Somewhere around three years ago I stopped working fully in an office.
COVID has been running rampant for years now and has drastically changed the way that we work which created a bigger need for virtual meetings. Companies are taking their stand on the future of working options at their company left and right.
Tesla’s eccentric billionaire has been quoted stating that Tesla employees need to return to the office for a minimum of 40 hours or more a week or else. Other companies, however, are adopting a remote, or hybrid option. Take LinkedIn for example. They just announced their new employee hub “Building One” which has more than 75 seating types, and is designed around a flexible workspace. Some areas are set up like a living room, some standing desks, some co-working spaces, some individual spaces and more.
The rush to figure out what “work” looks like is thrilling. However, one thing remains. Regardless of if you are fully remote, in person, or hybrid, odds are if you are working with other companies, you are going to be subject to virtual meetings.
In my search to get a better quality virtual meeting setup for my home office, I came across Kensington’s Professional Video Conferencing Solution. Releasing July 12, 2022, this setup has solved my problems with trying to create a quality setup.
The Setup
Kensington’s setup is designed to be modular, with a camera, ring light, and one of three types of arms. The first option is the Telescoping C-Clamp (K87654WW), second is the Telescoping Desk Stand (K87651WW), and third is the Boom Arm (K87652WW). These arms are all designed to hold either the camera by itself or the ring light, with the camera positioned perfectly centered inside.
The ring light (K87653WW) has three color temperatures; cool, natural, and warm. There is also a power button and a brighter / dimmer button. Powered by a simple USB-A port, this light is truly an easy solution to give better lighting to almost any setup.
Lastly, the camera (K80250WW) is a wide angle webcam that has a plethora of features to make it a premium feeling and looking camera and microphone. There are two omnidirectional stereo microphones, a fixed focus glass lens, and a simple yet powerful software backing the camera’s features with even more customization via companion software.
All three of these items come together to create a beautiful and professional video conferencing system that is sure to step up any desk setup.
Final Thoughts
Personally, I am honestly shocked at how well this complete setup works. A few quick tests on some virtual meetings showed me just how useful the ring light and boom arm were. Being able to adjust to the perfect angle, even one that is not traditionally possible (hovering a few inches above my MacBook), is one of the many great benefits of the boom arm I chose. The only downside I can find to this setup is that the ring light cannot tilt down. Outside of that, this setup is everything I was wanting!
For a helpful resource for virtual meetings check out 5 Zoom hacks everyone should know.