4 ms·

Sony released some software a couple of months ago that lets you use most of their DSLRs as webcams with USB. My goodness, paired with a fast lens, what a diffe

Sony released some software a couple of months ago that lets you use most of their DSLRs as webcams with USB. My goodness, paired with a fast lens, what a difference to my MacBook webcam, even with these ml blurred backgrounds! It's only 720p and around 15fps but real shallow dof, very little sensor noise, autofocus works. Well worth trying if you have a Sony camera from the last few years. Sensor size and good optics still wins. Having said that,the effort and detail gone into this feature is very impressive, enjoyed the blog post. Also webassembly SIMD looks super cool, looking forward to a new class of webapps using wasm.

kenhwang 6y ago
Canon did too! Definitely a huge upgrade over a typical webcam. I'm using my old T1i which can be had for less than $50 these days, plus you can pick up a 18-55mm kit lens for like $20 and the video quality blows away any webcam, especially for the same price. Also recommend battery->power adapter.
- silly-silly 6y ago
  What is the canon software called ?
  - swang 6y ago
    EOS Webcam Utility https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/self-help-center/eos-webcam-utility https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/se...
- callmeal 6y ago
  The T1i is not listed on their compatibility page. Which version of the utility did you get for it?
  - polpo 6y ago
    I have a T2i that I use with the EOS Webcam Utility and it works just fine despite not being listed as compatible.
  - kenhwang 6y ago
    Latest version of both. I figured any of the video recording capable DSLRs likely would work fine and gave it a shot.
jmarcher 6y ago
Canon and Nikon do too. In practice, the quality bump is nice, but we are still talking of a fairly low res/bit rate when it gets through Zoom so the end result is fairly underwhelming. As far as what the other people see on their wnd.
- dharma1 6y ago
  Yeah.. both Zoom and Google Meet have >720p video but the bitrate especially on Zoom is a travesty, 600kbps/1.2mbps stream with all the different resolutions in the same stream. The codec situation with h264/HEVC/vp9/AV1 software/hardware encoding is a mess. Hopefully we'll get wide hardware support for AV1, although it might take a while.
piquadrat 6y ago
I recently tried to get a setup similar to this with a Fujifilm X-T20 I had lying around, remembering that Fujifilm announced similar software. Alas, that software only works with their higher end models. I ended up getting a $10 HDMI USB capture stick from Aliexpress. I get a perfect 1080p/60fps signal, and at least on Linux it worked out of the box with Zoom. The only problem now is that most of my meetings start with "wow, why do you look like you're on TV?"
- notimetorelax 6y ago
  This is interesting, could you link to the device you used? Do you know if it would work on Chrome OS?
  - piquadrat 6y ago
    I got this one: https://aliexpress.com/item/4000917130635.html https://aliexpress.com/item/4000917130635.html They are also available on Amazon under a bunch of different brands, e.g. https://www.amazon.com/LENCENT-1080p60fps-Definition-Acquisition-Broadcasting/dp/B08CKJPBTN/ https://www.amazon.com/LENCENT-1080p60fps-Definition-Acquisi... It's recognized as UVC (USB Video Class) device. Can't say for sure if Chrome OS can handle those.
brainless 6y ago
I use my Android (Redmi Note 8 Pro) primary cam (720p I think) using Droidcam and it works like a charm on Linux. I also tried gPhoto2/ffmpeg and virtual cam driver with Nikon D5200 (USB) on Linux but I prefer the Redmi since I do not have a decent low light lens for my DSLR.
Quarrel 6y ago
Woot. Thanks for pointing this out - I looked for a solution a while back and it seemed like I had to get a separate capture card to connect my Sony DSLR. Will go check this out now. (I ended up having to buy a little logitech webcam, which has been fine, but being able to pick my lens etc is awesome!)

kenhwang 6y ago

Canon did too! Definitely a huge upgrade over a typical webcam. I'm using my old T1i which can be had for less than $50 these days, plus you can pick up a 18-55mm kit lens for like $20 and the video quality blows away any webcam, especially for the same price. Also recommend battery->power adapter.

silly-silly 6y ago
What is the canon software called ?
- swang 6y ago
  EOS Webcam Utility https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/self-help-center/eos-webcam-utility https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/se...
callmeal 6y ago
The T1i is not listed on their compatibility page. Which version of the utility did you get for it?
- polpo 6y ago
  I have a T2i that I use with the EOS Webcam Utility and it works just fine despite not being listed as compatible.
- kenhwang 6y ago
  Latest version of both. I figured any of the video recording capable DSLRs likely would work fine and gave it a shot.

jmarcher 6y ago

Canon and Nikon do too. In practice, the quality bump is nice, but we are still talking of a fairly low res/bit rate when it gets through Zoom so the end result is fairly underwhelming. As far as what the other people see on their wnd.

dharma1 6y ago
Yeah.. both Zoom and Google Meet have >720p video but the bitrate especially on Zoom is a travesty, 600kbps/1.2mbps stream with all the different resolutions in the same stream. The codec situation with h264/HEVC/vp9/AV1 software/hardware encoding is a mess. Hopefully we'll get wide hardware support for AV1, although it might take a while.

piquadrat 6y ago

I recently tried to get a setup similar to this with a Fujifilm X-T20 I had lying around, remembering that Fujifilm announced similar software. Alas, that software only works with their higher end models. I ended up getting a $10 HDMI USB capture stick from Aliexpress. I get a perfect 1080p/60fps signal, and at least on Linux it worked out of the box with Zoom. The only problem now is that most of my meetings start with "wow, why do you look like you're on TV?"

notimetorelax 6y ago
This is interesting, could you link to the device you used? Do you know if it would work on Chrome OS?
- piquadrat 6y ago
  I got this one: https://aliexpress.com/item/4000917130635.html https://aliexpress.com/item/4000917130635.html They are also available on Amazon under a bunch of different brands, e.g. https://www.amazon.com/LENCENT-1080p60fps-Definition-Acquisition-Broadcasting/dp/B08CKJPBTN/ https://www.amazon.com/LENCENT-1080p60fps-Definition-Acquisi... It's recognized as UVC (USB Video Class) device. Can't say for sure if Chrome OS can handle those.

brainless 6y ago

I use my Android (Redmi Note 8 Pro) primary cam (720p I think) using Droidcam and it works like a charm on Linux. I also tried gPhoto2/ffmpeg and virtual cam driver with Nikon D5200 (USB) on Linux but I prefer the Redmi since I do not have a decent low light lens for my DSLR.

Quarrel 6y ago

Woot. Thanks for pointing this out - I looked for a solution a while back and it seemed like I had to get a separate capture card to connect my Sony DSLR. Will go check this out now. (I ended up having to buy a little logitech webcam, which has been fine, but being able to pick my lens etc is awesome!)