MyStreamSetup A camera brings what a webcam lacks: an optical zoom, a larger sensor, a lens you choose for the shot. It also needs a way into the computer, either its HDMI output into a capture card or a USB webcam mode, and it has to stay on, with no icons over the picture, for as long as you stream.
5 current models · From each maker’s own pages
Every camera here has an HDMI output: send it to a capture card and turn off the information its maker would otherwise draw over the picture. A USB webcam mode saves the capture card, but it sends the mode its maker sets, which is on each profile.
A camera running on its battery can switch itself off or run flat partway through. Power it the way its maker describes for long use, and check whether an automatic power-off still applies.
Canon VIXIA HF R800
Canon’s manual gives it no USB webcam mode, so it needs an HDMI capture card. Set Output Onscreen Displays to Off, or its icons go out with the picture.
Connections & full profile →View at Canon ↗Sony ZV-1
Over USB it sends only 720p at 30 fps. For 1080p you need an HDMI capture card and a micro HDMI cable, which Sony sells separately.
Connections & full profile →View at Sony ↗Sony ZV-E10 II
No USB cable, power adapter or HDMI cable comes in the box, and the body-only package has no lens. 4K or 1080p over USB needs a 5 Gbps port and cable; on USB 2.0 it sends 720p.
Connections & full profile →View at Sony ↗Sony HDR-CX405
Sony documents no USB webcam mode, so it needs a capture card, and does not say whether its on-screen icons go out over HDMI: check the picture in OBS before going live. Set Power Save and Demo Mode to Off, or it turns off after about 2 minutes or plays its demo movie on mains power.
Connections & full profile →View at Sony ↗Canon EOS R50
Over USB it sends 1080p at 30 fps, and Canon suggests mains power for long sessions; the PD-E1 adapter, the USB and HDMI cables and a memory card are all sold separately.
Connections & full profile →View at Canon ↗Other gear: Webcams · Microphones · Audio interfaces · Mixers · Capture cards · Stream controllers · Lights · Headphones