Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana conference camera review

Oblong and stylish is one way we could describe the Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana conference camera. Another way would be plug-and-play to the extreme, which is both a good and bad thing. Coolpo’s AI-Huddle Pana is a 360-degree conference camera that can also double as a speaker.  It handles its main task of being a conference room camera that will switch camera focus to the person speaking while also granting your audience the ability to see everyone in your conference room simultaneously.

The AI-Huddle doesn’t waste users’ time with the need to download anything; you plug it in, set it up where you want in the room, and it does the rest. That’s it works; it reminds me of my first Honda: quality build, dependable, easy to use, and worry-free; just clean the lens area every 3,000 uses and keep on video conferencing.

Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana conference camera Price and compatibility

The Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana Meeting costs $550 and comes with a  4K  3840 x 2160, 360-degree camera, four built-in microphones with a range of 15 feet, and a built-in speaker compatible with both Windows 10 and macOS. 

Besides looking great in the dark, it works with every video meeting platform, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Skype, and Google Meet.

Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana conference camera design

The silver-grey oblong AI-Huddle has two touch sensors to control the volume and a blue-lit power button on its front. The speaker area is covered in a grey soft cloth that gives the unit some nice texture. The Coolpo AI-Huddle is constructed entirely of hard, sturdy plastics with a nice amount of heft that gives it a substantial feel, and when you place it down, you know it will stay put. 

At the bottom of the unit is a notch for the power cord and USB 3.0 cable pass-through that allows you to connect the unit to your computer's USB Type-A port. If you flip the unit over to look at the underbelly, you will find the AC power port and the micro-USB connection.

The unit measures ‎8 x 8 x 14 inches and weighs 2.6 pounds. While not too heavy, it still has enough weight to keep it firmly rooted where you choose to place it.

Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana conference camera Picture and sound

The Coolpo AI-Huddle is meant for a conference room or large room setting. The camera sits on top of the unit in its 360-degree lens dome. Its form factor is office elegant, so it won’t stick out like a sore thumb and will add to your conference room’s décor. While not meant for small spaces, it worked nicely in my tiny draped-off home office space. Though designed for a conference room filled with others, the autofocus performed admirably and followed my movements smoothly on most occasions. Its AI is solid but not as quick as the similarly styled Meeting Owl Pro I recently reviewed. I hope it gets improved with a firmware update.

The Coolpo AI-Huddle Pano comes with a 360-degree, 3840 x 2160-pixel (4K_ camera that works well and is at its best in optimal lighting conditions. Now, this is a 4K camera, but I experienced much of the results in the 1080p FHD range but it was still sharp and clear. I noticed that sometimes the color leaned into red hues, especially when the lighting was not perfect. 

I found the autofocus sometimes to be wonky or slow. It also struggled when there were sudden changes in lighting, adjusting slowly and with that reddish hue emerging. In optimal and normal lighting conditions, though, you will get a clear, crisp image well suited for the Coolpo AI-Huddles main job of being a conference room camera that allows for the free exchange of ideas from the members of your team. I believe most of these minor issues can be addressed in firmware updates though there is no assurance that this will happen. If I’m being picky, I did find the overall colors to be a bit undersaturated and cool. 

The AI-Huddle Pano comes with four built-in microphones that picked up my voice excellently even when I was 12 feet away from the unit and projected my voice at an average level. The audio was very solid while up close, and I never experienced any drops in signal or distortion. Its microphones did an excellent job capturing my girlfriend’s voice in the background from 10 feet away.  

The built-in speaker of the unit works great, and although I wouldn’t suggest you use them to throw a party, it did produce some solid depth and base. Coolpo did a good job with the speaker as it also reproduced very clear vocals from those I held video meetings with.

Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana conference camera Software

If being plug-and-play were a sport, you would want the Coolpo AI-Huddle Pano on your team. The camera works with both Mac OS and Windows 10. Setting it up took seconds; I just plugged it into my USB-Type A port and started a Zoom and in settings, chose the AI-Huddle Pano as my camera, and I was in a meeting without a second thought. 

The AI system does a solid job of changing focus from one speaker to the next. It automatically makes adjustments to the camera thanks to the facial recognition switching from speaker to speaker, but sometimes it’s slow or loses its way a bit, and you have to let it catch up. I like that it individually frames those who are speaking and provides a 360-degree panoramic view of the room and individuals participating in the meeting. It’s a great feature to have and makes sessions feel more inclusive. 

There is a rudimentary app on Coolpo’s website that lets you make some settings adjustments. I downloaded it to see if I could adjust the color a bit; it worked but isn’t perfect. I noticed that the company has been updating it, which tells me it will improve over time. Within the software, you can adjust the saturation, brightness, hue, contrast, and exposure. You can also configure the initial number of panel views and even block a panel if you so wish.

Bottom Line

The Coolpo AI-Huddle Pana is a solid conference camera that will level up your team’s video conference abilities. It will be more than sufficient with imperfect but solid AI camera performance, and the people you meet will be impressed. However, at $550, it may be pricey for individuals, so keep in mind that it is meant for a growing or larger business where the cost won’t be an issue. With excellent styling and a sturdy build, its features will meet your needs, coupled with the quality mics, speakers, and solid camera performance. The AI-Huddle is a good choice for any business looking to step it up. It is similar to the Meet Owl Pro in many ways but more affordable.  However, if your budget is tighter, you should look at the Konftel Cam20 conference camera, which comes with a remote, has excellent low light performance, and is very color accurate, although its styling is dated.