Canon cameras can now be used as a webcam through the EOS Webcam Utility and that’s very interesting. But what happens, for example, with Sony cameras . The manufacturer has gained great popularity in recent years and many users decided to bet on its different proposals, from the A6XX0 series to the A7 family with full frame sensors. Well, there is a way to use them as a webcam without the need for a capture device .
How to use a Sony camera as a webcam
If Sony wanted to take out a tool like Canon’s to enable the use of their photo cameras as a webcam, they could do it perfectly and it wouldn’t cost much. Because you could basically say that you have it thanks to Imaging Edge Desktop.
Available for both Windows and Mac, this application allows, among other things, remote control and live preview of what the camera sensor is capturing. The idea is to use it as a view during a photo shoot or to control a video recording.
As we say, this is one of the options, the others offer the possibility of managing the files stored on the memory card inserted in the camera and even revealing the RAW files, although for the latter it is better to resort to a Lightroom or Capture One editor. .
Well, through real-time viewing and a little trick with OBS we can use practically any Sony camera as if it were a webcam and carry out live broadcasts with them. If you want to know how, keep reading.
Install Imaging Edge Desktop
Imaging Edge is a free application offered by Sony for managing your cameras from the desktop. It is available for both Windows and Mac and can be downloaded from the official website.
Once you have it, install it and depending on the operating system you use, accept and give the relevant permissions you need for its proper functioning. This in particular is mainly for macOS users, who will have to go to System Preferences and give it access.
Install OBS
OBS, the popular application for streaming will be the other fundamental element of this equation that will allow us to use Sony’s cameras as a webcam without the need for a capture device. As you may already know, if we don’t tell you again, this is also a free utility and you can download it from obsproject.
Sony camera settings
With both applications already installed, the next step is to configure the camera you are going to use to allow remote access and control from the PC. This is valid for any Sony a7 or Sony a6x00. For this, you must take into account the following:
- That access and control from the mobile phone is disabled
- That the USB Connection is configured as a Remote PC . To do this, go to the camera settings menu and on the fourth screen of menu four of Settings (toolbox icon) locate USB connection. That’s where you can change this value
- Done, we already have everything
Setting up applications
Now that everything is installed and the Sony camera settings are perfectly established, it is time to configure everything to be able to use the camera as a webcam and be able to make recordings or live broadcasts without the need for a capture device.
So let’s do it, these are now the steps to follow:
- Connect the camera to the computer via the USB to micro USB cable and turn it on
- Start Imaging Edge and select the Remote option
- A window will appear with the cameras detected, double click on the one you will use
- At that time a new window will appear where you can control all aspects of the camera, from aperture to iso, etc.
- Now start OBS and create a new canvas for the broadcast
- In Fonts, add a new font from a Capture window
- In the new window that will open select Remote , which is the one that corresponds to the video that the Sony application is capturing
- Now, make the necessary adjustments by pressing the ALT key and adjusting the selection box with the mouse to eliminate the elements that are not interesting and keep only the video
Done, as you need to show more or less elements you can adjust the size of your image, add other video sources, etc. The video quality will not be the highest that the camera can offer if we use a capture device like the elgato camlink 4K , but it is better than the one that many webcams on the market will offer.
Using OBS as a virtual webcam
Finally, if you want to take advantage of all this OBS configuration as a webcam in other applications such as Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc., you must install OBS Virtualcam. The only problem with this is that it is only available for Windows.
Once you download and install VirtualCam, go back to OBS and activate VirtualCam from the Tools menu . Now you just have to go to your video call application that you use and in its settings select this video source.
