Poly Studio P5 Webcam and Blackwire 3325 headset kit (UC review)

The Poly Studio P5 webcam is a USB-A, 1080p@30fps, 80° FOV webcam that comes in several configurations. These include a mono single-ear headset, stereo headset, a Voyager UC headset and a speakerphone kit.

While Poly (better known as Plantronics and Polycom) focuses on professional users, the Poly Studio P5 Webcam is ideal for those who work from home and need to step up from the limitations of a 720p laptop webcam.

CyberShack’s view: As a WFH, this 1080p USB wired camera and wired stereo headset/mic make you look significantly better and works across all web video apps. At the professional level, it is a pro-grade camera, can have management apps, is Microsoft Teams certified and more

Australian Review: Poly Studio P5 Webcam and Blackwire 3325 headset kit

Website	here
Price	Poly sells via computer stores and Unified Comms specialists. There is no fixed RRP, so prices are indicative only Poly P5 around $170 Poly P5 and BlackWire 3210 mono headset $300 Poly P5 and BlackWire 3325 stereo headset $350 Poly P5 and Studio Sync 20+ speakerphone $400 Poly P5 and Voyager 4220 UC stereo headset $450
Warranty	2-years
Country of Manufacture	Poly P5 – Taiwan Blackwire 3325 Mexico
About	Poly was born from Plantronics and Polycom, focusing on beautifully designed and engineered audio and video products that let you be seen and heard with incredible clarity wherever you work. Backed by the software, artificial intelligence, analytics, and insights to take you far beyond mere connectivity.
More	CyberShack Poly news and reviews

First impression – small

A webcam is a webcam is a webcam. But the Poly P5 is much more in a few critical ways.

First, the F/2.0, electronic pan, tilt and zoom (EPTZ), 80° FOV lens and Autofocus sensor is unusual for webcams. Most are fixed focus and don’t offer PTZ.

Second, it has a visible privacy shutter with a prominent LED fin on top and a red shutter. You won’t forget to twist it to privacy mode.

Third, it has a passthrough USB-A port meaning you can plug your headset into that instead of taking up a valuable port on the PC.

Fourth, it is a lot smaller than it looks in the photos – 37.7 W x 34 H x 62 D (mm) x 68g plus clamp.

Finally, it is pro-grade and built to last.

USB-A cable – why?

USB cable connected headsets/mics and cameras work the first time, every time. I can’t tell you the number of times a Bluetooth headset/mic has lost contact during a video conference.

The passthrough USB-A port is a sign of good design and usability – this alone might be the saving grace if you have limited ports.

Mounting

Either use the over monitor folding mount or the ¼” tripod screw connector underneath (very few webcams have a tripod mount).

Pro-grade – why?

There are a zillion cheap 720p, 1080p, 2K and 4K webcams, and without fail, most use a crappy low-cost CMOS sensor with no smarts.

This has

• Pro-grade camera optics
• 1080p@30fps, 16:9 format
• Auto-focus
•  80° FOV
• ePTZ (electronic pan, tilt and 4X zoom)
• Automatic low light exposure compensation
• f/2.0 aperture for lower < 400-lumen office light
• True  colour certified
• MEMS 50Hz to 16kHz microphone with noise focus and echo cancellation
• USB-A Adapter is both pass through and supports the Poly BT6000 Bluetooth adapter

You look and sound better.

Privacy

Poly has a physical camera shutter (rotate the bezel) and indicator light when the camera is active. Plus, a physical shutter means you can turn the image on only when you need it – otherwise, the caller will see the background you have chosen.

Poly Lens App

You don’t need the Poly Lens App for Windows or macOS to use the device, but it enables firmware updates, room setup, ePTZ, best camera location, manage your Blackwire headset and more. Consumers don’t have to create an account to use it.

Firmware updates are essential as Poly regularly fine-tunes its devices for new video and comms apps.

IT Support

If you manage a Poly UC camera and headset fleet, you can use Poly Lens  – a cloud-based onboarding and management device.

Blackwire 3325 stereo headset

This is an on-ear and exerts a very light clamping pressure for day-long comfort. It has a 3.5mm 3-pole jack and a USB DAC (digital analogue converter) with Microsoft Teams functions pre-programmed – volume, launch, presence, etc.

The noise-cancelling mic has a 100Hz to 10kHz frequency response and is excellent. It is on a boom that pivots through 180° for left or right side use

It is pretty clever – when receiving music, it presents as a stereo device and full 20Hz-20kHz. When used as a ‘telephony’ device on Teams, it adjusts from 1-6.8kHz for clear voice. There are volume safeguards.

Sound-wise – it is pretty neutral for easy listening of most music genres. Pleasant rather than outstanding.

CyberShack’s view – the Poly Studio P5 Webcam is the best tool for the job

Always use the right tool for the task. The on-ear BlackWire headphones are exceptionally comfortable. The camera quality is excellent without resorting to 2/4K to get details – it shows what good optics can achieve.

It is a huge step up from a 720p webcam – you may hear and see things you have been missing.

Rating

As a consumer device, the price is fair for what you get. Let’s say that after nearly two weeks of use, we really don’t want to use anything else.

As a pro-grade device, this is a terrific combo for staff. The quality of construction and longevity far outweigh the price.

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