YOLOLIV - YoloCam S3

Thanks!! I’m going to choose the YoloCam S3 over the OBSBOT Tiny after going through both spec sheets and comparing them side by side. My use case is mostly online meetings and recordings, seated at a desk. I’m on a Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 (Windows 11), and my audio is already sorted with a RØDE PodMic USB and Etymotic ER2-XR IEMs via the Apple USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter. So the Tiny’s built-in mics and tracking don’t add value for me. On specs alone, I think image quality is essentially on par. For my setup, the S3 wins because it’s fixed, predictable, has no moving parts, and offers stronger manual image and colour control for a clean, consistent “set-and-forget” look. Tiny makes sense if you move around or need PTZ/tracking. For desk-based meetings and recordings, the S3 is the cleaner choice.

YoloCam S3 is the most well-balanced webcam across all aspects.

Yolocam S3 is the best as far as image quality, by a decent margin. If you want something that follows you if you move around a lot, obsbot

Imo, the Yolocam S3 is the best webcam on the market at the moment. Great autofocus, solid colors out of the box with the ability to change anything you want about them with their software.

I want to start this by saying that Yololiv was kind enough to send me an S3 for free so I can cover it and make a review on my youtube channel. I will admit I was skeptical at first because I've had companies reach out and want to sent me cameras before - they've always been 'just ok'. I was working with a Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra for the last year and a half, so to be blunt I was used to the ultra sharp 4k it gave me and refused to move on to anything else. So when I got the S3 and plugged it in to OBS, I had to double check to make sure I didn't set it to use my Razer. Not only is the S3 sharp, but the color science out of the box is nearly how I'd adjust the colors myself. all I had to tweak was the white balance a bit and I was set. The Auto Focus system is incredibly quick, nearly as fast as my main shooter - Sony A7iv. While I love working with my Sony for A-roll shots, I often just use my streaming setup to make videos just because I don't want to be bothered with setting up my camera. So having a high quality 4k webcam is essential. With that said, the S3 is the BEST camera I have used in that regard. Sharp visuals, lighting fast AF, solid color science, and a team full of people that not only listen to feedback, but implement functions that users ask for. For the time being, it's the only webcam I'll tell people they should get.

Can't recommend the Yolocam S3 enough! it's legit the only camera I tell people about these days lol

YoloCam S3 is my favorite if it's in the budget.

**Focusing on Quality, Autofocus, and Low Light.** Hi everyone, I’ve have been looking into webcams lately and honestly spent way too much time researching, and reading through this and other subs. thought I wouldmake a list at this point, and share what i have found. I personally went for the **YoloCam S3 ($199)** as my go to webcam, I wanted something durable for travel and portability, but the landscape is always changing. What are your thoughts? I'd like to know what you're actually using and if you've tried any of these other "hyped" cams only to be disappointed. # Budget Webcams 2026 (< $50) * **Logitech Brio 101 ($36):** Still the king of the "cheap and reliable" hill. It handles exposure well even in bad home lighting. * **Anker PowerConf C200 ($49):** 2K resolution at this price is a good deal. It does have a physical privacy shutter and a sharp picture. * **EMEET C960 4K ($49):** Having 4K, though it can feel a bit "digital" without minor software tweaks. \* these didn't end up being great in low light. # Mid-Tier Webcams ($60 - $160) * **OBSBOT Meet 2 ($129):** It has a tiny footprint and excellent AI framing that doesn't feel twitchy. But won't be for evryone. * **Razer Kiyo V2 ($149):** This one brings 4K clarity to the mid-tier with a Sony STARVIS sensor. Much better value than the old "Pro" model ever was. * **Logitech MX Brio ($159):** It has a great "Show Mode" for your desk if you do a lot of demos. # My New Gold Standard: YoloCam S3 ($199) If you actually care about image quality, the **YoloLiv YoloCam S3** is the current champion. It completely changed what I expect from a webcam. * **Full Aluminum Housing:** While almost every other camera on this list is a plastic toy, the S3 is built from **solid aluminum**. It doesn't just feel premium; the metal acts as a heat sink. It stays cool during 24/7 streaming—no thermal lag or stuttering. * **Massive 1/1.3" Sensor:** This is one of the largest sensors ever put in a webcam. It delivers **real hardware bokeh** (natural background blur) that looks professional, not like a weird, fuzzy software filter. * **DSLR-Level Performance:** Between the PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) and the f/1.85 aperture, it handles low light better than many dedicated vlog cameras I've tested. # Best High-End Webcams (2026 Update) * **Insta360 Link 2 ($199):** Features a 2-axis gimbal for AI tracking. If you move around your room a lot while talking, this is the one. * **Elgato Facecam 4K ($199):** Recently had a massive price cut to compete with YoloLiv. I found the color to be washed out a bit. * **Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra ($299+):** If you want to spened even more money this one has a 1-inch sensor. Still a massive image, but it is physically a tank compared to the sleek YoloCam. # ⚠️ Buyer Beware: The "Software Tax" Before you drop $200, you need to know which of these cameras will try to ruin your life with buggy drivers. * **Logitech (G Hub / Logi Options+):** Avoid if you're on Mac. Just this week, Logitech let their security certificate expire, bricking their software for thousands. Since the auto-updater broke too, you have to **manually** download a patch just to get your settings back. Embarrassing. * **Razer (Synapse):** Still a bloated mess. If you’re a Mac user, don’t even bother. Even on Windows, it likes to "reset" your manual settings whenever it feels like it. * **OBSBOT (Obsbot Center):** Decent features, but it’s a notorious battery hog. If you’re on a laptop without a charger, your battery will tank during a long call. * **YoloCam S3 (YoloLiv Compose):** The S3 is a beast, but it is software-reliant, to adjust the camera settings. You can't change things like shutter speed without their app. The good news: they recently removed the annoying login requirement. It’s the "least evil" of the pro-software suites right now. # My Final Verdict: If you want a camera that has similar qualit like a DSLR but actually fits on your monitor, the YoloCam S3 is the clear winner. The aluminum build quality alone makes the plastic competition feel like they’re in a different (lower) league.

I love using mine. With the large sensor low light works well.

The Yolocam S3 is much more durable with its aluminum housing. The magnet 🧲 connection opens endless options for mounting. And the larger sensor surpasses all others.

Agreed if it's in your budget for a 4K grab it!

I just picked up the YoloCam S3, I love it and if you search some of my posts you'll find the results of the camera and my findings. I do travel with my gear so I love the durability of the housing and that it's magnetic to place in multiple locations easily.

I had the facecam 4k and returned it for the Yolocam S3, much better in my opinion.

I have a Yolocam S3, If you don't have problem with made-in-China. The quality is really good, and shows a good speed on focus in many Youtube review.

My hesitation with the Facecam 4K is that it's fixed focus and in every review I've seen, the focal length is set too far back so the person is less in focus than the background. It's also got a really small iris, which is to say that it needs lots of light. If you can find them for the price, the Kiyo Pro Ultra and the new Yolocam S3 seem to be best in class. I have the Kiyo Pro Ultra and the image quality is fantastic, it's just a bit slow on focusing. Yolocam fixes that, but the image isn't quite as nice.

As far as I can tell, the best webcam currently on the market is the Yolocam S3. Beyond that, you're looking at a real camera with a capture card.

Start with your lighting as others have suggested, but IMO Yolocam S3 is the best webcam out there right now. Great image quality, great autofocus, works great with low light, just great all around.

Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra is the best for image quality, but it has pretty bad autofocus and lens distortion. You can enable a setting to get rid of the lens distortion, but I find that makes the frame rate choppier. It also has a pretty low FOV. Yolocam S3 that just came out looks almost as good, but it has significantly better autofocus, no lens distortion, and a wider FOV. Seems like it takes more fiddling to get the colors and such just right, but if I were to buy again, that's probably the route I'd go.

I know this is about a month old, but I ended up getting the S3, so now I can more directly compare. Since all those YouTube reviews came out saying it never turns off, they've added an option in the software to have it turn off. If privacy is still a concern, you could always just put something over the lens. It doesn't have a mic, so it's not like they can hear you. It does run hot, but I think that's at least in part on purpose as it has a metal body intended to dissipate the heat. I've yet to hear of anyone have it actually overheat. FOV is roughly the same as the Kiyo Pro Ultra. In actual performance, there are quirks to both. The Kiyo has a 1440p option while the S3 only does 1080p or 4k. The Kiyo looks really good right out of the box with much less fiddling; the S3 can get there, but even after messing with the colors for an hour or so, the skin tones are still a bit off. Kiyo requires you to turn off lens distortion compensation if you want the frame rate to look right; S3 only really seems to run at the right frame rate at 4K if you use the MJPEG mode instead of NV12, so you're not getting an uncompressed 4K signal. Kiyo requires Synapse for initial configuration, S3 uses Yololiv's software that never runs in the background and has substantial color correction options. So it kinda depends on what you want. Both are better than any of the Facecam options, IMO.

Seems to be roughly similar. I didn't have to change any of my audio delay settings in OBS for the Yolocam and it's still lined up.

Lighting is often the biggest factor, but a good camera can also look better with less light whereas a cheap camera will only look decent with a lot of light. My personal favorite is the Yolocam S3. It has a very large sensor, so it works well even in low light. It also has really great autofocus and all settings, including color correction, are saved to the camera so they don't change if you unplug it or reboot. And it looks great. Depending on your needs, the main downsides are that it can only do 4k30, and only in MJPEG (the uncompressed mode is stuck at more like \~25 FPS), and if you move it to 60 FPS, it crops the image, so you'd want to move it back to get a similar FOV. Otherwise, no complaints.

I have yolocam s3 and elgato facecam 4k. S3 is good right out of the box and facecam couldn’t compare even with adjustments.

Go check yolocam s3. Literally almost as good as a DSLR camera which would cost 3 times as much.

S3(1/1.3”) has the larger sensor than Lyra(1/1.5”)so better image quality. I prefer s3 personally because I don’t need the built in mic.

Definitely one of the best! The software is pretty impressive too. You can adjust the ISO and Shutter manually like on a DSLR camera, on top of other image settings including exposure, white balance, focus, and zoom. Due to the sensor size being 2nd largest on the market (after Kiyo Ultra 4K), the low light performance is top notch at this price. There are also 3 types of zoom: AF-C, AF-S, and Face tracking. All of these get saved on the device after closing the software which is also nice because you can plug it into another device and it will be preconfigured.

I think the YoloCam S3 and the Hollyland Lyra are the best of the bunch Yolocam S3 is by far the best low light performer. It has the best sensor. There's hardly/no patternblocking in low contrast parts, something that the Hollyland Lyra does have (most other cams do), and very little pixelnoise. However, the Hollyland Lyra has way better autofocus, especially in low light. Excellent tracking and superfast, so if you hold stuff in front of the camera or walk around, the Lyra will pick that up without errors. The Yolocam S3 can loose focus all together. And of course you can get that Hollyland Lyra with the small wireless lapel microphone for $10 extra. Also don't forget that the Yolocam S3 doesn't have a microphone at all afaik, so that can be an extra cost.