In March when we started offering our online classes, I decided I might want a nice camera instead of my built-in iMac video camera. So I went to Amazon and others, and everyone was sold out of webcams. So I quickly decided to set up one of my cameras to be a webcam….except you really couldn’t do it without a lot of work and third party apps. Thankfully Nikon (and other camera brands) saw the writing on the wall, and now it is quick and simple to set up your 35mm camera as a webcam.
You might wonder why even bother. Honestly the iMac camera works just fine. But it is wide angle, and limited for any creative choices. Wouldn’t it be nice to use your 35mm F1.8 and really blur out that distracting background? Being able to use different lens and focal lengths is why I decided to hook up my Z6 and 35mm to use as my webcam.
Here is the good news. It is very simple to set up. First, download the Nikon Web Utility here. To connect your camera you will need a USB-C to USB or similar cable (it depend on the camera ports you have). Many Nikon cameras work including the D850 and the Nikon Z system. Connect your camera and turn it on. Next, turn on zoom or open a link to a zoom chat. In perferences, choose Video and in the dropdown box, choose your Nikon camera that is now listed after downloading the web utility. That’s it, your should be up and running! No need to go out and buy a new webcam, just use your camera.