Using a good digital camera as a webcam may be excessive for many folks, but for some of us it is extremely helpful.
Sony and the other major camera brands have released this type of software, but it unfortunately doesn't support all the cameras these manufacturers sell.
If you need this functionality and your camera isn't supported, you've got options. The cheapest option (free, actually) is to use your iPhone or Android phone as a webcam using the free Iriun software. You install the software on your computer and install the Iriun app on your phone. The two devices need to be on the same wifi network, and it works pretty well in my experience. iPhone cameras (even on older iPhone models) are leagues better than the webcams built into the latest, priciest Macbook Pros.
Another option is if you have a digital camera with an HDMI or mini HDMI out, you can get a dongle that converts the camera's video signal from HDMI to USB in a format your Mac or Windows machine can use with Zoom, Skype, etc using no additional software.
These dongles range in price from $20 for cheap, no-name ones at Amazon to name-brand ones like the
Elgato Cam Link 4K ($130) and the Pengo HDMI to USB video grabber ($90). I have the Pengo unit and one of the cheap no-name ones and both work great, without any additional software.
This capability is super helpful for anyone who needs more sharpness, better contrast, better colors, or better handling of suboptimal lighting than what you get from cheap webcams or the webcams built in to most computers.
My use-case is I teach at a small college, and some of my classes are online using Zoom. I need to have a webcam aimed at the whiteboard, which I stand in front of and write on as I teach, as if classes were in person on campus. The webcam in my Macbook sucks, and the well-reviewed Logitech webcams have been nearly impossible to find since the pandemic happened (except on eBay, where price gougers miraculously have plenty of new units in sealed boxes which they're happy to sell you for 2x the normal price). I've tried a couple of the inexpensive, no-name webcams on Amazon and I managed to find one of the well-reviewed Logitech ones, but the image they produce isn't good enough for students to clearly see what I'm writing on the whiteboard, plus they do into and out of focus depending on where I'm standing or what else is in the frame. I happen to have a Sony RX100 with an HDMI out, so I bought one of the $20 HDMI to USB dongles from Amazon and it works great.
Sony and the other major camera brands have released this type of software, but it unfortunately doesn't support all the cameras these manufacturers sell.
If you need this functionality and your camera isn't supported, you've got options. The cheapest option (free, actually) is to use your iPhone or Android phone as a webcam using the free Iriun software. You install the software on your computer and install the Iriun app on your phone. The two devices need to be on the same wifi network, and it works pretty well in my experience. iPhone cameras (even on older iPhone models) are leagues better than the webcams built into the latest, priciest Macbook Pros.
Another option is if you have a digital camera with an HDMI or mini HDMI out, you can get a dongle that converts the camera's video signal from HDMI to USB in a format your Mac or Windows machine can use with Zoom, Skype, etc using no additional software.
These dongles range in price from $20 for cheap, no-name ones at Amazon to name-brand ones like the
Elgato Cam Link 4K ($130) and the Pengo HDMI to USB video grabber ($90). I have the Pengo unit and one of the cheap no-name ones and both work great, without any additional software.
This capability is super helpful for anyone who needs more sharpness, better contrast, better colors, or better handling of suboptimal lighting than what you get from cheap webcams or the webcams built in to most computers.
My use-case is I teach at a small college, and some of my classes are online using Zoom. I need to have a webcam aimed at the whiteboard, which I stand in front of and write on as I teach, as if classes were in person on campus. The webcam in my Macbook sucks, and the well-reviewed Logitech webcams have been nearly impossible to find since the pandemic happened (except on eBay, where price gougers miraculously have plenty of new units in sealed boxes which they're happy to sell you for 2x the normal price). I've tried a couple of the inexpensive, no-name webcams on Amazon and I managed to find one of the well-reviewed Logitech ones, but the image they produce isn't good enough for students to clearly see what I'm writing on the whiteboard, plus they do into and out of focus depending on where I'm standing or what else is in the frame. I happen to have a Sony RX100 with an HDMI out, so I bought one of the $20 HDMI to USB dongles from Amazon and it works great.
