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% Your Old iPhone Makes an Amazing—and Free—Webcam GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Opinion News &gt; Computers <h1> Your Old iPhone Makes an Amazing—and Free—Webcam</h1> <h2> It’s way better than any &#39;real&#39; webcam</h2> By Charlie Sorrel Charlie Sorrel Senior Tech Reporter Charlie Sorrel has been writing about technology, and its effects on society and the planet, for 13 years.
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% Your Old iPhone Makes an Amazing—and Free—Webcam GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Opinion News > Computers

Your Old iPhone Makes an Amazing—and Free—Webcam

It’s way better than any 'real' webcam

By Charlie Sorrel Charlie Sorrel Senior Tech Reporter Charlie Sorrel has been writing about technology, and its effects on society and the planet, for 13 years.
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lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on April 28, 2022 12:00PM EDT Fact checked by Jerri Ledfor...
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lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on April 28, 2022 12:00PM EDT Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on April 28, 2022 12:00PM EDT Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Computers Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Even after an update, Apple’s Studio Display still has a terrible picture. Your old iPhone or Android phone has a much better camera than any webcam. Reincubate’s Camo app turns old phones into amazing webcams. Reincubate Camo The Apple Studio Display’s webcam is an embarrassment, so why not use an old iPhone as a webcam instead?
Hannah Kim Member
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lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Computers Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Even after an update, Apple’s Studio Display still has a terrible picture. Your old iPhone or Android phone has a much better camera than any webcam. Reincubate’s Camo app turns old phones into amazing webcams. Reincubate Camo The Apple Studio Display’s webcam is an embarrassment, so why not use an old iPhone as a webcam instead?
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Dylan Patel 6 minutes ago
As promised, Apple has updated the software behind the soft, washed-out video from the $1,600 Apple ...
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As promised, Apple has updated the software behind the soft, washed-out video from the $1,600 Apple Studio Display’s webcam, and the results are in: It’s not really any better. The main problem is that the camera itself isn’t up to the task, as we shall see. But if you have an old iPhone lying around doing nothing, it's easy to use it, or an old digital camera, as a permanent webcam.
Brandon Kumar Member
access_time 8 minutes ago
As promised, Apple has updated the software behind the soft, washed-out video from the $1,600 Apple Studio Display’s webcam, and the results are in: It’s not really any better. The main problem is that the camera itself isn’t up to the task, as we shall see. But if you have an old iPhone lying around doing nothing, it's easy to use it, or an old digital camera, as a permanent webcam.
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Hannah Kim 2 minutes ago
"The cameras in iPhone comprehensively outperform every webcam on the market. Unlike webcams, iPhone...
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Grace Liu 7 minutes ago
After early reviews called out the poor quality image, Apple promised a software update to fix it. T...
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"The cameras in iPhone comprehensively outperform every webcam on the market. Unlike webcams, iPhones can truly achieve broadcast quality, which is why people you see some music videos and films shot with them," Aidan Fitzpatrick, creator of Camo, an app that turns phones and cameras into webcams, told Lifewire via direct message.&nbsp; <h2> Bad Apple </h2> The Apple Studio Display is a beautiful monitor, with adequate speakers, and a terrible webcam.
Isabella Johnson Member
access_time 10 minutes ago
"The cameras in iPhone comprehensively outperform every webcam on the market. Unlike webcams, iPhones can truly achieve broadcast quality, which is why people you see some music videos and films shot with them," Aidan Fitzpatrick, creator of Camo, an app that turns phones and cameras into webcams, told Lifewire via direct message. 

Bad Apple

The Apple Studio Display is a beautiful monitor, with adequate speakers, and a terrible webcam.
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Oliver Taylor 3 minutes ago
After early reviews called out the poor quality image, Apple promised a software update to fix it. T...
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Julia Zhang 5 minutes ago
It does this by using an ultra-wide camera to take in the entire scene, then cropping a section and ...
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After early reviews called out the poor quality image, Apple promised a software update to fix it. That update is now available in beta, and while it helps, it can’t fix the fundamental problem—too few pixels. Like recent iPad models, the Studio Display features Center Stage, a neat trick that makes the camera seem to follow you as you move and to zoom in and out as more people join and leave the conversation.
Ryan Garcia Member
access_time 30 minutes ago
After early reviews called out the poor quality image, Apple promised a software update to fix it. That update is now available in beta, and while it helps, it can’t fix the fundamental problem—too few pixels. Like recent iPad models, the Studio Display features Center Stage, a neat trick that makes the camera seem to follow you as you move and to zoom in and out as more people join and leave the conversation.
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It does this by using an ultra-wide camera to take in the entire scene, then cropping a section and blowing it up to fill the screen. The problem is that the camera only has 12 megapixels, and by the time it has cropped the frame, you don’t have enough pixels left to make a good image—even in excellent light.
Chloe Santos Moderator
access_time 21 minutes ago
It does this by using an ultra-wide camera to take in the entire scene, then cropping a section and blowing it up to fill the screen. The problem is that the camera only has 12 megapixels, and by the time it has cropped the frame, you don’t have enough pixels left to make a good image—even in excellent light.
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Oliver Taylor 17 minutes ago
To fix this, Apple would have to swap in a new camera. The good news is, you can do this yourself....
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Andrew Wilson 4 minutes ago

Money Shot

Mac and iOS app developer Simon B. Støvring doesn’t use a Studio Display, b...
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To fix this, Apple would have to swap in a new camera. The good news is, you can do this yourself.
Sophia Chen Member
access_time 24 minutes ago
To fix this, Apple would have to swap in a new camera. The good news is, you can do this yourself.
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<h2> Money Shot </h2> Mac and iOS app developer Simon B. Støvring doesn’t use a Studio Display, but when he needed to add a webcam to his cam-less monitor, he turned to Fitzpatrick’s Camo.
Aria Nguyen Member
access_time 27 minutes ago

Money Shot

Mac and iOS app developer Simon B. Støvring doesn’t use a Studio Display, but when he needed to add a webcam to his cam-less monitor, he turned to Fitzpatrick’s Camo.
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Sebastian Silva 27 minutes ago
This app connects to your iPhone or Android device and uses its camera as a source for video calls. ...
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This app connects to your iPhone or Android device and uses its camera as a source for video calls. It doesn’t work with FaceTime, but it works with Zoom and most other apps that let you choose the camera input. Camo is free to use, and you can pay for advanced features.&nbsp; Støvring had an old iPhone 6, which he pressed into service.
Dylan Patel Member
access_time 50 minutes ago
This app connects to your iPhone or Android device and uses its camera as a source for video calls. It doesn’t work with FaceTime, but it works with Zoom and most other apps that let you choose the camera input. Camo is free to use, and you can pay for advanced features.  Støvring had an old iPhone 6, which he pressed into service.
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The iPhone 6 has a 1080p HD video-capable rear-facing camera—and that’s the first bonus. You can use the proper camera on the back of the phone, not the front-facing self-cam.
Liam Wilson Member
access_time 22 minutes ago
The iPhone 6 has a 1080p HD video-capable rear-facing camera—and that’s the first bonus. You can use the proper camera on the back of the phone, not the front-facing self-cam.
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Sofia Garcia 2 minutes ago
This also means that you get autofocus, which none of Apple’s built-in webcams can do. Another gre...
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This also means that you get autofocus, which none of Apple’s built-in webcams can do. Another great feature is that you can disable the iPhone’s camera just by letting it sleep or disconnecting it.&nbsp; Reincubate Camo &#34;Once the Camo app is launched on the iPhone, it will keep the iPhone awake, even if the camera is not in use or the video feed has been paused from the Mac app,&#34; writes Støvring on his personal blog.
Isaac Schmidt Member
access_time 12 minutes ago
This also means that you get autofocus, which none of Apple’s built-in webcams can do. Another great feature is that you can disable the iPhone’s camera just by letting it sleep or disconnecting it.  Reincubate Camo "Once the Camo app is launched on the iPhone, it will keep the iPhone awake, even if the camera is not in use or the video feed has been paused from the Mac app," writes Støvring on his personal blog.
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Sophie Martin 12 minutes ago
"I like to manually lock the iPhone when I'm not using the webcam. This will prevent the Cam...
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Madison Singh 7 minutes ago
While you can use Camo with a mirrorless camera, it’s a pain. "Using a mirrorless as a webcam ...
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&#34;I like to manually lock the iPhone when I&#39;m not using the webcam. This will prevent the Camo Mac app from having a connection to the iPhone app and using the camera. That&#39;s the equivalent of using one of those webcam covers.” <h2> Upcycle </h2> Old phones are uniquely great for reusing as webcams.
Madison Singh Member
access_time 13 minutes ago
"I like to manually lock the iPhone when I'm not using the webcam. This will prevent the Camo Mac app from having a connection to the iPhone app and using the camera. That's the equivalent of using one of those webcam covers.”

Upcycle

Old phones are uniquely great for reusing as webcams.
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Emma Wilson 13 minutes ago
While you can use Camo with a mirrorless camera, it’s a pain. "Using a mirrorless as a webcam ...
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Oliver Taylor 4 minutes ago
An iPhone, however, is self-contained, is constantly powered via its single USB connection, and stay...
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While you can use Camo with a mirrorless camera, it’s a pain. &#34;Using a mirrorless as a webcam brings challenges around cabling, dummy batteries, mounting, lens selection, HDMI converters, and in some cases overheating. When it works, it&#39;s a great—if complex—solution, but it&#39;s not worth doing with a lower-end mirrorless,&#34; says Fitzpatrick.
Charlotte Lee Member
access_time 42 minutes ago
While you can use Camo with a mirrorless camera, it’s a pain. "Using a mirrorless as a webcam brings challenges around cabling, dummy batteries, mounting, lens selection, HDMI converters, and in some cases overheating. When it works, it's a great—if complex—solution, but it's not worth doing with a lower-end mirrorless," says Fitzpatrick.
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Victoria Lopez 11 minutes ago
An iPhone, however, is self-contained, is constantly powered via its single USB connection, and stay...
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Lily Watson 15 minutes ago
And finding a permanent mount is easy.  In short, if you are disappointed in the quality of you...
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An iPhone, however, is self-contained, is constantly powered via its single USB connection, and stays cool. Støvring even set his up to launch directly to the camera app whenever he wakes it from sleep and disables the passcode.
Elijah Patel Member
access_time 45 minutes ago
An iPhone, however, is self-contained, is constantly powered via its single USB connection, and stays cool. Støvring even set his up to launch directly to the camera app whenever he wakes it from sleep and disables the passcode.
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And finding a permanent mount is easy.&nbsp; In short, if you are disappointed in the quality of your webcam, or if you don’t have one at all, then try using an old phone. It’s free and guaranteed to be better than whatever you’re using now.
Sophia Chen Member
access_time 64 minutes ago
And finding a permanent mount is easy.  In short, if you are disappointed in the quality of your webcam, or if you don’t have one at all, then try using an old phone. It’s free and guaranteed to be better than whatever you’re using now.
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