Which Camera do Streamers use?
If you like watching streamers play you’ll likely notice that their image quality is usually better than what you get when you use your regular webcam. But how do they do it?
The answer to the question is acutally twofold. For one these streamers usually have a good lighting setup and also a good camera.
Lighting
The face should be well illuminated. It should be well lit by a soft (i.e. large) light source like a window. Not everybody as the luxury of facing a windows during work or maybe it’s even dark out. The solution is of course a light source in front of you. For this we don’t recommend just a lamp - it’s a very small source of light leaving ugly shadows in your face - but rather an LED-Panel such as these Neewer LED lights: They’re USB-powered and can be dimmed through switches. They also come with stands but could also be mounted on top of a camera (see section 2) with an hotshoe adapter. There are always bigger and better lights such as these LED panels, but that’s up to you.
2. Camera
When your lighting situation is fixed your image quality will already be improved: Your camera doesn’t need to digitally brighten the image so it’s definitely going to look better if there’s more light coming into the camera. But said camera can also be improved, and streamers seldomly use a simple webcam Generally websites other than this tell you to get a Logitech C920x or a Logitech Brio 4K webcam to use as a streaming camera. You could also go for the Razer Streaming Kiyo Webcam which comes with an included ring light with should give you nice illumination on your face, but that’s still not what streamers usually use.
They usually use… an actual camera!
You can use any camera as your webcam as long as it has an HDMI output (the HDMI-size doesn’t matter, there are adapters). What you need is a converter from HDMI to USB and these can be had for as little as $20. These adapters are called video capture cards and the only thing you’ll need to look out for is the output quality. Usually it’s FullHD with 30 fps, which is fine. Check out this link for a good list.
If you don’t have a camera lying around at home I would suggest you look at the Sony a6000: It has good autofocus for video and do FullHD video out. The lens that comes with the camera is also fine but if you want more background blur (called bokeh) you can add a prime lens with a large aperture. For the Sony a6000 we can recommend the Viltrox 23mm F1.4. If the field of view is too narrow check out the Samyang 18mm F2.8, if it’s too wide have a look at the Samyang 35mm 1.8. You can see which focal length you need if you take the kit lens, set it up properly and then see what you need. These recommended lenses usually let in at least double the amount of light for a better background seperation and cleaner image.
If you want more of a blurred background you should aim for a camera with a bigger sensor, like the Sony A7 III, Nikon Z5 or Canon EOS RP. They all work perfectly fine for use as a webcam but wont break the bank! Be sure to get a large aperture prime lens for that silky smooth background. The selection of cheap prime lenses is best for Sony cameras: The Samyang 35 F1.8, Youngno 35 F2, Sigma 35 F2, Viltrox 35 1.8, Sony 35 F1.8 are just the tip of the iceberg and show you a wide range of available lenses just at the 35mm range with an aperture around F1.8.
Now you’ve got your camera all set up but now theres a new problem: Your battery runs out and your image goes black. That’s something you can avoid with a so called dummy battery: It’s a battery you plug into your camera that’s also connected directly to a power source. For Sony cameras check out this link, and for the mentioned Sony a6000 check out this dummy battery. It also fits other Sony cameras as seen in the description. For Canon cameras check out these dummy batteries. Nikon user have a look here, Panasonic check here, Olympus check here.
3. Action
Now you’re ready to stream and fire up OBS (If you want to get better at using it, check out this book!). Or are you?
Looking at most high profile streamers or youtubers they all take great care of their backgrounds and usually use some kind of light or lightstrip in their background. I really enjoy streamers or creators that have more of a industrial style with big light bulbs an warm light. Pair that with a nicely painted wall and some decorations and you’re good to go!
