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How to pick
Most webcams clip to a monitor and that is fine for most people. You want a mount when the clip will not reach, when the camera needs to point at something other than your face, or when you are filming rather than calling. A desk clamp arm is more useful than a floor tripod for anything at a desk, because it takes up no floor space and adjusts without bending down. Whatever you buy, check the thread size, which is almost always a standard quarter inch screw, and check the weight it will hold if you are mounting anything heavier than a phone.
What I recommend
For a desk
Most webcams clip to a monitor and that is fine for most people. You want a mount when the clip will not reach, when the camera needs to point at something else, or when you are filming rather than calling.
Desk clamp arm
Clamps to the desk edge and holds a camera, light or phone wherever you want it. Takes up no floor space and adjusts without bending down, which is why it beats a floor tripod for anything at a desk.
- No floor space used
- Adjusts without bending down
- Holds cameras, lights or phones
- Needs a desk edge to clamp to
- Can mark a soft desk surface
- Arms sag over time under weight
Mini tabletop tripod
For a camera or phone sitting on a desk or shelf. Cheap, folds flat, and does the job when nothing needs to move much. Check the thread size, which is almost always a standard quarter inch screw.
- Cheap and packs flat
- Standard thread fits almost anything
- Nothing to install
- Limited height
- Tips easily with a heavy camera
- Fixed position, no reach
For filming
If you are recording rather than calling.
Full size tripod
Worth it if you are filming, photographing, or need the camera away from the desk. Check the weight it will hold and whether the head pans smoothly, because a stiff head ruins video.
- Puts the camera anywhere in a room
- Fluid heads make panning smooth
- Holds heavier cameras safely
- Takes up floor space and gets in the way
- Cheap ones are wobbly and jerky
- Heavy to carry if you go out with it
Related reading
Setting up to record something?
Happy to help work out what you actually need rather than buying a kit full of things you will not use.