Toallin Hello Pro 2K review: Confusing models, mediocre performance

Best Prices Today: Toallin Hello Pro 2K QHD Webcam

When I bought Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K QHD webcam, I wasn’t sure whether I was buying the right one. I don’t think I did.

Let me explain.

Toallin offers two versions of its 2K Windows Hello webcam on Amazon: the cheaper 2K version, which we recommend, and the version I review here–I mistakenly thought the more expensive option was the newer one. I also made the mistake of thinking that two webcams with identical names would be the same, even if they looked slightly different. Wrong again!

What I ended up reviewing was a Toallin webcam that I wouldn’t recommend because it does a poor job of authenticating you — the entire point of a Windows Hello webcam. As an ordinary webcam, it does a surprisingly good job, minus the audio portion.

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K QHD webcam: Design and construction

Toallin ships its Hello Pro 2K webcam (at least from Amazon) in a plain brown box with little ostentation.

Toallin says that the camera only needs a USB 2.0 connection. While the included 4.5-foot cable connects to the webcam using USB-C, the default connection to your laptop is USB-A. Helpfully, Toallin also includes a passive USB-A to USB-C dongle, effectively making it a “true” USB-C cable on either end.

Toallin’s webcam is rated at “2K,” offering a 2592×1944 resolution at 30Hz. The camera doesn’t exceed 30Hz in any mode, including 1080p and lower resolutions. While you can stream video on YouTube or Twitch at resolutions greater than 1080p, all videoconferencing applications at the time of this review support 1080p or lower resolutions.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Toallin says that the fixed-focus camera has an image sensor that measures one-third of an inch, with a focal length of 2.88mm and a f/2.2 aperture. All told, the field of view is 92 degrees, which works pretty well for videoconferencing applications where only your face is in view. Unfortunately, this webcam doesn’t seem to be compatible with Windows Studio Effects, which can use pan and zoom effects to crop in on your face. To be fair, however, most videoconferencing applications seem to do this automatically.

The Hello Pro webcam includes both a small green LED to indicate when the camera is on, and a separate one which lights when your face is recognized. Toallin also includes two small lenses for seeing you: an infrared lens illuminates your face, while a separate optical lens is used for video calls. Both can be covered up by a sliding privacy shutter mounted on the top of the camera.

Most webcams use what I call a “jaws” construction. The top “jaw,” upon which the camera is mounted, has a long ridge or “tooth” which folds over the top of your laptop or display. The camera then has an adjustable arm that supports the webcam. I always like webcams which add a small, pivoting piece on the bottom jaw which helps cushion and hold the webcam flat against the back of the display. Toallin’s webcam has one, which is a bit grippy to boot. That’s important with a laptop, which you might be frequently moving about and readjusting.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

The webcam mount can be folded at a 90-degree angle to sit flat on your desk or on a shelf. The base also includes the nearly ubiquitous threaded screw hole for a mount or tripod, though that’s not included.

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K QHD Webcam: Performance

I only have to compare my own laptop’s webcam to newcomers like Toallin to see how far we’ve come — and that’s after the early Surface webcams were the best integrated webcams of the pandemic. The difference in quality is surprisingly noticeable.

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K webcam does not feel like a premium camera, though it tries its best to convince you that it is. Unlike other premium cameras, however, Toallin hasn’t invested in a premium software package or utility to control the camera’s functions. It’s all handled by Windows, and that isn’t a black mark. You’ll just have to know to navigate to the Windows camera settings (Bluetooth & devices > Cameras > 2K USB Camera) to manage functions like the brightness, contrast, sharpness, and saturation.

Toallin does claim to provide some automatic compensation, and the default image looks surprisingly good. I noticed a little dynamic change in the color after I moved, indicating that the color was being adjusted, too.

As part of my webcam testing methodology for PCWorld, I weigh image quality pretty heavily, next to price. That’s pretty obvious. And while you might be able to tweak the Windows settings to make adjustments to your specific setup, I leave it alone. I first test the camera in my basement office, lit by a lamp and my display, then move upstairs where natural light illuminates my face.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

While Toallin’s webcam didn’t deliver a perfect picture, I think you’ll agree that it looks pretty good.

Upstairs, I have a side-lit couch that I use to take webcam selfies on. Here, my face looks ruddier than it should, but otherwise the color seems to be pretty accurate. The pillows and the paintings behind me appear as they should, or quite close to it. It’s a little dim, but nothing a few adjustments to the Windows camera settings could compensate for.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Finally, I test noise cancellation, which I record directly through the Sound Recorder app on the PC, while playing back a rock song as well as some white noise via a phone or speaker that I place behind me and off to the side. Some of the webcams really filter both out significantly, to the point where the background noise is almost indistinguishable. That’s what I like, so that any ambient noise isn’t distracting to whoever it is you’re speaking to.

The Toallin Hello Pro 2K’s noise cancellation is mediocre. While the recorded sound was noticeably lower than the volume behind me, both the music as well as the ambient noise were still distinctly audible. Fortunately, you do have an option to use a laptop’s microphone instead, if that’s connected to the webcam itself. But this is a case where the webcam’s low price is matched by its quality, unfortunately.

As for the Windows Hello recognition? Surprisingly, not great. You would expect that a minute after registering your face, that the camera would recognize you. And it did, sort of.

I used the camera to perform a new capture of my face, using the Windows “improve recognition” setting. I mounted the camera on my display, then looked directly at it during the authentication process. That worked. Looking at my screen, slightly away, during authentication? Authentication wasn’t consistent. Windows Hello frequently asked me to move further away so it could recognize me.

Even sitting down, facing the screen, and authenticating in that pose didn’t produce consistent results. I test Windows Hello webcams over a few days to see how the performance is affected, and it didn’t improve.

As a webcam, I was very pleased with the webcam’s performance. As a Windows Hello webcam, you can do better.

It certainly makes me wonder if I was testing the “right” camera. This version of the Toallin Hello Pro 2K webcam was priced at $53 on Amazon, and is a fixed-focus webcam. The other Toallin 2K QHD webcam — which appears to be otherwise identical — is priced at $39.99 and includes autofocusing capabilities and a tighter 84-degree field of view.

I think PCWorld bought the wrong Toallin webcam!

Toallin’s Hello Pro 2K Webcam: Should you buy it?

Accessory manufacturers often swap out one device for another, shipping a new design with upgraded features. As a webcam, this performs pretty well — at least where the imagery is concerned. But in terms of audio, and as a Windows Hello webcam, this isn’t a great choice.

The Toallin webcam we currently recommend as part of our best webcam roundup is the “correct” one, as far as I can see. I’m just surprised to see such a difference.