How to crop your iPhone webcam on a Mac with Continuity Camera and other apps - Macworld

The hold of macOS’s Continuity Camera diagnostic successful macOS Ventura and iOS 16 to crook your iPhone into a webcam is invited by galore people. The biggest occupation that comes on with the diagnostic whitethorn beryllium uncovering an due mode to equine oregon presumption your iPhone! (See this nonfiction for tips.) But for immoderate people, you whitethorn besides not privation to usage the afloat camera framework of the wide-angle (or standard) rear-facing camera connected your iPhone.

Apple doesn’t yet connection an accommodation to harvest and zoom, oregon to prime among alternate rear-facing cameras oregon the front-facing one. You tin crook to third-party bundle to assistance you along. Which bundle you request depends connected whether you requiring FaceTime, QuickTime, Safari, and different Apple compatibility, oregon are utilizing a webcam lone with third-party video software.

No FaceTime required

Apple doesn’t yet enactment generic virtual webcams, which are streams of video managed by bundle from different video oregon composite feeds. The astir fashionable of those packages is the open-source and free Open Broadcaster System (OBS). OBS present has virtual camera bundle built-in; formerly, you had to spell done immoderate method hoops and present it’s conscionable a azygous click.

In OBS, you tin prime your iPhone arsenic a video root conscionable arsenic you mightiness bash successful FaceTime oregon different apps. Under Sources, you click the positive sign, take Video Capture Device, and past prime your iPhone from the Device popup menu. If it’s moving correctly, you spot a preview of the iPhone’s view. Click OK. You tin present resistance the handles of a reddish rectangle to harvest a smaller information of the video watercourse than what appears by default. Now click Start Virtual Camera nether the Controls paper (by default astatine the lower-right country of the screen). In Zoom oregon different videoconferencing oregon video apps, prime OBS Virtual Camera. (OBS tin furniture successful titles, audio, windows, and vastly more, too; consult its extended documentation and forums.)

OBS offers a escaped method to harvest your video input and nutrient a virtual camera—but it doesn’t enactment with Apple’s video-input apps successful macOS.

If OBS seems similar excessively overmuch to negociate oregon you find it challenging, you tin try mmHmm, a video-presentation strategy that lets you harvester audio, video, slides, screens, and different sources. The escaped tier should beryllium capable if you’re conscionable looking to framework your iPhone’s input arsenic a zoomed-in oregon cropped video that you tin output to videoconferencing software.

FaceTime required

If you request to usage FaceTime with your video camera, Camo from Reincubate is presently the lone virtual camera bundle I’m alert of that’s afloat integrated with Apple’s macOS video inputs.

Cameo produces Apple-compatible virtual camera output, but requires a paid licence to zoom and marque different adjustments.

With Camo, you instal an app connected your iPhone oregon iPad and your Mac. iOS 12 oregon aboriginal and macOS 10.13 oregon aboriginal oregon required. There’s besides a mentation for Windows 10 oregon later. You tin link your instrumentality to your Mac via USB or, starting a fewer weeks ago, implicit Wi-Fi.

The Camo Studio app successful macOS lets you prime which camera connected your iPhone oregon iPad you privation to usage arsenic the root and past use zoom, rotation, effects, a watermark, oregon representation adjustments to. The output becomes a virtual camera you tin prime successful efficaciously immoderate video app. (I usage Camo arsenic my videocasting root with my iPhone due to the fact that of its extended configuration options.)

Camo has a escaped tier that allows up to 720p video but doesn’t see zoom and astir different features. You tin trial retired the escaped mentation to spot however you similar it, however. Camo is $4.99 per month, $39.99 per year, oregon $79.99 to unlock forever. The paid licence covers up to 2 computers and allows removal of a watermark.

This Mac 911 nonfiction is successful effect to a question submitted by Macworld scholar Bradley.

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