Redragon engineers have a reputation among Mujahid Tricks staff as budget wizards, providing some of the following: best wireless mouse and best wireless keyboard options for cheap. But their circle of conversation was perhaps a little incomplete with the Redragon GW800 Hitman webcam. At an asking price of $45There’s definitely some confidence here to give this camera a Razer-esque name in “Hitman”. But despite 1080p resolution, only about half of this assassin’s headshots turned out to be worth sharing.
There must have been some really dark magic at work here, because while this camera makes an impression in dim rooms, it suffers when brought into the light, making it difficult for this cheap shooter to compete with the best webcams like the 1080p Logitech c920, despite the lower cost.
Well lit room
Redragon GW800 Hitman
Logitech C920
The Redragon HW800 Hitman’s black magic isn’t quite apparent in ideal lighting conditions, so it might not make the best first impression. Although there is little grain in the photos taken with the Redragon camera, my background appears darker than you might expect, since I have an open window next to me. Plus, my face looks like someone applied a smoothing brush to it in Photoshop. There are also artifacts on my hair, teeth and fingers. Strangely, however, background elements appear to have deep, rich colors.
Meanwhile, the Logitech C920, which we consider to be the best webcam for most, lets my room be well lit and see my face in all detail without any smoothing or artifacts. You lose some image quality in the background, but your background is usually not where you want people to focus when using a webcam.
Low light room
Redragon GW800 Hitman
Logitech C920
In low light, with my curtains drawn and all external light sources turned off, except my computer monitor, the HW800 Hitman stood on more level ground with the Logitech C920. Most of the artifacts from the previous round of shooting are gone and I have a lot of detail back in my face. The background still has a cool, dusky tone to it, but that reflects what I saw in real life.
In contrast, in the photos taken with the Logitech C920, my room looks much better than what I’ve seen with my own eyes, and I lost some detail on my face. You can see the individual strands of my hair well enough (I miss haircuts), but blur was not uncommon in the photos I took in the dim room.
The C920 also introduced graininess to my background, which normally wouldn’t be much of an issue if my face was more noticeable. However, since there was also lesser image quality on my face, the background grain stood out a lot more. The photos I took with the C920 were still not bad, but they weren’t twice as good as the HW800 Hitman’s, as the price suggests.
Overexposed room
Redragon GW800 Hitman
Logitech C920
I also tested the Redragon GW800 Hitman in an overexposed environment, pointing my camera straight at my window. Normally I wouldn’t expect high-quality photos here, but rather use it as an opportunity to test the camera’s priorities when exposed to a lot of light. What I got with the HW800 Hitman was almost the exact opposite of what I saw on the C920.
Many webcams tend to shroud my face in darkness in this test, painting the world outside my window as a great white haze. The HW800 Hitman only did the former, while the C920 only did the latter.
It’s impressive to show so much of my background when I’m shooting from a window; although a movie environment like this would still be useless if you plan on telecommuting or streaming with the HW800 Hitman. The C920’s priorities are better placed in this scenario; though your colleagues may be curious as to why you’re streaming from what appears to be the inside of a white void.
Build quality of the Redragon GW800 Hitman
The build quality impresses the Redragon GW800 Hitman the most, but the design also has issues.
The plastic body feels lightweight and there are some unnecessary additions to the visual design that affect what would otherwise be a sleek image. Still, the mount is configurable enough, the cord is long, and the faux wood panels on the metal faceplate make it look more expensive than it actually is.
While the HW800 Hitman’s cord doesn’t quite reach the length of the Logitech C920, it does hit about 60 inches when pulled tight, which was more than enough for me to plug into just about any port on my computer. That’s not a luxury I’ve had with every webcam I’ve reviewed, and it went a long way toward building goodwill.
As for the camera itself, almost every aspect of the design comes across as professional, but there are a few superfluous design elements that don’t match everything else. That logo is a bit extreme to me, even though I love the rectangular body and the faux wood liner on the metal front plate.
There are also two LEDs in the lower-right corner, one that’s on as long as the camera is plugged in (even when your computer is asleep) and one that’s only on while recording. I’m not sure if the always-on LED is needed, and I can see it getting annoying.
However, all of this could potentially be forgiven in light of the Hitman’s HW800 mobility. The camera itself can rotate 360 degrees and tilt down to 45 degrees. Combine that with the flexible monitor mount and you can create some pretty crazy shooting settings.
The monitor mount attaches securely to the top of any monitor and also has a tripod screw slot on the bottom. Furthermore, Redragon has a small, folding lip on the lower part of the HW800 Hitman that allows you to easily put the camera upright when fully extended.
This makes shooting on a table or from your desk easy and can be a boon for streamers who want to show their hands or equipment while playing. You can achieve the same effect by buying a small webcam tripod, but it can be difficult to find one that is high enough for every desk.
Special Features on the Redragon GW800 Hitman
The Redragon GW800 Hitman lacks special features, instead it focuses purely on its editing and 1080p resolution camera. It does include a built-in microphone, which performed about as well as what you’ll find on the Logitech C920. That’s not a resounding endorsement; the microphone is prone to picking up background noise, peaks easily and tends to produce blurry sound. That’s not uncommon, even for webcams over $100, but I recommend using a separate microphone with the HW800 Hitman (check out our best gaming microphones page for recommendations).
Video produced mostly the same kind of fidelity as in my photos above, but the frame rate kept up with sudden movement and the artifacts were less noticeable in motion.
The HW800 Hitman also comes with a small microfiber cloth to clean the lens, which is a nice touch.
Bottom Line
The Redragon GW800 Hitman promises a mostly sleek image, and in many ways it delivers. Low-light image quality is arguably better than our industry-leading 1080p webcam, the Logitech C920, and it’s no easy task. It’s also easy to shoot from different angles with the HW800 Hitman, thanks to a flexible mounting and plenty of tilt and swivel options. In addition, it tends to have few grains in the photos, which is unusual because of its $45 price.
Still, the image quality is lacking under what I’d normally consider ideal lighting conditions and it’s prone to artifacts and smoother texture. It also completely shades my face in high light, indicating a problem with environments that are generally not dark. This is to be expected from a budget camera, but it’s a shame Redragon couldn’t live up to its reputation as a budget wizard.
The quality here is still better than what we’ve found on other 1080p webcams in this price range, including some that our best webcams list. Colors are richer than those of the Amcrest 1080pand there is no fish-eye effect like I found on the PQ Labs WebcamThe aukey 1080p webcam generally has higher fidelity than the HW800 Hitman, but also has a wide angle which can show too much background for some.
If you’re working from a somewhat dark room or just need as many shooting angles as possible, the Redragon GW800 might be a good choice for you. Just don’t expect it to feel like it costs $80.