First, you may have noticed on WGU’s website that they give a few choices for acceptable cameras. I decided to try those and see which one I liked the best. It’s important to get one that is going to work well for you, for a long time. It also needs to be high quality, because if the proctors decide that it doesn’t match the specifications set by WGU, then you can encounter problems. Don’t be tempted to buy a cheap, basic one, because the chances are high that it won’t meet the specs.

Before we get into it, if you don’t have Prime, get it free for 6 months, then half off while you are a student. This will make shipping free if you choose to buy any of the cameras below.

Free Amazon Prime for 6 months, then half off for students.

Top picks:

#1

This Logitech web camera is the best of the best. A huge advantage to this camera is that it will be great for other uses in your time as a student. This camera is capable of streaming in 1080P, making it great for meetings, Skype calls, and of course, WGU proctored assessments.

It has a built in connector on the bottom so you can easily connect it to a tripod without extra accessories. It is also able to rest on your computer screen which is great if any of your courses want you to make a video or join a conference call. It meets all of WGU’s web camera requirements.

It features a 5 foot usb cable to connect to your laptop or desktop computer. It also has two built in mics, a privacy shutter, a 78 degree field of view, low light correction, and autofocus.

You will need to purchase a tripod as well. We recommend this one:

#2

This one is decent for proctored assessments, but it has some issues that make it less suitable for a student overall. One huge issue that we encountered was that the cord length is only 3 feet long. That makes it very difficult to get the tripod setup, or to connect it to a monitor. Our number 1 option shown above has a 5 foot cord, which is much easier to work with.

This camera is also limited in the sense that it can record in 1080P, but can only stream in 720P. It really bothers me that its capabilities are scaled back during streaming. When you are on conference calls, the 720P quality is disappointing.

#3

Webcam 1000

The last camera we checked out was the Webcam 1000. This one was hard to love. Although it technically meets the specifications for WGU proctored tests, we felt like it lacked in quality. It’s not, as far as we can tell, made by any recognized brand like Logitech. The video quality was quite poor in our tests.

The adjustable neck is a nice feature that is built in. But, for me, I kind of disliked it as well because I would get it set up in the exact position before signing into the testing site. Then, when they had me show them each wall and the desk area, the neck would sometimes get misconfigured and I would have reconfigure it all over again. With a tripod, I can get the angle and height configured and then it’s ready to go again after showing the testing area. I also found that the video signal would cut out occasionally with this camera. It seemed to be a quality issue with the USB plug. I had to wiggle it around to get it to work again. In the meantime, the proctor was worried that I was cheating because my camera was off and made me end the test. I had to go through a big process to be able to take the test again which was a waste of my time.

Remember to get a free trial of Amazon Student while you’re here!

Have any other cameras that you love? Let us know in the comment section: