Of course, depending on your camera, your available settings and ranges may vary so we recommend playing around with the image until you get something you like.Īlmost every camera has settings to tweak the output colors. We dropped the saturation by -4 to get a much more toned down image that looks a lot more natural. In our case, we’re using a Sony camera which includes settings for customizing colors, including saturation. Most cameras that offer a clean HDMI out also include settings for tweaking that image. Improving the image of generic capture cards The next question is - can you change your camera settings to improve the image from a generic capture card and get something that’s closer to the Cam Link 4K? Let’s find out!
You can get a clean, stable 30 FPS, 4K image that looks better than almost any webcam on the market. So how do these more affordable capture cards stack up against Elgato’s offering? Here’s a side by side comparison:Īs you can see, with the generic capture card, the image is a lot more saturated and a little more compressed but this is still a really decent picture, especially for the price.
Here are a few of the cheaper capture cards we’ve tried in our tests: These generic capture cards come in all shapes and sizes but, for the most part, they’re all basically identical inside. There are, however, a ton of more affordable options online - some for as little as $20. And, with a price tag of almost $130, it can feel like a lot of money, especially if you’re just starting out with video production. The Cam Link will give you a stunning image but it only comes with USB-A so, if you have a modern Mac, that means you’ll need a hub or adapter to connect. The industry standard these days is the Elgato Cam Link 4K. If you’ve ever searched for “capture cards” on Amazon, you’ll know there’s A LOT of options out there and, as with most video production gear, they vary in quality and price. Some cameras do have a clean USB output so you can connect directly to your computer but these cameras can be expensive and the USB connection can often cause frame rate and latency issues.Īn HDMI capture device will give you a more stable image and can be used with the vast majority of modern cameras, including more affordable vlogging cameras like the Sony ZV-1. If you want to use a dslr, mirrorless or vlogging camera to record video, live stream, or take calls on your Mac, you’ll most likely need to connect it via a video capture card.
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