Elgato Review Roundup: 4K X Capture Card, Stream Deck Mk.2, FaceCam Mk.2
Here at Player2, you’ve probably noticed the significant drop off in my output in P2 Plays in recent years. As any streamer or content creator will tell you, it’s not a short exercise, but you also want to be equipped with the best gear to create the best experience for your viewers. It was fair to say that the tools at my disposal were quite lacking, but thanks to Elgato I was provided with some top-of-the-line gear to improve my game in ever respect. The team provided me with the Elgato 4K X Capture Card, and the latest models of their Stream Deck, and the Facecam to explore the impact they have on the streaming/capture experience.
Elgato 4K X Capture Card
We begin with the Elgato 4K X Capture Card, because without it, we’re not getting any of that all important gameplay. Like any of Elgato’s capture cards, it’s almost as simple as plug and play. Elgato provides its own 4K Capture Utility software, but it will also play nicely with any of your own software, from the best in class OBS Studio, to Shadowplay, Bandicam, and more. There is minimal fine-tuning required as well, with almost all being down to the tweaking of settings on the console or other input that you’ve plugged in.
The 4K X features HDMI 2.1, full capture and streaming capacity up to 4K144Hz or 1080p240Hz, HDR10 and VRR support, non-existent latency (and if it exists, after more than a month of use, I can’t see it!), and passthrough for consoles and PC as well.
The experience with the Elgato 4K X Capture Card has been a completely flawless one. It comfortably delivers on all of its promises, and having put it to use to both capture gameplay, and livestream gameplay, I’m delighted by the quality of the experience. It isn’t a cheap investment, with an AU$379 RRP, but if you want the best, you sometimes need to pay for the best.
Elgato Stream Deck Mk.2
Mid-Capture or stream, it can be a bit disorienting and create some tedious post-production work when your eyes need to leave the barrel of the camera to make a quick layout transition. For a few years I’d made it work, but the Elgato Stream Deck is a game-changer. For streamers who are looking for sound effects, quick transitions, and instantaneous responses, the incredible Stream Deck is the way to go.
Each of the Stream Deck’s 15 LCD buttons can be customised with its own utility and thumbnail to make your life easier. What to switch from a full-screen layout to a split-screen one? No longer do you need to find the mouse, navigate, and click, all while trying to maintain a line of sight with the viewer, and keep a coherent sentence going on. With a single button press on the Stream Deck, the transition is immediate, the sound effect blaring, and the graphic exploding upon the screen. Even for day-to-day task management, the Stream Deck can be set up to open and close windows, allowing you to shift from full-screen management of essentially any tool, and, without breaking stride, flip over to another window and continue the task at hand. All of this customisation is made possible by setting everything up using the Elgato Stream Deck software.
The Mk.2 offers the same functionality, but, as the Mk.2 subtitle would indicate, offers quality of life improvements that are mild but appreciated improvements over the original. The Mk.2 includes additions such as, detachable faceplates, a detachable USB-C cord, a 45-degree angle detachable stand, and even animated screensavers. If you already own the Mk1, then I wouldn’t be rushing out to upgrade, but if you’re new to the market, then it’s worth a little mark-up in your price to get the accouterments to take your game further.
At AU$239, it might feel like a lot for a pretty small unit, but don’t underestimate the Stream Deck’s impact, it’s a fairly significant game changer to your stream or capture experience. Having gone many years without one, the difference I’ve already experienced with it by my side is profound.
Elgato Facecam Mk.2
I had already been in the Facecam family for a couple of years, and had been served very well by what the Mk.1 was offering. I had a great picture, that more that did the job for episodes of Patched, where I’d consume a quarter of the screen, P2 Plays, where I’d be using even less, but also my content at The Hoops Crew, where my soapbox segments would often see me consuming the whole screen (I wholeheartedly apologise to the audience for seeing my face blown up that much). I was so content, that I was completely tuned out to the fact that a Mk.2 existed, but upon tyring it out, my video game has gone up another gear.
Elgato provides its own software to tailor the image to your liking, adjusting the brightness, saturation, and more, but the camera itself does the heavy lifting with the Mk.2 boasting improvements to low-light performance, HDR, and when paired with the software, improved digital zoom and faux green-screened backgrounds. While some will take issue with the Facecam’s lack of built-in microphone, for the majority of consumers who are looking to buy this top-tier cam, they’re buying it, not for business, but for higher production streaming, where they’ll pair their camera with their own dedicated microphones.
There’s no internal backlight, so users who are looking to the Facecam for higher production video work, will also need to pair the camera with their own equipment, from a ring light to even Elgato’s own Key Lights, but for entry-level activity, the settings can be easily adjusted to liven up the picture somewhat.
The picture quality is excellent, and you simply won’t find a camera that can match what the Facecam provides for anything near the price, but the drawbacks are the requirements of additional lighting, and (if you need it), a lack of microphone, which do hurt you through the need for additional purchases. Regardless, the Elgato Facecam Mk.2 is excellent value for money, and an easy recommendation for anyone looking to kickstart their content creation journeys.
Thank you to Elgato who kindly provided the above units so that we could both review them, and utilise for future video content.
