An Introduction to Elgato

In my previous post, I took a look at what it would cost to create a full Blackmagic Design streaming setup for when I'm delivering training. By the end of that post, I discovered—without much surprise—that using professional broadcast video cameras is probably not the way to go for this specific use case, as the gear involved quickly becomes incredibly expensive.

So this week, I thought I'd shift gears and look at the products on offer from Elgato. For those of you who aren't aware,Elgato has been a powerhouse in the streaming world for years. They originally built their reputation on capture cards that allowed creators to pull external video sources into live broadcasts, but they've since expanded into an entire hardware ecosystem.

They recently released a brand-new range of entry-level products called Neo, so I thought it was the perfect time to compare the different tiers of their lineup and see what they offer to help produce my online training sessions.

📷 Cameras

Elgato currently produces four distinct webcams: the new Facecam Neo, the Facecam Mk.2, the premium Facecam Pro,and the original Facecam. Rather than writing out endless paragraphs about each one, I've put together a quick comparison chart to map out the key technical differences.

There isn't a massive price leap between the Facecam Neo, the original Facecam, and the Facecam Mk.2. Out of those three, I think I would go with the Facecam Mk.2. As much as the Facecam Pro sounds incredible on paper as a 4K60 camera, I don't particularly want to pay double the price for a wider focal length, a fixed focus setup, or SDR-only video quality. 1080p is perfectly fine for the training sessions I deliver, and I don't particularly want to push a massive, live 4K stream up into Teams anyway.

📑 Prompter

Now, this may not be a strict essential, but being able to look directly into the camera lens while reading the training content I am delivering completely transforms engagement. It instantly makes a presentation look smoother and far more natural.

Elgato's Prompter comes with a variety of camera mounting options—including a custom mounting plate for their own Facecam line—which blocks out rear light leaks to give you a pristine, clear image reflected onto the two-way beam splitter glass.

It sits at £279.99, which is a little on the pricey side, but it features built-in DisplayLink technology. This means all you need is a single USB cable; the prompter simply acts as an additional 9-inch (1024 x 600 px) hardware monitor that you can drag text, browser windows, or chat feeds straight onto.

For my specific training use case, this is a total no-brainer. It will make delivering a presentation so much better, letting me glance at my speaker notes while keeping eye contact with my learners instead of visibly looking away to a second monitor every ten seconds.

🎙️ Microphones

A few years ago, Elgato launched their first microphone in partnership with Lewitt (a high-end studio microphone manufacturer), and I remember thinking at the time that I absolutely needed to get my hands on one. They feature a built-in USB interface and drive the excellent Wave Link software, which allows you to separate your audio into two completely distinct hardware mixes: one mix that you hear in your headphones, and one mix that your audience hears.

That software routing alone piqued my interest. Then I heard the actual raw audio quality, and I've been trying to find a massive enough excuse to convince my wife to let me buy one ever since!

Since that initial launch, they have expanded the lineup with the broadcast-style Wave DX (which features a standard analog XLR output) and the entry-level Wave Neo. If you don't already own an audio interface, Elgato sells the Wave XLR for £159.99 to drive the DX. But if you want a clean, one-cable desktop setup, the Wave Neo or Wave:3 are the obvious pathways.

Looking at the specifications, I would personally choose the Wave:3. You get a higher sensitivity, slightly better dynamic range, and their proprietary Clipguard technology (which stops your audio from distorting if you suddenly get too loud). From the multiple live streams I've tuned into that use this microphone, I absolutely love its rich, broadcast sound profile.

Wave Mic Arm LP

To go along with the mic, Elgato sells the Wave Mic Arm LP (Low Profile) for £89.99. My current microphone is clamped directly to the front of my desk and is easily the second most annoying thing about my entire desk setup (the first being an absolute lack of knee room!). The LP arm is fantastic for cable management because you can hide the cable completely inside the magnetic tracking channels, and it effortlessly swings completely out of the way underneath your monitors when you aren't using it.

🎛️ Software Control (Stream Deck)

The Stream Deck line is Elgato's flagship productivity tool. It features customizable physical keys with built-in LCD screens to trigger app shortcuts, macros, and platform actions. They've also established the Elgato Marketplace, which houses thousands of dedicated third-party app plugins, icons, and audio profiles.

In a training scenario, I'd use the Stream Deck to seamlessly switch video feeds. Corporate tools like Microsoft Teams don't naturally give you a quick hotkey to instantly hop between different physical camera sources, which means you'd normally have to dig into settings menus mid-presentation—definitely not ideal. Instead, you can run OBS Studio as a back-end software video switcher, outputting its canvas as a "Virtual Camera" that Teams reads as a single webcam input.The Stream Deck features deep, native plugins for both OBS and Teams.

Elgato currently produces five models, ranging from simple button grids to advanced dial consoles:

• Stream Deck Mini / Mk.2 / XL: These models are functionally identical but offer varying button layouts. The Mini (£59.99) gives you 6 keys; the standard Mk.2 (£149.99) features 15 swappable-faceplate keys; the massive XL (£229.99) gives you 32 keys.
• Stream Deck Neo (£99.99): An 8-button desk console featuring two dedicated touch points for page swapping and a customizable "Infobar" screen at the base.
• Stream Deck+ (£299.99): Combines 8 standard LCD keys with a strip LCD touch panel and four 360° physical rotary encoders with push functionality.

While I would love the massive grid layout of the XL, the fact that I need to constantly adjust and balance live audio levels on the fly makes the Stream Deck+ the clear winner for my desk. Having physical dials to twist to change volume levels is a massive workflow win. I just wish the price tag wasn't pushing near the £300 mark—if it featured those same 4 encoders but squeezed in 12 or 15 keys above them, I’d feel much happier about dropping that kind of cash.

💡 Lighting

We have a microphone to be heard and a camera to be seen, but it’s not just about showing up on screen; it’s about being lit properly without ugly room shadows or weird color temperature shifts. Elgato handles this via their app-controlled Key Light ecosystem.

Ring Light (£189.99)

If you want an all-in-one, dead-simple desk setup, the Elgato Ring Light is a solid choice. It's a large 17-inch diameter ring that you mount your camera directly inside of, casting a soft, completely even front light across your face. It is fully dimmable, color-adjustable from 2900K to 7000K, and uses premium edge-lit diffusion so it doesn't burn out your retinas during a long call. It puts out an ultra-bright 2500 lumens.

Key Lights

If you want to avoid that specific "halo ring" look in your eyes, standard panels are the way to go. For a truly professional look, I'd recommend a classic three-point lighting setup: two panels in front of you (positioned at 45-degree angles to act as your Key and Fill lights) and one panel behind you acting as a "hair light" to cleanly separate you from your background.

Elgato makes three main fixed-position key lights:

• Key Light Air (£149.99): A compact desk panel outputting up to 1400 lumens of adjustable 2900–7000K light at a 92% CRI rating.
• Key Light Neo (£89.99): A smaller, USB-powered entry panel that outputs 400 lumens over USB-A, 700 lumens over USB-C, or up to 1000 lumens when connected to a dedicated 3A wall adapter.
• Key Light (£159.99): The heavy-hitter flagship panel putting out an impressive 2800 lumens of adjustable light with a high >92% CRI for accurate skin tones.

Looking at the numbers, there is only a £10 difference between the Key Light Air and the flagship Key Light. Because the flagship gives you exactly twice the brightness (2800 lumens vs 1400 lumens) for the price of a couple of coffees, it is easily the smarter buy.

🟩 Green Screens

A green screen isn't strictly mandatory if you have a clean office space you're proud to show off. However, if you want to mask a messy workspace or construct a fully immersive digital environment, a high-quality chroma key background is essential. My ultimate plan down the road is to build out a fully animated, virtual teaching studio that I can physically interact with depending on the course material I'm covering.

If you are running a multi-camera setup with a wide and a side profile angle, I highly recommend running separate backdrops so your virtual set doesn't suddenly cut in half when you switch angles. Elgato offers two pull-up sizes:

• Standard Green Screen (148 x 180 cm): £169.99
• Green Screen XL (210 x 193 cm): £179.99

If you have the physical floor space, the XL model is an absolute no-brainer. For a measly £10 more, you gain an extra 62 cm of horizontal width, which gives you far more breathing room to move around without accidentally clipping past the edge of the canvas.

📊 Conclusion & The Final Bill

The final cost of an Elgato setup is obviously going to scale depending on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go.For my ideal layout, I am looking at pricing up a robust, two-camera multi-cam training rig:

• 2 x Facecam Mk.2 Webcams: £299.98
• 1 x Elgato Prompter: £279.99
• 1 x Wave:3 Microphone: £159.99
• 1 x Wave Mic Arm LP: £89.99
• 1 x Stream Deck+ Controller: £299.99
• 3 x Flagship Key Lights: £479.97
• 1 x Standard Green Screen: £169.99
• 1 x Green Screen XL: £179.99

Grand Total: £1,958.90

Unsurprisingly, dropping just under £2,000 for a top-tier prosumer setup represents a massive saving—coming in at roughly £4,500 cheaper than the high-end Blackmagic hardware ecosystem I mapped out last time. For a home-based training setup, this feels like an incredibly compelling middle ground.

What do you think? What gear would you pick out of this lineup for your own desk? If you picked up an XL green screen,what kind of virtual environment would you build behind you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!