Razer Kiyo X Review
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The Razer Kiyo X is the third entry in the Kiyo lineup. The original Kiyo released in 2017. That device has a dimmable ring light built onto it.
In early 2021, Razer released their more premium option, the Kiyo Pro. Its advantage is being able to record in uncompressed 1080p 60 FPS.
The Kiyo X is the most budget option of the Kiyo webcams. It matches the specs of the original Kiyo but loses the ring light.
Specifications
Who is the Kiyo X for?
Build Quality
Image Quality
Microphone Audio Quality
Verdict
Specifications
Kiyo X on my monitor.
Resolution and frame rate: 1080p 30 FPS or 720p 60 FPS.
Video format: MJPEG. (YUY2 possible at 480p and below).
Field of View: 82 degrees.
Connection: USB 2.0 Type-A.
Who is the Kiyo X for?
I bought my Razer Kiyo X for its launch price of $80. At this price point and these specs, it competes directly with the Logitech C920 and C922.
Curiously, Razer already has a 1080/30 and 720/60 device - the original Kiyo. So to do this review, I’ll be showing footage of the Kiyo X next to the original Kiyo, Kiyo Pro, and Logitech C922.
Build Quality
The body of the Kiyo X is all plastic. It’s very similar to the original Kiyo sans the ring light. It only tilts up and down. The wire placement is a bit suspect since to get maximum tilt you have to put it through the gap inside, but you can’t attach it to a monitor if you do that.
There’s standard tripod threading on the bottom and the non-detachable wire is 60 inches long. That’s way too short. If you are using a desktop PC on the floor or a tripod, it’s a literal stretch to set up.
The lack of rotation on the Kiyo X is unfortunate since the Kiyo Pro has it, but overall the build is passable. Nothing special.
Image Quality
Out the box with Poor Lighting
Kiyo X with daylight only. 1080/30.
Although using a webcam with its automatic settings and with no dedicated lights is the worst way you can use it, it’s how the overwhelming majority still will so I’ll quickly cover it.
Low light performance is pretty bad as expected, but workable with a little daylight. The small sensor just can’t really do a lot without a real light setup. It’s no different than basically every other webcam on the market.
Basic room lighting only at night.
For the rest of the shots manual settings are used (set in OBS) with studio lighting. The lights used are the Elgato Ring Light, Key Light, and Neewer 18” Advanced Ring Light.
Sharpness and Clarity
The Kiyo X takes a big loss in this category. Of the 4 webcams in this comparison, the original Kiyo is the sharpest, followed by the Kiyo Pro, then the C922, and the Kiyo X is last.
The level of detail isn’t that great and there’s a lot of pixelation. You can see it on my face and on in the shadows on the wall. Text isn’t very sharp either. There appears to be a lot of compression going on. The Kiyo X footage resembles what happens to a video when you upload it to YouTube and then redownload it.
Color Accuracy
Colors are where the Kiyo X does its best. I’d say the best colors go to the Kiyo X and Kiyo Pro for different reasons. The C922 and original Kiyo fall way behind.
The C922 always has extra magenta no matter how you shift the white balance. The original Kiyo has the problem of being either sea green or amber. So those are out of contention.
The Kiyo X does a really good job, but its weaker dynamic range holds it back a bit. The tips of my dreads don’t stand out as being much lighter than the rest like they do on the Kiyo Pro.
The wall looks great in both the Kiyo X and Kiyo Pro, but the Kiyo X suffers from banding. However, reds look much better in the Kiyo X than the Kiyo Pro. The latter makes them too orange. Greens are also a bit too dark on the Kiyo Pro.
These are honestly nitpicks, as both the Kiyo X and Kiyo Pro beat almost every other webcam on the market in terms of color reproduction.
Exposure and Dynamic Range
The Kiyo X’s exposure is decent, but again dark areas lose a lot of their color. Still, nothing is really too blown out and the contrast is not overly distracting like the original Kiyo.
Autofocus
Autofocus is really slow on the Kiyo X. This isn’t really something I use, but just keep in mind that it’s finicky. At least it doesn’t pulse like crazy like the Kiyo Pro.
Green Screen
Green screen performance is really a combination of sharpness, clarity, smoothness, and color accuracy all wrapped into one.
The Kiyo X did quite poorly here. All the artifacting and noise made getting a clean outline difficult and the image isn’t very sharp to begin with. It works in a pinch, but expect OBS and Zoom to struggle with background removal on the Kiyo X.
720p 60 FPS
The Kiyo Pro still has less motion blur than the C922, Kiyo X, and original Kiyo at 60 FPS.
When dropped down to 720p 60 FPS, the C922, Kiyo, and Kiyo X all look terrible. The grain gets cranked up like crazy, and detail is lost. This is because these webcams are trying to compress the image to get the 60 FPS through USB 2.0 without delay.
The idea of using the 720/60 mode with a green screen is to match 60 FPS gameplay, but it’s not worth it. The 1080/30 looks far better even though it’s not as smooth.
Microphone Audio Quality
Of course the mic of the Kiyo X is going to be really bad - it’s a webcam microphone. Fortunately, cheap condenser mics are common online these days.
Verdict
As quick summary, the Razer Kiyo X struggles with clarity and green screen performance, but it has good colors for the price. The exposure and dynamic range are also decent for a budget device.
Unfortunately, I still do not recommend the Kiyo X. The C920 and C922 both look much sharper than the Kiyo X, and while their colors aren’t as good, this also lets them perform better with a green screen.
My recommendation is to either get the C920 or save up for the 4K Logitech Brio.
Product Listings
Logitech C920: https://amzn.to/3cTUoCX
Logitech C922: https://amzn.to/3uXI2CA
Razer Kiyo: https://amzn.to/3ruvZd9
Razer Kiyo Pro: https://amzn.to/3ss5ViH
Razer Kiyo X: https://amzn.to/3qX3OWB
