Hey there!
Like most of us, I find myself needing to up the ante equipment wise at the home office. I've landed a nice setup with monitors and a HyperX Quadcast mic, I'm waiting for a mechanical keyboard to land, as well as a nice, ergonomic mouse with extra buttons to minimize shifting hands from mouse to keyboard.
What I don't have is a nice camera. Sure, we all dream about that HDR 4K 60fps sweetness, but my budget is nowhere near that. I also see that the market is sucked dry for conventional webcams, especially the nicer ones like the Logitech 922, which to be honest, is also a bit pricey.
I am looking for creative, good alternatives that will work well on Ubuntu 18.04 onwards.
My own thoughts so far has been to use my mobile phone, as that camera is better than the one in my laptop, but the software solutions I have come across sucks in some way, if they work at all.
I have also peeked at Action Cameras and Camcorders, but those camcorders get pricey fast. I still have a hope regarding actioncams, but their documentation is often very lacking with regards to supporting live streaming video to a computer over a cable, as in allowing the computer to use the camera as a video source. Another issue I've read about is that many of the actioncams has a lens leaning heavily towards a fish eye view for more snappy action videos.
Anyone out there have experience with using alternative cameras as webcams for video calls, as well as for screencast recording? Ideally Full HD 1080p @ >=30fps and HDR, but HDR is less important. Cheap 1080p actioncam without pronounced fish eye is possibly my best bet, but impossible to find reading specs in webshops...
Any suggestions or alternatives? Please share your thoughts and/or setup in the comments.
Thanks!
Top comments (5)
I bought the Logitech C930e back in 2017 for $91, and it's fantastic. I haven't tried it under Linux, but it looks like it's out of stock anyway. ☹
The Logitech C930e is a 1080p camera, but I think it's best feature is the wide field of view.
Not sure about the quality but Wyze just released some firmware that will turn their security cameras into web cams. Good luck!
theverge.com/2020/3/31/21202022/wy...
To use an action camera like a GoPro as a webcam you're likely to need a Cam Link or similar device.
Don't forget the importance of lighting as well. Even a cheap LED panel can make all the difference, even with your existing camera.
I have the logitech c922 and I quite like it—but since you're already looking elsewhere I hope other commenters have more different cameras to add.
Thanks for the comment Ben 😊 I would not mind that camera at all, but the only ones I find that aren't out of stock, have a tendency to be price gouged due to demand. I've seen them at 4x prices from normal.