How to turn your Sony camera into a webcam

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff.

Update (October 16, 2020): Sony has now released its Imaging Edge Webcam software for macOS, so we’ve updated this article to reflect that.

For better or worse (mostly worse, if you ask me), the pandemic has turned Zoom calls into the norm. And if you’re going to have video meetings, you may as well look good doing it — but that’s tough to pull off when most webcams are pretty shitty.

Fortunately, Sony has just released a new app that lets you turn your camera into a webcam, without any extra special hardware other than a USB cable. Pretty nifty.

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All you need to do is download Sony’s Imaging Edge Webcam software and connect your camera to your system with a USB cable. You can then follow these instructions to complete the setup.

The software supports 36 different models, including A9 II, A9, A7R IV, A7R III, A7R II, A7S II, A7S, A7 III, A7 II, A6600, A6400, A6100, A5100, RX100 VII, RX100 VI, RX0 II, RX0. It also works with the newly released A7S III. You can grab the app for Windows or macOS.

If you don’t own a Sony camera, but still want to look immaculate during your conference calls, you might still be able to turn your device into a webcam. Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, and Panasonic have all released similar apps already. That said, they all support only a limited number of models, so you’ll have to check if your camera is on the list.