For those who went to highschool earlier than the 2010s, you would possibly’ve been taught with the assistance of an overhead projector. These gigantic mild cannons blasted photons upward by sometimes clear worksheets, by a lens and a mirror, projecting the picture onto a display so everybody might see. I can solely think about my academics again then wishing that they had one thing like Logitech’s Reach to make that course of a lot simpler. Effectively, principally.
The Attain is a novel product in Logitech’s lineup. First introduced in September 2023 as an Indiegogo undertaking and efficiently funded inside 5 minutes, it’s transport to backers in July for a retail worth of $350. The Attain is an articulated digicam arm designed to make it simpler to get overhead views of objects sitting on a desk whereas conserving your palms free. It’s helpful for exhibiting off books and worksheets in a classroom, demonstrating do crafts for a YouTube channel, or giving a fowl’s-eye view of a board recreation.
The arm itself is great. It’s straightforward to tilt the digicam arm up or down, prolong it farther from the bottom, and even slide it increased or decrease off the desk. It’s a perfect approach to get overhead footage of just about something, apart from one fairly substantial drawback: It’s designed to work solely with Logitech’s Streamcam, a webcam that’s not great.
A Considerate Digicam Arm
First issues first. The arm is the star of the Logitech Attain and it’s an absolute delight to make use of and lifeless easy to put in. There are two mounting choices: a sturdy clamp that attaches to the aspect of a desk or a heavy base plate you possibly can set on prime of a desk.
And once I say heavy, I imply heavy, which is an efficient factor. The bottom plate is so hefty that it counterbalances the burden of all the arm and digicam, even when absolutely prolonged. This retains it from falling over and even tilting. It’s so efficient that the one purpose I can consider to make use of the clamp is in case you don’t have area in your desk for the bottom.
The arm slides into the bottom with a steel peg that rotates freely and may spin 360 levels. The USB-C cable that runs to the digicam suits right into a ridge alongside the size of the digicam arm so neatly that it’s nearly invisible. For the reason that digicam and its cable are already arrange, it takes solely a few seconds to position the bottom plate on a desk, slide the arm into the bottom, and plug the cable right into a laptop computer, and also you’re able to go.
The arm itself is so easy it nearly feels unreal. You may rotate the highest part of the arm ahead to a 90-degree angle from the decrease part with out twiddling with any controls or locks. It simply strikes simply into place. Likewise, the highest part of the arm can slide ahead and again, extending as much as round 18 inches away from the bottom, and it stays in place. Once more, no additional buttons, knobs, or clamps concerned.
{Photograph}: Eric Ravenscraft
