Using DSLR camera as Webcam on Ubuntu

This guide explains how to use a DSLR camera as a webcam on Ubuntu.

Supported Devices

Check if your device is supported by gphoto2 here.

Steps

1. Install Dependencies

Install the necessary packages by running:

sudo apt install gphoto2 v4l2loopback-dkms v4l2loopback-utils ffmpeg

2. Disable Secure Boot

Disable Secure Boot in your BIOS settings. This step is necessary to load the v4l2loopback kernel module.

3. Load v4l2loopback Module

Load the v4l2loopback module into the kernel with specific parameters. The exclusive_caps=1 parameter is required for the camera to be recognized in Google Chrome. The card_label parameter provides a name for the virtual device.

sudo modprobe v4l2loopback exclusive_caps=1 card_label="Camera Loopback"

4. Start gphoto2

In my case, I set the resolution to HD and the fps to 30. The device I use is /dev/video2. Use v4l2-ctl --list-devices to find your device.

gphoto2 --stdout --set-config liveviewsize=0 --capture-movie | ffmpeg -i - -vcodec rawvideo -pix_fmt yuv420p -threads 0 -f v4l2 -s:v 1366x768 -r 30 /dev/video2

Final Step: Script and Desktop Shortcut

Consider creating a script and a desktop shortcut for ease of use, similar to the one in this repository for the T6.

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Made with ❤️ by jeanvcastro