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Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

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Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#381
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phone cameras are very good but owing much of it to the DSP and software. An iPhone camera will not produce iPhone quality photos without the chipset and OS.

That still leaves the original question of why dedicated cameras aren’t doing this.

Probably cause Big Tech stole all the computer vision and DSP folks

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#382
post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>He also had a tendency to drop out of long meetings when his camera overheated, Also make sure your digital SLR or whatever expensive camera you're using as a webcam doesn't have a 30m video limit, which some do. This is one of the most recommended pieces of advice on /r/videoediting (non-professional) for new streamers. https://www.reddit.com/r/VideoEditing/ For most people, if you want better video quality for Zoo…

Doesn't apply since you are not recording.

Some cameras still turn off the video mode, it has been patched out in some nikon and Canon models as it's just a firmware limitation stemming from the same tax reason.

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#383
post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi - I assume your question is which webcam did I use for narrow FOV - for actual camera, it's trivial to pick a lens or zoom :). I ended up getting Logitech Brio. It's expensive for a webcam, and honestly I'm a bit peeved - I don't feel I am getting my money's worth in terms of image quality. The software is also absolutely atrocious, so I don't really use it. But it is the best compromise of image quality and FOV t…

I find the LogiTune software good enough for managing my Brio webcam. Certainly less buggy and frustrating on Mac than some other official software I tried previously. https://www.logitech.com/en-us/video-collaboration/software/...

Interesting. The default seems logitech capture which immediately hits all the fans on my laptop. Wonder what the difference is... Thx!

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#384

Just a note - I had a Nokia D90 dslr that would overheat if left in video mode for too long (over 5 minutes). Check for any "max video recording length" mentions on the camera's spec sheet as a early sign that this might be the case. A "yesteryear" smartphone that is collecting dust is also an excellent alternative, as they have surprisingly high quality cameras and lenses (on the rear side, anyway). I use a cracked-…

What's the latency like?

I use Droidcam and the latency is minimal (over USB; WiFi is a bit more).

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#385
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What camera did you end up with that had a narrow FOV?

Hi - I assume your question is which webcam did I use for narrow FOV - for actual camera, it's trivial to pick a lens or zoom :). I ended up getting Logitech Brio. It's expensive for a webcam, and honestly I'm a bit peeved - I don't feel I am getting my money's worth in terms of image quality. The software is also absolutely atrocious, so I don't really use it. But it is the best compromise of image quality and FOV t…

I have both the 920s and the Brio. The Brio’s image is sharper and more detailed but somehow the 920s’ image is more natural.

I was underwhelmed with the Brio but I eventually got used to it. It’s not the upgrade to the 920s I had imagined it to be but it’s good enough to keep.

And yes, I used Logitune to tune as much as I could. It was horrendous out of box.

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#386
post #42

One thing that I’ve been trying to educate my colleagues about (including the A/V folks!) is that one can bypass the need to fiddle with drivers by using a generic hardware HDMI -> USB video conversion stick utilizing the mirrorless/DSLR’s HDMI output. It’ll mount as a generic video input that Zoom/Teams/OBS can use. You can find these for $40-$100 and it allows one to switch out hardware brands at will without insta…

I just failed at this recently. Apparently the camera needs to support "clean HDMI out," which many don't. Mine (for example) has HDMI out, but it's for like a "preview" screen for a photographer--it doesn't just output a clean, high-res HDMI stream. There's a web page on Canon's site here: https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/se... You'll see one list of cameras on there, but at the bottom, you…

For the case of some older Nikon models, like my D7000, it is not possible to get "Clean HDMI" from the stock firmware, but there are options to patch the firmware[1][2] to get this. I use this with an HDMI to USB dongle[5], a wired battery pack[4], the aforementioned D7000 and any of the lenses I already owned. I've found that 35mm is a bit too tight given the length of my desk where the camera is mounted[3], but 20mm-24mm is about what works well for me at the moment.

The biggest problem with my setup is that when I open OBS I need to disconnect and reconnect the dongle before OBS will pick it up. Until I figured out how to repeatably get that working it was... more trouble than it was worth. I need OBS because the version of the patched firmware I'm running produces a non standard aspect ratio that I adjust for in OBS, at the cost of a more involved setup and extra CPU utilization. If I used the patched firmware that removes the fixes that (I haven't tried it yet), I would likely forego OBS for meetings.

[1]: https://nikonhacker.com/wiki/Supported_Models

[2]: https://nikonhacker.com/wiki/Nikon_Patch

[3]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094N6W6SP

[4]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071L8R4NC

[5]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K3FN5MR

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#387
post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree. You still get a ton from a low res image of a person vs a static image. Same way how you get a lot from talking face to face vs talking on the phone. Why would my coworkers need to see the individual pores on my nose anyways?

Agreed. However one thing I have noticed is mic quality matters... up to a point. I'm not even talking mic booms and super expensive setups, the difference between some omnidirectional mic on the bottom of a laptop or the side of one of those bluetooth headphones and pretty much any headset with a mic pointed at your actual face is night and day. It doesn't need to be expensive, but it does need to be within reasonab…

I find the macbook pro onboard mic to be superior to every headphone mic and every group room mic I have tested and I have tested many. If you have one and you are using headpones made for music do everyone a favor and set your defaults so that it always uses the mac's mic. With many Bluetooth heaphones you also get vastly better sound quality in your ears if the mic is not in use.

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#388
post #160

Protip: if your goal is to use your smartphone as a webcam, check out this: https://vdo.ninja Written by some guy named Steve, it’s an incredible piece of web software that uses WebRTC to stream phone audio and video as an OBS input. OBS then features a virtual webcam capability to take that stream and make it a webcam. I can then also use OBS to do whatever processing I want, e.g. making my webcam also contain a scr…

Not free, but Camo Studio is great if you're using an iPhone. Works perfectly for me.

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#389
post #5

For those of us with less than perfect skin, using a webcam can be a feature. Also I found out that the difference in image quality between a good webcam and a semi-professional camera is not that big after video compression.

One big advantage of a dedicated camera over a webcam is that you can get a focal length that actually makes sense, instead of an ultra-wide angle. Apart from that it's pearls before swine - any mm² of sensor area above 1/4" OF doesn't matter for MS Teams video crushing.

> "...focal length that actually makes sense"

But a new problem emerges. Your face is now larger than other faces in the meeting. When the view splits everyone into the grid, your face will be the odd one out.

I don't think it's important for your face to be 50mm photo quality portrait photography for a work meeting. Sometimes when the meeting window is full screen, I reduce its size because I don't want my colleague's faces up close in my face!

Also why do people stare directly into the camera the whole time? I don't get that. I have my laptop off to the side slightly, and use main monitors for other work during meetings, or for viewing the meeting if someone is sharing their screen. Just like in real life meetings, we don't stare directly into each other's faces the whole time. I guess personal preference in these things will vary.

Re: Using a "proper" camera as a webcam

#390
post #94
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you use portrait mode?

Camo does support portrait mode, but I think it’s a paid feature included with the “Pro” version on iOS.

After failing with an EOS M50, a HDMI capture card, and the USB EOS connector I gave up on the DSLR idea and went to camo with my iPhone13 Pro.

It’s waay better.

I only use default settings. Quality trumps anything I tried before.

Added bonus: I cannot use the phone when in a call.

https://youtu.be/U4j88uwoKZw

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