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Is it possible to use a digital camera as webcam?
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2003
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I want to buy a digital camera and thought also about a webcam for videoconferences.
Is it possible to combine this? Buy a digital camera that can also be used as webcam?
At least it is not easy to find a model that does the job. The salesperson at the shop where I asked this today looked at me as if I were ET. So may I asked here? Does anyone know if there is a camera model available that can also be used as a webcam? Maybe in combination with a separate software driver?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Northern California
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I don't know of one. My Canon PowerShot can be attached with USB and set up such that you can see what you would normally see through the camera's LCD, inside an application, kind of like a webcam. But you can only do it for a few minutes before the camera gets really hot, and it drains the battery fast too. EDIT: and I don't think Canon's software lets you capture video from the camera this way, it merely acts as a remote of sorts for the camera.
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Last edited by Apfhex; Jun 3, 2006 at 06:51 PM.
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Mac OS X 10.5.0, Mac Pro 2.66GHz/2 GB RAM/X1900 XT, 23" ACD
esdesign
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Thinking about this a little bit for myself I found this:
The new cameras have 6-8 megapixels. Too much.
Just assume a 2 MPixel camera (very old I know, but ...). They produce a 1600*1200 Pixel picture. Saved as jpeg it needs 3.8 MByte.
25 per second need 95 MByte per second = 7600 MBit/second.
What a pity. Even a 2 MPixel camera cannot be used as a webcam because usb2 (480 MBit) or firewire (400MBit) cannot handle it.
Hm, is there a cellphone that can be used as webcam? 
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
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None of the consumer-level cameras are going to feed you a full resolution, uncompressed image. Many of them are happy to act as a 640x480 (true, not Apple's upscaling garbage) web camera in Windows, and I assume some would work with OSX.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Apr 2000
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I think this may be manufacturer/model-dependent also. None of the Sony digital cameras I've owned allow it to be used as a webcam. An old Fuji FinePix camera I had had different "modes" when connected via USB, one of which allowed it to be a web cam.
On Mac OS X side, if Image Capture sees it, then it should be usable.
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Registered User
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Originally Posted by ginoledesma
I think this may be manufacturer/model-dependent also. None of the Sony digital cameras I've owned allow it to be used as a webcam. An old Fuji FinePix camera I had had different "modes" when connected via USB, one of which allowed it to be a web cam.
On Mac OS X side, if Image Capture sees it, then it should be usable.
Ah, this comes close.
If I understand this correctly, the camera needs a zoom to project the entire picture on a small fraction of the ccd (like 480*240) AND the ability to read out only this small fraction.
Or an algorithm to reduce the resolution of the ccd picture internally. But this would require a bit of processing power to create 25 pics/sec.
So it is extra effort.
I will have a look at Fuji and browse through the specs.
Anyone else?
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Originally Posted by ginoledesma
On Mac OS X side, if Image Capture sees it, then it should be usable.
if Image Capture sees it, in no way does it mean it can be used as a webcam.
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ice
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I've got this Digital Dream l'espion camera. It used to work as a still camera (via a driver from ioxperts,) and although that has stopped working for some reason or other, it's now natively recognised as a webcam by macam. Resolution's garbage, of course.
IIRC, there are quite a few mp4 video cameras out there these days that also have halfway decent still camera mode. I'd be surprised if one of those wouldn't fit the bill.
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Somerset, UK
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Originally Posted by Dr.Michael
Ah, this comes close.
If I understand this correctly, the camera needs a zoom to project the entire picture on a small fraction of the ccd (like 480*240) AND the ability to read out only this small fraction.
Or an algorithm to reduce the resolution of the ccd picture internally. But this would require a bit of processing power to create 25 pics/sec.
So it is extra effort.
I will have a look at Fuji and browse through the specs.
Anyone else?
I have a Fuji FinePix 2800z and it has the 'webcam' mode, alas, it only works on Windows. No program I have tried on OS X sees the camera as a 'webcam'
-HL
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2012 Macbook Pro 13" 8GB Ram 250GB SSD
2010 5,1 Dual 2.93 Ghz 6 core Mac Pro 48GB Ram 250GB SD, 2x 1Tb HD, 1x 320GB HD, GTX970 Black Edition
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