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Re:Today’s Webcams Are Boring, So I Brought Back a Classic by morsch on Sunday October 11, 2020 @03:49AM (#24744338)
There are $12 capture cards? Any recommendations?
Re:Today’s Webcams Are Boring, So I Brought Back a Classic by michaelt on Sunday October 11, 2020 @04:27AM (#24744464)
For $12 you can get a HDMI-to-USB2 capture card on ebay - it's based on the Macrosilicon 2109.

You can also find $18 fake "USB 3" devices that are the same chip, but a higher price, a different case, and a blue plug.

As it's USB2, you'll find it will only do uncompressed 1080p at 5fps, although it'll do 30fps if you use mjpeg. At either framerate, I noticed several frames of video lag, putting my lips and voice slightly out of sync (although how much is the camera vs the capture card is hard to say).

I'm fairly certain the capture card also introduces some colour distortion compared to the camera's preview screen - perhaps brightening? You'll need a way to convince your camera to autofocus continuously, which might mean running in video-recording mode at all times. And of course you'll need a camera support that's the right height for where you're making calls from. You'll need mains power, or at least enough batteries to run the camera all day. And of course, no taking calls in different rooms for you!

Re:Today’s Webcams Are Boring, So I Brought Back a Classic by jonahhorowitz on Sunday October 11, 2020 @07:10PM (#24749911)
I bought this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-to-USB-2-0-Video-Capture-Card-...

Works great. Haven't had any framerate issues when paired with a Panasonic GH3.

Re:Today’s Webcams Are Boring, So I Brought Back a Classic by morsch on Thursday October 15, 2020 @01:38PM (#24791338)
Thanks for the advice! I bought the adapter (or a device that looks just like it) and it does work great. Sony A6300, tested on both Linux and OS X. Plug and play.

1080p -- or whatever the resolution is that it's delivering -- is easily enough for Google/Jitsi meet. Quality is much better than the MacBook Pro internal webcam.

Re:Today’s Webcams Are Boring, So I Brought Back a Classic by kalleboo on Sunday October 11, 2020 @04:13AM (#24744423)
I have this and it works fine. When I bought it it was only $8 though https://www.amazon.com/Capture-Camcorder-Support-Broadcast-S...