What am I doing wrong here. I want a webcam to mount on a monitor, with a more or less “normal” (I.e. c.50mm focal length at 35mm equivalence) field of view.
Everything out there seems to range from “wide” to “ultra wide”.
Surely there’s massive demand for webcams that show the speaker, rather than the whole room.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Many thanks!
I have been through this too and failed to find anything that was remotely close to a normal FOV. When I weighed up my must-have features, I settled on this camera which states 70mm, the PQ is fantastic but the FOV still is wider than I would like.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Some people 'resort' to using proper cameras and capture cards to get their desired look as webcams are usually quite limited.
You can buy lenses to go over some webcams though, like those that clip onto smartphones.
I used my Fuji X-T3 for a while. Might be better solutions but I had to use external USB power as battery probably wouldn’t last for 90min. The camera/battery became very warm, there were other foibles and I went back to a regular webcam.Originally Posted by hughtrimble
I've only seen things like DSLRs etc used and indeed, for those you need to buy the power supply that connects into the battery port. It's not a cheap remedy!
Plus point was I made bit of cash on the capture device as they became unobtainable during lockdown.
Great thread as I’ve had to go back to my built in laptop camera, as the one I bought is way to wide angle. They all seemed designed to show a whole meeting room, and I would love a solution that’s not too costly so I can use my monitor.
Bought one of these Logitec C270 HD Webcams for my wife's Zoom and Skype meetings and it has the option 16:9 wide screen or 4:3 regular view, took a while to arrive, way back at the beginng of lockdown #1 but works well and just clips to the screen top. It is nicely adjustable so one appears to be looking directly at ones client if it is far enough away, say 1 m.
Thinking about it, there must be additional software that you can use to limit what's shown to others on your webcam?
EDIT: e.g. https://www.quora.com/Can-I-make-a-f...r-lens?share=1
There’s certainly Logitech software for their webcams which can zoom in to a portion of the image. Downside of course is a loss of resolution.
Open Broadcast Studio would do what you want - you'd set the camera up how you want there and then select it as as the camera in whatever app you are using.
Mine sits above a 32" monitor & basically if I glance at other areas of the screen with content on, or down to the bottom of the screen, I look completely disinterested in the conversation.
Not found a solution yet. Below the screen & looks like I am looming down on the camera.
Tried a tripod in the middle of my screen but found it hard to work on ppt / spreadsheets.
That’s the same problem I have. I also have to slide the camera above whoever I’m taking to on the screen, or I look like I’m not talking to them!
My son has bought an Elgato cam link which enables him to use a mirror less camera, the quality is fantastic and as zoom/teams will be with us for a while it was a good investment.
I have had the same problem - someone complained I was ignoring them but in reality - using a 32" ultra-wide means I am off looking at what we are talking about which makes me look utterly bored...
Good to see that I’m not alone, and not just being thick!
Some great thinking in the foregoing; I looked at the elgato capture, but needing dummy batteries for the slr etc sounds like more faff than I want.
Software cropping is also a good shout, except that I’ll want to use this plug-and-play on machines where I don’t have the ability to instal software.
From what I can see, the logi c270 mentioned above might be one of the best least bad, and I think I definitely need to do some further research into add-on teleconverter lenses as also mentioned above.
Thanks for all the responses so far, they really are helpful!
Please do share if you find a solution that doesn’t involve SLRs or software! Thanks.
Another option is to use mobile as a webcam. Not sure how FOV compares but generally better camera.
You’ll need app (eg DroidCam) installed on phone and obviously some sort of stand or holder.
We have used a few of these for adhoc meeting spaces at work. The angle is about 70 degrees but it is quite flexible for positioning. https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/produ...encecam-bcc950
Here you go: a proper PTZ webcam:
https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/produ...cecam-ptz-pro2
Thanks for the link, if I’m reading correctly though that ones still 100 degrees? I have no idea what PTZ is
PTX - Pan/Tilt/Zoom control: the lens is a 10x zoom lens. However, it's not a cheap solution.Thanks for the link, if I’m reading correctly though that ones still 100 degrees? I have no idea what PTZ is
The most cost effective route is to use a mobile phone as a camera together with software as already mentioned.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=use...deos&ia=videos
Last edited by Mr Pointy; 12th January 2021 at 13:00.
I sometimes join Teams/Zoom meetings on a phone or iPad, particularly in the summer when it's just internal. Usually within seconds of joining someone will say "why are you so long?!"
I use a Logitech Brio and another lower spec Logitech. For both I have just gone into the software setting and set the field of view of the webcams permanently as I need them. Just focussed on me. Dead easy to do and have had no problems.
I use one of these all the time at home - I don't find that the field of view is much different to a normal webcam. As the camera is elevated on its own stand I tend to place it in front of my 2nd monitor so that there is some semblance of making eye contact during a video call (though if the call involves writing then my interlocutors get a side of my head) - I suppose bringing it forward of the screen like this would allow you to cut down the field of view a little.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
PTZ falls short for me on account of price and the need for software.
CB’s idea of moving the camera closer isn’t bad, and I agree improves perceived eye contact and engagement, but may be more distorting than a longer lens further away.
- - - Updated - - -
I may end up trying to hack something...
One last try - the Logitech 930e. 4x digital zoom, loads of videos here many of which show the zoom working:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Log...deos&ia=videos
https://youtu.be/SCmRIsi8LiM?t=257
Several camera manufacturers have released beta software apps to enable webcam use of various mirrorless and compact cameras: Fuji mentioned above, the Sony I’m using and also Olympus and Nikon and maybe others. You can fit whatever focal length lens you like, obviously, on interchangeable lens cameras (I use a 55mm on my full frame Sony A7S to get a narrower field of view and a nice out of focus background) and some compact cameras that work with the apps allow zooming.
Each manufacturer’s apps only work with some of their cameras - these are mostly quite recent and therefore expensive, even second hand, although the quality of the output is enormously better than the 720p offered by almost all webcams built in to laptops (and quite a few stand alone ones). Good dedicated webcams aren’t cheap either.
Most people still haven’t moved on from fuzzy laptop cams with ‘nostril views’ in silhouette from backlighting, so looking miles more professional isn’t difficult.
To get 4K quality you’ll need to add a CamLink adapter (original ones are around £100, although knock-offs are available for much less) and they will also allow you to use almost any camera with a digital output, USB or HDMI. I’d say 4K was complete overkill for videoconferencing, although it makes more sense if you’re recording videos for YouTube.
I use my Sony Rx100 mk5 and A7r3 as webcams, as I don’t have a non-built in web cam on my laptop and I keep the cover closed.
If you have a Sony camera, try this link - https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/app/webcam/en/
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