Canon Software Solutions - EOS Cameras as a webcam

[Thomas Smet]

Pretty sure the PC only thing right now is only due to resources as it isn't easy to write software for cross platform. You basically need double the developer resources which Canon may not have at this time. Plus its easy to find a ton of Windows developers out there but the pool of Mac developer talent is a tad slim. Its kind of why Mac never really took off as a server either. Its not that it was a bad server but there just are not enough IT professionals that want to bother with a Mac server or know how to deal with it.

There are now a ton of iOS developers out there but that doesn't always translate to MacOS developers.

 

[Thomas Smet]

So, noone in video/film forum is bothered that this solution is targeted to stills cameras only?

Not entirely sure what this is supposed to mean. Do you mean why are consumer video cameras not included in this? That I'm not sure but maybe it has something to do with the firmware nature of DSLR cameras and the processing power they possess. Or maybe it is just a way to add a cool new feature to DSLRs to help boost their sales. A Canon body tends to lead to other sales like lenses.

Again just like my response about why there is no Mac support this could also just come down to software developer resources and only having the people in place to do this in stages.

Plus lots of people here are in fact using stills cameras to shoot video and have done so for a decade now. The Canon 7D came out in 2009 and kicked off a very lucrative DSLR video industry. I would argue there is likely a 10:1 ratio on this forum of users using a DSLR for video vs a traditional consumer video camera.

If you are referring to the Canon cinema cameras I don't have an answer for that either other than developer resources and the tiny amount of users it would actually impact. Besides do any of those cameras even have a USB port to transfer photos and videos? In order to act as a USB webcam a camera kind of needs to actually have a USB port in the first place.

 

[Thomas Smet]

So, noone in video/film forum is bothered that this solution is targeted to stills cameras only?

Plus you are aware that we have been able to do this for years with capture devices like the CamLink that takes in HDMI and turns it into a USB webcam to use for streaming or even as a webcam for Skype/Zoom? We have always been able to do this sort of thing with video cameras as long as they have HDMI output. The Canon feature is awesome because it requires no extra capture device making it essentially free for those that already own the cameras. If a cinema camera doesn't have a USB port however you can easily get a HDMI2USB webcam capture device and do the exact same thing.

 

[Tamerlin]

This one hasn't been heated at all... but there IS merit to that assertion; back when I was a regular on CGTalk I started noticing that nearly every flame war on the forum was started by mac fans, about half of which had nothing to do with the subject of the thread and were just obsessive mac fans jumping on board to wreak havoc. The mods that I talked to offline about had noticed the same thing.

 

[laverdir]

I was referring to C series cameras.

Why would you complicate with USB conversion for webcam stream, there is Gb Ethernet port on camera.

Another downside of conversion is that HDMI cables are short relative to the SDI and Ethernet cables, and pure will tell you all about HDMI connectors.

For long runs it's either GEFEN HDSDI -> HDMI to the rescue with laptop or with workstation capturing screen of capture card capturing camera signal through SDI cable.

Finally, recent Cinema cameras have Wi-Fi with plenty enough bandwidth for decent and elegant webstream.

So, I would also like firmware update with option to set streaming parameters in camera for direct streams like it is on eg. ATEM Mini Pro or few other cameras.

But watch what you wish for these days, Canon is listening to their customers.

You'll get your cake and you'll have to eat it, too.

 

[Thomas Smet]

I was referring to C series cameras.

Why would you complicate with USB conversion for webcam stream, there is Gb Ethernet port on camera.

Another downside of conversion is that HDMI cables are short relative to the SDI and Ethernet cables, and pure will tell you all about HDMI connectors.

For long runs it's either GEFEN HDSDI -> HDMI to the rescue with laptop or with workstation capturing screen of capture card capturing camera signal through SDI cable.

Finally, recent Cinema cameras have Wi-Fi with plenty enough bandwidth for decent and elegant webstream.

So, I would also like firmware update with option to set streaming parameters in camera for direct streams like it is on eg. ATEM Mini Pro or few other cameras.

But watch what you wish for these days, Canon is listening to their customers.

You'll get your cake and you'll have to eat it, too.

Because the point of the feature is to support the USB webcam standard to be used with existing applications like Skype/Teams/Zoom for virtual meetings. Its a protocol standard and while maybe its possible to use that over ethernet the first hurdle for Canon is likely to support the actual USB port the standard calls for. This is also not designed for long cable production runs but as a webcam alternative meaning very close to the desk.

I realize you have very specific needs but I don't think Canon did anything wrong at all here. They get a ton of credit for doing something for free that opens up a lot of options for photo and video pros stuck at home right now.

Plus if you have that level of camera and need that long of distance runs there are options out there for you. I think this is really intended for those that don't normally do this type of work and want an alternative to the crappy quality of a webcam stuck in one place on a computer.