Setting Up a Mirrorless Camera as a Webcam using a Capture Card

The author is reviewing and demonstrating their experience with a capture card, specifically the $55 option, which allows for high-quality video capture from a mirrorless camera. They start by explaining that this is not a bad deal at all, considering the quality it provides. The capture card is USB 3.0 and can take any HDMI signal, making it a versatile tool for streaming and content creation.

The author then proceeds to set up their Lumix G7 4K-capable mirrorless camera in 1080p mode, as it outputs an HDMI signal that the capture card can directly feed into the computer. They demonstrate the quality of the captured image, which is impressive, especially when compared to a webcam. The video shows that the capture card is able to produce high-quality footage with good detail, making it suitable for various applications.

For those interested in setting up their own camera as a webcam using an OBS (Open Broadcasting Software) setup, the author provides step-by-step instructions. They start by going to the OBS settings and adding a new source, selecting the capture card device from the list. They then name the source "g7" and select the FHD capture option, which is the default setting for the capture card. The author leaves everything else as is and moves on to the next step.

In the OBS settings, the author can now resize the camera feed to fit their desired space in the scene. They can also adjust the position of the camera feed by clicking and dragging it around the screen. Additionally, they can use a green screen behind the camera feed or apply keying effects to create a seamless transition between the camera and the background.

The author then demonstrates how Windows recognizes the capture card as a device, allowing users to use it as a webcam for Skype-like applications or other video conferencing tools. They show that the capture card is recognized immediately by Windows, making it easy to set up and use.

However, there are some limitations to consider when using a camera with a capture card. The author notes that if the camera has a small battery, it may not last long enough for extended streaming sessions or other applications that require continuous video feed. In such cases, an AC adapter is necessary to extend the battery life of the camera.

Finally, the author takes the opportunity to show off some advanced features of their camera, including manual mode and autofocus capabilities. They demonstrate how these features can be used to control the exposure settings, white balance, ISO levels, and zoom of the camera feed in real-time. This level of control is not available on all cameras, making this particular model a great option for content creators who want more flexibility in their setup.

Overall, the author's experience with setting up their Lumix G7 mirrorless camera as a webcam using a capture card has been overwhelmingly positive. With proper settings and configuration, the capture card produces high-quality footage that is comparable to other dedicated webcams. The author concludes by encouraging readers to try out this setup for themselves and subscribe to their channel for more content and tutorials.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone do you have a DSLR a mirrorless or a really nice pointed shoot camera everyone wondered about how to use it as a webcam well stay with me everyone Chris with coalition gaming here and looking at the threat camera not used to using my mirrorless my Panasonic g7 which is the main camera that I shoot was for the channel as a webcam but you know here it is so a lot of people wonder about how to use one as like Katrina pointing shoe whatever like I said in the intro as a web cam well some cameras there are ways to use software to capture its feed others not so much but really the foolproof way to do that is to use a capture card and today I'm gonna be using the capture card that I reviewed the $55 cheap Chinese capture card if you guys wanted to see more on that make sure to check out the video linked right over here check that out 55 bucks for capture card is really not all that bad to be honest and for the quality that this little capture card puts out USB 3.0 can take any HDMI signal it's really not that bad so what you're seeing right now is my lumix g7 4k capable mirrorless camera it's in 1080p mode right now as far as what's what's what it's outputting over HDMI but this is a direct feed from the camera to the computer it doesn't look half bad I mean the coders couldn't maybe need some adjustment I suppose but really as it is it's got a lot of detail in it compared to what you get from like a webcam for example so honestly I think this is really cool but a lot of people want to know how to set it up in OBS so here we go so here we are at the OBS screen with the black screen here so there are no sources set up in this scene in order to set up a source you would normally go to plot to the plus sign and pick a source from this list here so what you're actually gonna do when you have one of these set up because it just recognizes as the camera device you're gonna go down to video capture device and on video capture device name it whatever you want I'm naming it g7 lack of g6 but it's g7 and here we are I'm going to select it here as fhd capture an F HD capture is the name of what the the capture card recognizes as and I'm just gonna leave everything else the way it is and boom there we are full camera as a US USB webcam basically and a pretty good setup so now you could always just resize this put this in your scene however you want you can be playing a game while you have it up in the corner bottom middle wherever you want it set up a green screen behind it make sure you get proper lighting keyed out and have yourself as a floating head anywhere on the screen so really that's the basics of it that's setting it up in OBS but windows itself recognizes it as a device so if you wanted to use it as a camera or as a webcam for skyping or anything like that it comes up in Windows so we have it here check that out this is the default Windows camera app windows 10 camera app and as you can see it just comes up like a normal camera here you not take a picture and and everything seems to just work which is really nice because when you want something to work like this it's really important that it just works right away because complicated setups when it comes to streaming or doing anything like that can be a bit of hassle now you're just looking at my desktop because I forgot to set up back in OBS and I can see me and I can hear me and see me so something that is important with OBS so if you and and really if you're gonna be using any type of camera through a capture card is if your camera doesn't have a big battery or at the very least doesn't have an AC adapter you're gonna need one because the battery will run out the way that it is right now it's just running off a battery right now so I'm thinking maybe I'd get I don't know an hour two maybe three hours tops depending on you know the specs of the camera stuff like that how long that is going to last before it comes out because well you know camera battery won't last forever they do make AC adapters for a multitude of cameras so if you depending on what you have you're gonna be set no matter what you're just gonna need to order that AC adapter if you want to use the camera as a long-term solution as webcam now you are allowed a lot more flexibility when you're using one of these you can flip the camera to manual mode adjust all the settings white balance ISO levels all that stuff you can control the zoom you can do all that look check this out oh yeah autofocus now as you can see this is like I said this is a feed right out of the of the LCD screen that I'm saying and now I can disable all this stuff but this is how I use my camera I'm just gonna go ahead and leave it like that after I don't know about 30 seconds or so it clears up and then you get you got a clean feed out of the HDMI I don't know how other cameras will be able to do that but I know this one can and I'm sure there's a way to do that with most others anyways so if you guys enjoyed this video setting up a mirrorless DSLR or point of shoot camera as a webcam make sure you click that like button and subscribe we always got more coming and see you guys in the next videohey everyone do you have a DSLR a mirrorless or a really nice pointed shoot camera everyone wondered about how to use it as a webcam well stay with me everyone Chris with coalition gaming here and looking at the threat camera not used to using my mirrorless my Panasonic g7 which is the main camera that I shoot was for the channel as a webcam but you know here it is so a lot of people wonder about how to use one as like Katrina pointing shoe whatever like I said in the intro as a web cam well some cameras there are ways to use software to capture its feed others not so much but really the foolproof way to do that is to use a capture card and today I'm gonna be using the capture card that I reviewed the $55 cheap Chinese capture card if you guys wanted to see more on that make sure to check out the video linked right over here check that out 55 bucks for capture card is really not all that bad to be honest and for the quality that this little capture card puts out USB 3.0 can take any HDMI signal it's really not that bad so what you're seeing right now is my lumix g7 4k capable mirrorless camera it's in 1080p mode right now as far as what's what's what it's outputting over HDMI but this is a direct feed from the camera to the computer it doesn't look half bad I mean the coders couldn't maybe need some adjustment I suppose but really as it is it's got a lot of detail in it compared to what you get from like a webcam for example so honestly I think this is really cool but a lot of people want to know how to set it up in OBS so here we go so here we are at the OBS screen with the black screen here so there are no sources set up in this scene in order to set up a source you would normally go to plot to the plus sign and pick a source from this list here so what you're actually gonna do when you have one of these set up because it just recognizes as the camera device you're gonna go down to video capture device and on video capture device name it whatever you want I'm naming it g7 lack of g6 but it's g7 and here we are I'm going to select it here as fhd capture an F HD capture is the name of what the the capture card recognizes as and I'm just gonna leave everything else the way it is and boom there we are full camera as a US USB webcam basically and a pretty good setup so now you could always just resize this put this in your scene however you want you can be playing a game while you have it up in the corner bottom middle wherever you want it set up a green screen behind it make sure you get proper lighting keyed out and have yourself as a floating head anywhere on the screen so really that's the basics of it that's setting it up in OBS but windows itself recognizes it as a device so if you wanted to use it as a camera or as a webcam for skyping or anything like that it comes up in Windows so we have it here check that out this is the default Windows camera app windows 10 camera app and as you can see it just comes up like a normal camera here you not take a picture and and everything seems to just work which is really nice because when you want something to work like this it's really important that it just works right away because complicated setups when it comes to streaming or doing anything like that can be a bit of hassle now you're just looking at my desktop because I forgot to set up back in OBS and I can see me and I can hear me and see me so something that is important with OBS so if you and and really if you're gonna be using any type of camera through a capture card is if your camera doesn't have a big battery or at the very least doesn't have an AC adapter you're gonna need one because the battery will run out the way that it is right now it's just running off a battery right now so I'm thinking maybe I'd get I don't know an hour two maybe three hours tops depending on you know the specs of the camera stuff like that how long that is going to last before it comes out because well you know camera battery won't last forever they do make AC adapters for a multitude of cameras so if you depending on what you have you're gonna be set no matter what you're just gonna need to order that AC adapter if you want to use the camera as a long-term solution as webcam now you are allowed a lot more flexibility when you're using one of these you can flip the camera to manual mode adjust all the settings white balance ISO levels all that stuff you can control the zoom you can do all that look check this out oh yeah autofocus now as you can see this is like I said this is a feed right out of the of the LCD screen that I'm saying and now I can disable all this stuff but this is how I use my camera I'm just gonna go ahead and leave it like that after I don't know about 30 seconds or so it clears up and then you get you got a clean feed out of the HDMI I don't know how other cameras will be able to do that but I know this one can and I'm sure there's a way to do that with most others anyways so if you guys enjoyed this video setting up a mirrorless DSLR or point of shoot camera as a webcam make sure you click that like button and subscribe we always got more coming and see you guys in the next video\n"