Cheap computer cameras worth it for Zoom meetings?

[markz]

How are the cheap $10 usb cameras on newegg/ebay/amazon and is the sound any good?

I do have a mic somewhere that I really need to find so I could just go that route and not even bother with the camera but some zoom meetings I roam around to, require video be turned on for zoom bombing reasons I guess Its basically strangers getting together for a similar interest/goal.

My $80 desktop usb camera with built in mic is no good, lasted about 10 months might have done 400 zoom meetings in that time so it cost me $0.20 a meeting. At that time there were no cheap cameras as everyone bought them up but its just so much easier to not leave the house but its just not the same meeting in person.
What I might try and do is rewire the cable, the casement of the camera is sealed but I am handy with a soldering iron the wire sizes are easy to deal with.

[AndyMH]

I bought a logitech C270 webcam based on other recommends on the forum. Not expensive and I've not been disappointed.

[MattJ86]

Few years ago I was using Creative Live! Chat webcam ($15). The 720p claims were obviously exaggerated. The picture was the 720p size but the artifacts and framerate were as bad as with the average built-in laptop webcams. At least it worked on Linux, was enough for my Google Hangouts video chats back then and the built-in mic was actually pretty decent. I expect cheap noname webcams found on auction sites to be even worse. Now I would rather buy something that is known for good video quality instead of wasting money for unknown stuff that can end up in the trash or the bottom of the drawer.

[old_noob]

Too lazy to look up specifics but I believe there are apps that let you use your phone/iPad/android tablet as a webcam - for Windows, Mac and Linux. If you have a high end phone, its camera is likely much better than most reasonably priced dedicated webcams.

[Portreve]

I don't remember how much I paid for it (it certainly wasn't in the $5 or $10 bin anywhere) but I have the Logitech C16, and it holds up rather well.

Alternatively, you could just deliberately buy the crappiest camera you can find and eventually irritate others to the point they don't make you do any more video conferencing.