conferencing service will work with it.
Razer Kiyo Picture and Audio Quality
In a well-lit room (pictured above), the Kiyo’s 1080p picture is quite sharp. Fine details like my beard and stubble (and an unfortunate nick I gave myself shaving) can be clearly seen, as can the room behind me. It’s one of the best webcam pictures we’ve seen in terms of detail. The exposure is nicely balanced in these lighting conditions, though as with all webcams, you have to be aware of the effects of backlighting.
The Kiyo’s ring light is very bright for its size, and will illuminate your face much better than the light from your monitor in a dark room. It can actually get a bit too bright and harshly directed, but fortunately you can dim the light to your preferences by twisting the ring around the camera. The picture above is from the light at maximum, which is clearly a bit too much.
Even without the ring light, the Kiyo’s low-light video performance is admirable. The shot above is from the Kiyo in a dark room with the light turned off, with my face lit only by my monitor. It’s a bit noisy, but fairly clear considering the lighting conditions.
While the Kiyo has some of the best image quality we’ve seen, it’s tempered by a disappointing microphone. Audio in test recordings sounded consistently soft and muffled, about the same (or perhaps slightly worse) than the sound you get from your laptop webcam’s microphone.
We strongly recommend picking up a USB microphone to use in tandem with the Kiyo, like the Blue Snowball Ice. It’ll add another $50 minimum to your video chat and recording setup, but it will drastically improve your audio quality.
A Great Picture (But Get a Microphone)
The Razer Kiyo is an excellent webcam in one sense, and a mediocre one in another. For video, it offers one of the best pictures you can get short of connecting a digital camera to your computer. For audio, its microphone is muffled, and really should be augmented by a USB microphone. The Poly P5 Studio and Logitech StreamCam both have slightly softer pictures, but have much stronger mics for a better overall package. Either of those webcams is a better choice if you want a simple, one-piece video chat solution. But if you value a good picture over audio quality, or don’t mind spending a bit more and using another USB port for a separate microphone, the Razer Kiyo is worth a look.
