Customer Ratings & Reviews

GOOD -4Kp30 and 1080p60 in raw 4:2:2 and MJPEG -Very wide field of view w/o going wall-eye -Pan, tilt, and rotate adjustments on base -Good mic pick-up quality -Threaded base for tripod mounting -Plug-n-play / no drivers or software required -Excellent software package for camera scenes and framing -Recent firmware addresses limitations at launch BAD -Fixed-focus / no auto focus capability -Up/down tilt range could be better -Requires a lot of configuration to get the most out of it -Documentation could be better -1080p60 capture requires very good lighting TL/DR It's way more webcam than the average person needs for basic video conferencing. But if you're serious about streaming, or if your job relies on quality video capabilities, the PW513 is one of the best, if not the best, USB webcams on the market. DETAILS If you just need a better-than-integrated webcam for your video chats and remote classrooms, the PW513 is way more expensive than you need. It's meant to slot in between $100-ish 1080p webcams and $500+ DSLR and IC cameras that professional YouTubers and Twitch streamers use. For the dedicated hobbyist that can't spend much on a main camera, or for the professional who just wants an affordable alternate angle / B roll camera, the PW513 can be a great option. A lot of people may say the PW513 has bad video quality, or that it's hard to use, and they preferred their cheaper webcam. While the PW513 is plug-n-play in that it doesn't need special drivers or software to work, it is NOT plug-n-go idiot-proof. Most consumer webcams have their auto exposure algorithm designed around casual home lighting. The PW513 uses a better sensor that can capture much more detail, but it needs more light to do it. If you leave it on auto settings without proper lighting, you will get poor results. If you properly set your lighting, exposure, and white balance, video quality will be far better than anything you get on a cheaper consumer webcam. It may look like a YouTuber is recording in a dark room, but what the camera records and what your eyes see is quite different. If you were in that room at time of recording, you'd see it was actually quite bright. You can download AverMedia's CamEngine software from their site and it's very useful in unlocking the webcam's potential. Sadly, the documentation is lacking and won't be much help. Users who know about subject lighting, light exposure adjustment, and white balance correcting will be able find the controls they need ( the recent firmware update fixes this a lot ). Others will have a harder time. Aside from basic exposure control, you also get overlay filters to add cat and rabbit ears to your face, if that's your thing. CamEngine also has software enabled pan, tilt, and zoom controls ( called ePTZ ) that automatically zoom and crop in the video feed to simulate the camera moving. You can create 15 presets and map them to hotkeys, allowing you to change change camera angle in real-time with smooth transitions between each. You can also enable an AI face tracker that does a fairly good job of automatically framing and tracking your face if you move around. It is fairly CPU intensive, though. For the rest of the hardware specs, the base can sit atop a monitor or on a desk, and it's threaded for common tripod or camera shoe mounts. It also has a friction gimbal on the base allowing full 360 panning and limited tilt and pitch control. It would be nice if the pitch range was greater, but it makes it very easy to square the base against your monitor frame and then angel the camera where you need it. The frame also has a flip down privacy screen and a surprisingly good stereo mic. It won't replace a condenser or lapel mic of course, but it's certainly serviceable, and the CamEngine software has an AI noise filter option as well. The camera is USB 3.0 only. Those complaining about no USB 2.0 support don't realize it's capturing and sending a LOT of data. The latest firmware update allows the camera to capture in 4:2:2 at all resolutions ( originally all 4K modes were MJPEG only ). The raw stream at 4Kp30 is over 100 MB/s, which is twice what USB 2.0 can handle. Using a current computer with quality USB controllers is highly advised. If you built your desktop, make sure you install the drivers for the add-on controllers and don't rely on the Windows generic drivers. Also if you don't understand cable attenuation, high frequency signals degrade a lot faster than lower frequencies the longer a cable is. The PW513 comes with a 5 foot cable in the box, but if you need something longer, you will need a premium cable to ensure a good connection. The big limitation is the PW513 doesn't have any auto focus. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does require some extra thought in your setup. The upside is you don't have to worry about the camera changing focal distance if you move your face in and out of frame. The downside is can't get any kind of depth of field isolation. The camera is very good at mixed distance wide angle shots, especially with the very wide field of view. Shooting something like a building/tool bench or a crafts table. The specs say 10 cm is the minimum focal distance, but I'd say anything closer than 18 inches starts to get a little fuzzy. I think a lot of the complaints about the camera glitching or freezing were due to the launch firmware. AverMedia's site explicitly says the 3 Jan, 2021 firmware fixed some freezing issues and the default auto exposure settings. I patched it when I first hooked it up and I haven't had any of those problems. As it stands now, this is a great webcam. Yes, you have to spend time to set it up right to get the most out of it, but that usually applies to most professional tools. The fixed focus limitation might be a turn off for some, and it does seem to require very good lighting when recording at 1080p60. But the overall picture quality and automated camera ePTZ are excellent. Yes, you can get better picture and video quality with with a DLSR or IC camera, but the PW513 doesn't require you to get capture cards, extra lenses, or lens filters either.

So I use this in conjunction with a Sony a5100. This camera is great. With the eptz you kind of have a camera person with you. Image quality is amazing and for this price you don't want the brio or stream cam. Wide FOV and the software is fun to play with. Works great with OBS studio or SLOBS.

I recently bought a well-reviewed but generic, cheap Webcam. I was extremely disappointed. The video was not clear, it created artifacts like crazy whenever there was movement and the microphones were no better than 2 cans on a string. I had seen AVerMedia products around for video conversion for quite a number of years. I didn't know they had ventured into Webcams so I decided to give them a try, especially since webcams are hard to find in the time of a pandemic. The camera itself has significant heft to it. It's also fairly bulky compared to what you might find from a Logitech C920. The monitor stand is well constructed and has a tripod mount which I found very useful. The privacy cover does cover the camera, but has a slot allow the microphone to pick up. The camera comes with a decent USB A to USB C cable. The USB C connector plugs into the camera. I first plugged the camera into any USB slot on my desktop computer. I was disappointed to find a message in all my camera apps that reads "Please plug in USB 3.0 port to ensure stable video quality." This message appears in the middle of the screen with an illustration and cannot be dismissed. Changing to one of my USB 3.0 ports fixed the issue (typically signified by a blue USB port). But I would prefer a way to lower the resolution to 1080 if it meant I had flexibility in using any USB port. I also tried some other USB A to USB C cables for longer lengths and I was presented with the same message. Out of the box, the audio was very clear. However, the video quality wasn't up to my expectations. For some reason, the background objects were nice and clear, but the subject was slightly out of focus. To solve this, I needed to apply a firmware update. This can be downloaded from the product page: https://www.avermedia.com/us/product-detail/PW513 Once you download and extract the utility, follow the included PDF to update the firmware. This solved my video quality problem very quickly. At this point, the camera performance was nice. It provides 4K resolution, it also has a wide field of view. But I really wanted more. This is where I find the advertised features slightly mis-leading. While the camera is Plug And Play, I highly recommend installing the AVerMedia CamEngine software which is included in the utility downloaded above. When using the AVerMedia CamEngine software, make sure to close out of all the camera apps you're using. Giving the CamEngine software exclusive control over the camera unlocks several settings. With the CamEngine software, you're creating a second profile of your camera with all the settings you can tweak in CamEngine. For instance, I like the ePTZ function which re-frames the camera by electronically Pans, Tilts and Zooms via AI to draw the focus to the motion occurring in front of the camera. Or it can re-frame the camera to the person speaking. There are many other settings like exposure, gain, filters and effects. Once you're satisfied with the settings tweaks, you can close out of the CamEngine and go into an application like Zoom and instead of selecting the Live Streamer Cam 513, you can select the Live Streamer Cam 513 CamEngine-1 which has all your settings tweaks. After looking at the box, under the flap, there is a sticker that directs you to "Please check the AVerMedia website to upgrade the latest PW513 firmware and CamEngine Application software." before using the camera. To me, this belies the Plug and Play feature they tout on the box. While the camera does function without any other utilities, the premium price paid for this camera seems wasted if you don't apply the firmware and utilize the CamEngine software to unlock the potential for this camera.

Terrible software, terrible camera, can’t get the picture quality anywhere near as described.

Bought this webcam for streaming and I was skeptical at first since the price is high. Once I started messing around with it and compared it to my razer kiyo. It’s night and day! Love this webcam and the quality is all there!

Decent camera I have to toggle back and forth. I will say my sons cuts off now which is bothersome but I’m sure it’s something in settings. Camera quality is good. Use for YouTube videos

The pandemic continues to impact how all of us work. In my case, videoconferencing is a daily event. I have tried several webcams over the last year but I have been particularly disappointed with their lackluster performance in terms of video quality. As a result I looked forward to trying the AVerMedia Live Streamer 4K PW513 webcam. Spec wise I knew I was entering previously uncharted webcam territory. The PW513 uses Sony Exmor 4K lens technology to support 4K UHD at 3840x2160@30fps and 1920x1080@60fps. The lens is 8 megapixel f2.8 with a 94 degree field of view. Upon receiving the PW513 I was both surprised and pleased by the size of the packaging. The PW513 is big for a webcam at 5 x 2 inches. But no wasteful excessive sized package here as the box is barely larger than the cam. Inside you find it nicely secured and padded with the only contents being the webcam, a usb C cable, and a quick guide. The quick guide information simply amounts to telling you that the PW513 doesn’t require drivers and to visit the AVerMedia website. So I simply connected the usb C cable to the back of the webcam and then to a USB port on my pc. You’ll need a usb 3.0 port. Being plug and play it was ready in seconds. I positioned the PW513 on my monitor using the clip base. It sits very securely and I do appreciate that you can pivot the cam in all directions. I also like that the PW513 has a tripod attachment option as well. This will definitely come in handy. I also noticed the privacy arm that you can lower to obstruct the lens. Nice touch. I then started up Zoom to get a sense of how the cam looked right out of the box. Frankly I was disappointed but I wasn’t totally surprised. Image was somewhat dark and grainy. Don’t panic! Your next step should be to visit the the AVerMedia PW513 product page. There you will find a firmware update. This was a quick download and install. Included with the firmware update is the AVerMedia CamEngine software. This requires a separate installation. CamEngine includes a multitude of settings to fully tweak your image quality. I would note that you should additionally pay close attention to the FAQ section at the product page. Here you will find a brief step by step guide to optimizing the PW513 video quality. As mentioned there the key is proper lighting. I used an LED light source positioned behind the PW513. Wow! Proper lighting is truly the game changer where the PW513 is concerned. Next you should tweak the CamEngine settings for brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and sharpness. With a few slight adjustments I now had stunning video quality. There are advanced options too which control white balance, backlight, zoom, pan, tilt, exposure, and gain. By manipulating all these settings one has full control over image quality. Additionally there is a filter tab where one can adjust skin tone and smoothing. I personally found these too severe. Also on the effects tab AVerMedia includes some video overlay effects which in my opinion are limited and pretty cheesy but I can certainly imagine kids enjoying them. There is one more tab in CamEngine called ePTZ. This stands for electronic pan tilt zoom. I look forward to using this feature for videoconference presentations. Here you can manipulate video zoom, rotate, and mirror settings and then save the changes to up to 15 different buttons which can then activate at will by clicking on them or by using a hot key. For instance, you could set a zoom level then save it and utilize it for a emphasis on the speaker during a streaming presentation. Also on the ePTZ tab is a great setting called AI Framing. When enabled you have two selections for the cam software to automatically zoom the video frame to everyone on cam or to adjust the frame to zoom and pan to who is talking. I really like these settings as they give a very professional appearance that someone is manually reframing and zooming the camera. I should also note that mic quality is quite good. Although I would think most users who opt for the PW513 would also opt for a high quality microphone. After using the AVerMedia Live Streamer 4K PW513 webcam for videoconference meetings and presentations I had participants comment about the video quality and AI Framing. What a game changer. Whether you’re using the PW513 for Zoom, Twitch, or your YouTube channel you can expect impressive professional results.

Not a webcam for the ones who just want plug and play, definitely took some tinkering to get it where I would like it, software is terrible and is problematic but the overall result with good lighting makes it worth the purchase for me at least.

I've never felt so inclined to write a negative review in my lifetime. First off I can't get my PC to recognize a video signal from this webcam in OBS after plugging it into multiple USB 3.0 ports on my PC. My PC recognizes the camera is plugged in and I can select it in OBS under the name "Avermedia PW513" but I just get a black screen in OBS with a no signal text. So I am assuming the camera is defective in some way? Also the software that Avermedia includes with this webcam will NOT even launch. I have installed and uninstalled the software multiple times and even restarted my PC on top of that and the software will still not open no matter what I do. I've never been so unsatisfied with a product in a long time. I don't think I will ever purchase an Avermedia product again. I will be returning this webcam immediately!

Great camera! Nice fov to the point where you can almost see my whole room. Also, the software that you can download for this webcam let’s you adjust it even more!

This is a decent Web camera for streaming if you on the more casual side. I've been using it to stream to my twitch stream and setup on Windows 10 was easy. Recognized and captured by my setup with no problems. Installed a Virtual Green Screen program to clear out the background and was off to the races. While it worked ok in my office with the lights on, they were positioned to show off the camera, so I recommend some lights to help the camera, but honestly I can't fault the camera for my poor lighting, but once I added the lights it elevated the setup and the picture was much better. An example of it below https://www.twitch.tv/oelshami/clip/TardyTenaciousYogurtYee Overall I did like the fact it has an effective cover for the lens in build and it has some limited title and swivel so if you mount on your monitor makes it easier to get the right position. You can also do some camera adjustment with software too to help and it all seemed to work. I didn't test the mic on this as I have my own and muted it as a source, but it does have a Mic if you need something like that, I just didn't test so I can't vouch if it is a decent chance. Overall I've been happy with the picture and helped elevate my stream to slightly less casual. If you needed to also do Zoom/Teams meeting for work this is an easy to setup and use WebCam that will work well for that as I did Skype with the family and it worked great for that. Overall it is a webcam and does what you expect with minimal fuss.

Let me say up front, while this is promoted as a webcast camera, I am not a webcaster, nor am I able to judge this on streaming applications. But if you, like me, want something that will upgrade your video for the next conference call, this is an excellent camera, with solid image quality and easy to use controls, although with a finicky connection. Whether it's worth $250 is another question. Installation is simple, and setup is a breeze - if you know to download the app. The app is required to adjust color, lighting, zoom, pan, etc. You'll want to do that right off, as without adjustments, flesh tones looked orange, and straight lines in furniture were wavy. Once adjusted, the camera is easy to use, from bright to late-day light. While it will show an image in low-light situations, it will be very grainy and pixelated, so make sure you have a light ring or similar light source. I've been the AVerMedia it for video calls, and the image can be adjusted even while you're on a call, which is very handy. So, need to zoom in 10%? No need to move your monitor. Flesh tone doesn't look quite natural? You can adjust that. Not quite centered in the screen? No problem, us the pan control. Lighting has changed since your last call? Adjust the brightness and contrast. The filters, which the app warns will require significant system resources, did not appear to phase my Core I7 system at all, even with numerous browser tabs and other apps running. The smoothing feature was great - it allowed me to smooth out the small lines on my face so I no longed looked so much like the old guy on the call. The privacy shield is welcome, and easily flips down to block the camera, but it does not appear to turn off the microphone. While there is a light on the camera to show you when it's been activated, the paranoid among you (I am part of that club) may want to make certain that the microphone is muted at the operating system level. One caveat - the camera requires a USB-3 connection to operate, and will remind you of this with a warning message across your image. I could not get it to work with a USB-3 hub, and had to connect it directly to its own port. Perhaps a better hub would have solved this, but adding a new hub to a $250 camera seems a bit, well, annoying. Overall, this is a really nice camera with a couple of annoyances. It's just that for the price, I would have expected it to be annoyance free.

This thing is amazing. Great 4K image and meany features that will make any streamer look good.

I stream on twitch, not a big streamer but I’m trying. I purchased a Logitech streamcam plus off of Best Buy and it arrived with some damage, I think due to shipping, it worked but every time I used it I had to unplug the usb c cable from my pc and plug it back in to get rid of the graphical glitches that were occurring with this product. I watched a few reviews about this particular webcam and thought oh man, this is gonna be awesome. So, I ordered it and waited a couple of weeks for it to even ship out. When it finally arrived yesterday morning, I quickly plugged it in and began to test it out. First impression - absolutely trash webcam, grainy, pixely, just all together terrible quality being put out from this $250 webcam. I spent hours looking up videos and trying to contact the manufacturer in attempts to get the image quality to look even half as good as some of the reviewers, to no avail. I tried having my room basically brighter than daylight, without any lights behind the camera because that’s what one of the tech experts for this product recommended, I tried color correction, I tried the software you can get from the website, i tried different cables, I even tried different computers. My desktop has an i9-10900k processor, an RTX2080 Super, 32GB of DDR4 3200MHz ram, and an m.2 2TB SSD in it. So believe me. It wasn’t my computers fault. To anyone reading this, in my personal situation, I actually had a BETTER image quality and experience with the Logitech streamcam that’s locked at 1080p60fps, without 4k, that I had to send back due to graphic glitches, I’d probably end up buying another one but, they’re out of stock. Realistically, here’s a solution to the problem for me at least, I downloaded epocCam, it was an app that was bought out by Elgato, and I started to use my iPhone 12 Pro Max as a camera, while there are a few shortcomings of this particular app as it sits, it absolutely obliterated the camera quality of both the streamcam and the pw513. Try your luck, maybe I got a bad sensor, but a lot of people are having this issue. I wish that I’d have not trusted the YouTuber who gave the streamcam a bad review and the avermedia pw513 was crowned “best webcam”. Anyways. Take my opinion and experiences with a grain of salt, because I’m not any kind of webcam expert, but this was my personal experience.

It is a nice cam for being a webcam. It works for the various programs I use it in, but does get very warm/hot during use. I am uncertain if that can become a problem later on with continued use. I really do not believe this cam value should be more than $120 retail.

I have a very nice 2 pc setup and had been using a logitech c922. I recently started making youtube vids and doing FiveM server reviews on GTA. Wanted a new camera that was crispy and able to do 4k. Like most of you I turned to checking out reviews from other youtubers. They all were impressed so I pulled the trigger and bought this camera. Let me tell you right now this camera is not as simple as just "plug and play" For some reason it will not work with avermedias software. The software does not open at all. I was able to get this camera working after about an hour of messing around. I fired up my stream amd it does look pretty good for me but here is the part where I wanted to break it. The camera would freeze up non stop to the point where I would have to restart obs to get it to work again. Then I tried to record a video and the dang camera froze for that too! Sent it back to best buy amd bought a Sony A series with elgato cam link. Yes I paid alot more but holy crap I'm headache free amd loving the quality of sony mirrorless camera on stream amd video! Stop by my twitch and youtube channel. My name on both platforms is SnipeU1st

Quality is Amazing. Works exactly as I need it to.

best quality and value for the price, hands down !

What a massive disappointment... The image quality is poor. Grainy as all get out unless you have perfect lighting in which it's only slightly grainy. The software doesn't work at all... like literally will not even open! Requires a very high end cable so be prepared to spend a lot of money for a cable if you want it to be in a farther spot from PC. AverMedia has said nothing about it and have only responded to a handful of people and not in a helpful way. Save up for an actual camera or spend way less for a C920 which is way better quality.

I have spent the last 3 hours trying to figure out how to get this camera and it’s software to work on my computer. I have a Logitech c920 and I was looking to upgrade to something a little better that wasn’t a $1,000 DSLR. Youtubers made this sound like the ultimate camera. It is not. Do not buy this. Never ordering anything with Avermedia on it ever again.