If you have a high-quality digital camera, shifting down to a webcam for video calls or vlogging can feel like too much of a compromise. Now, thanks to a new app from Sony, it is possible to transform your digital camera into a high-quality webcam.
Your digital camera – unless it is very old – is almost certainly of a much higher resolution than the vast majority of dedicated webcams on the market. So why not take advantage of this? This is precisely what Sony Imaging Edge Webcam enable you to do.
At launch, the software supports 35 models of Sony camera including the Alpha 9 II, Alpha 9, Alpha 7R IV, Alpha 7R III, Alpha 7R II, Alpha 7S II, Alpha 7S III, Alpha 7S, Alpha 7 III, Alpha 7 II, Alpha 6600, Alpha 6400, Alpha 6100, RX100 VII, RX100 VI, RX0 II, RX0 and vlog camera ZV-1.
The software itself is little more than a driver, essential, so there is no interface to interact with nor settings to configure – everything you can change can be handled through your video chat apps.
It's something of a shame to see that the software only support 64-bit versions of Windows 10, but the majority of people are likely to be running this so it is not too much of an issues – but that's not to say that those hanging on to older versions of Windows won't feel left out in the cold.
In addition to the 64-bit Windows limitation, it is also worth pointing out that Sony warns: " The aspect ratio is automatically set to 16:9. It will remain set to 16:9 after using Imaging Edge Webcam, so set it to the previous value if necessary".
Verdict:
This is a very nice idea that enables you to not only get more from your Sony camera, but also to enjoy higher than average webcam footage. It will be interesting to see how many other camera manufacturers follow Sony's lead.
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