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Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp

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Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#11

Post by 52-6F-62 »

gonehome wrote: post #6

It's kind of wild to me how there's such a product vacuum for this stuff. I've dug around and the only real option is an HDMI capture card paired with a decent camera (I read this Sony software option is lower quality, but at least it's progress). LG camera setups target businesses and are generally overpriced crap (I have one - the LG meetup) with proprietary connections and mediocre cameras, and crappy mics/softwar…

There was the Canon EOS solution they published the beta for earlier this year. I have an old Rebel T5 that I decided to try out, even though official support bottomed out at the T6.

No capture card required, just the EOS Webcam utility and a USB connection. It runs very slowly, though. The latency is bad and so is the frame rate, though the picture itself is great. I've heard that reported for many supported cameras and varying computer specs as well so I'm not sure how long that will continue...

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#12

Post by deanclatworthy »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #11
gonehome wrote: post #6

It's kind of wild to me how there's such a product vacuum for this stuff. I've dug around and the only real option is an HDMI capture card paired with a decent camera (I read this Sony software option is lower quality, but at least it's progress). LG camera setups target businesses and are generally overpriced crap (I have one - the LG meetup) with proprietary connections and mediocre cameras, and crappy mics/softwar…

There was the Canon EOS solution they published the beta for earlier this year. I have an old Rebel T5 that I decided to try out, even though official support bottomed out at the T6. No capture card required, just the EOS Webcam utility and a USB connection. It runs very slowly, though. The latency is bad and so is the frame rate, though the picture itself is great. I've heard that reported for many supported cameras…

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/se...

> This Software is for use in the U.S. and will not be supported outside that area

> Subscription to a third party service required.

What on earth reason could they have for this being US only. Absolutely ludicrous.

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#14

Post by dylan604 »

ValentineC wrote: post #8
gonehome wrote: post #6

It's kind of wild to me how there's such a product vacuum for this stuff. I've dug around and the only real option is an HDMI capture card paired with a decent camera (I read this Sony software option is lower quality, but at least it's progress). LG camera setups target businesses and are generally overpriced crap (I have one - the LG meetup) with proprietary connections and mediocre cameras, and crappy mics/softwar…

This might be for different uses, but I'd rather Apple bring their iPhone front camera to the MacBooks. It's crazy that MacBook cameras still top out at 720p.

That still misses the point. People want the look of a larger sensor that the tiny ones in a phone's camera. Shallow depth of field, different lenses, filters, etc that a fixed lens fixed aperture lens on a small sensor does not allow.

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#15

Post by rektide »

gonehome wrote: post #6

It's kind of wild to me how there's such a product vacuum for this stuff. I've dug around and the only real option is an HDMI capture card paired with a decent camera (I read this Sony software option is lower quality, but at least it's progress). LG camera setups target businesses and are generally overpriced crap (I have one - the LG meetup) with proprietary connections and mediocre cameras, and crappy mics/softwar…

> it's kind of wild to me how there's such a product vacuum for this stuff.

markets tend not to move, until provoked.

canon seems to be the company that broke the standstill here, from what i can see[1]. companies like Hero, Sony, & others responded. i might be wrong here. but this is definitely

agreed that the logitech webcams situation has gone on for too long. most phones have way better cameras. in fact, many Linux users & mac users have been using phones for webcams for a while now[2][3]. With great onboard hardware encoding & solid wifi, these can be even more appealing solutions to what other dedicated devices like photography cameras & webcams provide. Everyone else is, simply, less willing & able to be flexible.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241305/canon-cameras-ds...

[2] https://github.com/bluezio/ipwebcam-gst

[3] https://github.com/paolorotolo/droidcam

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#16

Post by terramex »

rado wrote: post #13

RX100 VII on macOS 11 doesn't work with the recommended settings, quelle surprise from Sony software. The €9 capture card I read about here works perfectly and at higher res.

a5100 on macOS 10.14.6 does not work too. Skype and Photo Booth do not detect camera at all, Google Meet sees video source but it contains only test pattern. I also tried to make it work on Windows VM with USB passthrough but no luck and in the end, just like you, I went with cheap capture card and that works great.

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#17

Post by weejewel »

deanclatworthy wrote: post #12
52-6F-62 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was the Canon EOS solution they published the beta for earlier this year. I have an old Rebel T5 that I decided to try out, even though official support bottomed out at the T6. No capture card required, just the EOS Webcam utility and a USB connection. It runs very slowly, though. The latency is bad and so is the frame rate, though the picture itself is great. I've heard that reported for many supported cameras…

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/se... > This Software is for use in the U.S. and will not be supported outside that area > Subscription to a third party service required. What on earth reason could they have for this being US only. Absolutely ludicrous.

I used the beta utility without problems in Europe without any subscription. Plug and play!

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#18

Post by samatman »

Oh neat! I was just posting here[0] about my kind of clunky setup to run a Sony mirrorless as a webcam.

I was teetering on the brink of buying a capture card, guess I'll delay that for awhile and kick the tires on the official app.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24743842

Re: Sony cameras can now be used as webcams for Mac

#20

Post by modeless »

gonehome wrote: post #6

It's kind of wild to me how there's such a product vacuum for this stuff. I've dug around and the only real option is an HDMI capture card paired with a decent camera (I read this Sony software option is lower quality, but at least it's progress). LG camera setups target businesses and are generally overpriced crap (I have one - the LG meetup) with proprietary connections and mediocre cameras, and crappy mics/softwar…

Totally agreed. My old NEX-5 doesn't work with this new Sony software, and I was thinking about getting a new interchangeable lens camera mostly for webcam use. I think the right prime lens with a huge aperture could go a long way to making me look more presentable in video calls. In this environment it's an investment in your appearance, similar to buying nice clothes, a gym membership, etc.

Unfortunately there's very little information out there about things that are relevant for this application like resolution of HDMI out, ability to disable onscreen displays, latency, autofocus performance during HDMI streaming, overheating during continuous use, speed/convenience of power-on sequence, etc.

Does anyone here have a setup with an interchangeable lens camera as webcam that they really like and recommend?

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