<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/latex.css/style.min.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/main.css" /> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Trying Different Camera Setups</title> <meta name="og:site_name" content="Navan Chauhan" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.navan.dev/" /> <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://web.navan.dev/" /> <meta name="og:url" content="https://web.navan.dev/" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Trying Different Camera Setups" /> <meta name="og:title" content="Trying Different Camera Setups" /> <meta name="description" content="Comparison of different cameras setups for using as a webcam and tutorials for the same." /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Comparison of different cameras setups for using as a webcam and tutorials for the same." /> <meta name="og:description" content="Comparison of different cameras setups for using as a webcam and tutorials for the same." /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.png" type="image/png" /> <link rel="alternate" href="/feed.rss" type="application/rss+xml" title="Subscribe to Navan Chauhan" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://web.navan.dev/images/opengraph/posts/2020-10-11-macOS-Virtual-Cam-OBS.png" /> <meta name="og:image" content="https://web.navan.dev/images/opengraph/posts/2020-10-11-macOS-Virtual-Cam-OBS.png" /> <link rel="manifest" href="manifest.json" /> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="LVeSZxz-QskhbEjHxOi7-BM5dDxTg53x2TwrjFxfL0k" /> <script data-goatcounter="https://navanchauhan.goatcounter.com/count" async src="//gc.zgo.at/count.js"></script> <script defer data-domain="web.navan.dev" src="https://plausible.io/js/plausible.js"></script> </head> <body> <nav style="display: block;"> | <a href="/">home</a> | <a href="/about/">about/links</a> | <a href="/posts/">posts</a> | <a href="/publications/">publications</a> | <a href="/repo/">iOS repo</a> | <a href="/feed.rss">RSS Feed</a> | </nav> <main> <h1>Trying Different Camera Setups</h1> <ol start="0"> <li>Animated Overlays</li> <li>Using a modern camera as your webcam</li> <li>Using your phone's camera as your webcam</li> <li>Using a USB Camera</li> </ol> <h2>Comparison</h2> <p>Here are the results before you begin reading.</p> <div class="b-dics"> <img src="/assets/posts/obs/normal.png" alt="Normal Webcam"> <img src="/assets/posts/obs/usb.png" alt="USB Webcam"> <img src="/assets/posts/obs/5S.png" alt="Camo iPhone 5S"> <img src="/assets/posts/obs/11.png" alt="Camo iPhone 11"> <img src="/assets/posts/obs/mirrorless.png" alt="Mirrorless Camera"> </div> <h2>Prerequisites</h2> <p>I am running macOS and iOS but I will try to link the same steps for Windows as well. If you are running Arch, I assume you already know what you are doing and are using this post as an inspiration and not a how-to guide.</p> <p>I assume that you have Homebrew installed.</p> <h3>OBS and OBS-Virtual-Cam</h3> <p><em>Description</em></p> <pre><code>brew cask install obs brew cask install obs-virtualcam </code></pre> <p>Windows users can install the latest version of the plugin from <a rel="noopener" target="_blank" href="https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-virtualcam.949/">OBS-Forums</a></p> <h2>0. Animated Overlays</h2> <p>I have always liked PewDiePie's animated border he uses in his videos</p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/01-pewdiepie.png" alt="Still grab from PewDiePie's video showing border" /></p> <p>The border was apparently made by a YouTuber <a rel="noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R__RUitpjnA">Sleepy Tanooki</a>. He posted a <a rel="noopener" target="_blank" href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mL3HAvTQfG7mTqwCp-9xCJ2IFhZUoJ5W">link to a Google Drive folder</a> containing the video file. (I will be using the video overlay for the example)</p> <p>It is pretty simple to use overlays in OBS:</p> <p>First, Create a new scene by clicking on the plus button on the bottom right corner.</p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/01-panel.png" alt="Bottom Panel of OBS" /></p> <p>Now, in the Sources section click on the add button -> Video Capture Device -> Create New -> Choose your webcam from the Device section.</p> <p>You may, resize if you want</p> <p>After this, again click on the add button, but this time choose the <code>Media Source</code> option</p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/01-media-source.png" alt="Media Source Option" /></p> <p>and, locate and choose the downloaded overlay.</p> <h2>1. Using a Modern Camera (Without using a Capture Card)</h2> <p>I have a Sony mirrorless camera. Using Sony's <a rel="noopener" target="_blank" href="https://imagingedge.sony.net/en/ie-desktop.html">Imaging Edge Desktop</a>, you can use your laptop as a remote viewfinder and capture or record media.</p> <p>After installing Image Edge Desktop or your Camera's equivalent, open the <code>Remote</code> application. </p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/02-remote.png" alt="Remote showing available cameras" /></p> <p>Once you are able to see the output of the camera on the application, switch to OBS. Create a new scene, and this time choose <code>Window Capture</code> in the Sources menu. After you have chosen the appropriate window, you may transform/crop the output using the properties/filters options.</p> <h2>2.1 Using your iPhone using Quicktime</h2> <p>Connect your iPhone via a USB cable, then Open Quicktime -> File -> New Movie Recording </p> <p>In the Sources choose your device (No need to press record). You may open the camera app now.</p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/021-source.png" alt="Choose Source" /></p> <p>Now, in OBS create a new scene, and in the sources choose the <code>Window Capture</code> option. You will need to rotate the source:</p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/021-rotate.png" alt="Rotation" /></p> <h2>2.2 Using your iPhone using an application like Camo</h2> <p>Install the Camo app on your phone through the app store -> connect to Mac using USB cable, install the companion app and you are done.</p> <p>I tried both my current iPhone and an old iPhone 5S</p> <h2>3. A USB Webcam</h2> <p>The simplest solution, is to use a USB webcam. I used an old <a rel="noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.logitech.com/en-in/product/hd-webcam-c310">Logitech C310</a> that was collecting dust. I was surprised to find that Logitech is still selling it after years and proudly advertising it! (5MP)</p> <p>It did not sit well on my laptop, so I placed it on my definitely-not-Joby Gorrila Pod i had bought on Amazon for ~₹500</p> <p><img src="/assets/posts/obs/3-usb.png" alt="USB Webcam" /> <head> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/posts/obs/dics.css"></p> <script src="/assets/posts/obs/dics.js"></script> <p></head></p> <script> new Dics({ container: document.querySelector('.b-dics') }); </script> <blockquote>If you have scrolled this far, consider subscribing to my mailing list <a href="https://listmonk.navan.dev/subscription/form">here.</a> You can subscribe to either a specific type of post you are interested in, or subscribe to everything with the "Everything" list.</blockquote> <script data-isso="//comments.navan.dev/" src="//comments.navan.dev/js/embed.min.js"></script> <section id="isso-thread"> <noscript>Javascript needs to be activated to view comments.</noscript> </section> </main> <script src="assets/manup.min.js"></script> <script src="/pwabuilder-sw-register.js"></script> </body> </html>