VIDEO CAPTURE DEVICES MADE FOR GAMERS HAVE POTENTIAL FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARIANS
TL;DR: The Elgato Cam Link 4K is an USB video capture dongle that converts an HDMI signal that you can select as your default web camera and microphone. It works on MacOS without additional software and at a purchase price of $140 tax included, it's well worth the money. I feel comfortable offering it as a value-add for clients doing remote interviews or simple livestreaming when a wi-fi connection is available.
I have not received any form of compensation from the equipment manufacturers or service providers, and I’m not making any money from click-through sales. All equipment used was purchased for my business or borrowed from other artists and filmmakers. I'm writing this to help other documentary filmmakers who are looking for a working cameraperson's take. Please buy local if you can.
Equipment used for this test:
Computers: MacbookPro 13” dual-i5 8GB RAM OS10.11 El Capitan; MacPro (2013) OS10.14 Mojave
Cameras: Sony FS7, a7RII, a6300, EX1-R, Canon G5X, GoPro Hero 3 Silver
Video Capture: Elgato Cam Link 4K, Elgato HD60S
Get the Gear
In the beginning on this year, back when social distancing was just what I did on my non-shoot days, a few clients asked me if I could livestream presentations in addition to recording them for later posting. As a cinéaste I honestly wasn't that interested, but as a freelancer I need to be responsive to client needs and the changing media landscape so took the nudge to finally get up to speed on current technology.
So I contacted fellow Bay Area filmmaker Eric Loveland at Fill in the Blank Media and he was gracious enough to break down a few levels of streaming options from smartphone to the studio equipment he is using with its clients. After considering the costs and complexities of offering streaming as a solo operator, I've decided that plugging a single camera into a laptop and streaming via YouTube or a client's existing setup is about as much as I'm going to take on; beyond that I'll refer clients to Eric and I hope you do also.
For the solo operator, Eric affirmed my selection of the Elgato Cam Link 4K, a HDMI-in, USB3.0-out video capture dongle, which I have been using for the last couple weeks. There are other well-reviewed devices out there such as the Black Magic Design Ultra Studio Mini Recorder and Magewell USB Capture HDMI Gen2, but I have not tested them. As far as I have seen, the BMD Ultra Studio Mini Recorder is the only option in this price range with SDI-in, which makes sense since other devices were intended for gamers and livestreamers with lower-range gear rather than multi-camera broadcast settings. Unfortunately it looks like shelter-in-place orders may have caused a run on these doohickeys so they may be out of stock or only available at inflated prices— the Magewell was $300 pre-COVID19, Elgato and BMD retailed $130-150— though there is a range of video capture devices available from lesser known brands.
In Use
So the immediate question is, will simply adding a video capture dongle turn this:
(image description: Head-and-shoulders of an Asian man with eyeglasses in the entryway of an apartment. He is looking slightly below the level of the camera. His hair is short and unbrushed and he is wearing a black sweatshirt. Behind him to his right is a dark art print of a night sky and a coat rack with multiple jackets; behind his left are a number of bicycles leaning against one another and a yellow sign on the wall above them notifying of road closures for the Tour de France. The image was taken with a laptop web camera.)
to this?
(image description: Same scene as above, but with tighter framing. Only a sliver of the frame of the art print is in the frame but other background items are still visible. Background is significantly blurrier and lettering on the yellow sign is illegible.)
In short, no. The first image was taken with the FaceTime HD camera in my MBP, the second was using a Leica 35mm Summicron-R v.4 lens on a Sony a7RII attached via the Cam Link 4K. While they both benefit from the same daylight source, white-walled room, and camera:subject:background positioning and suffer from the same lack of attention to personal grooming, the differences in the sharpness, bokeh, color, gamma, noise, etc., are mostly due to the camera, lens, and lighting, and knowing how to use them. I may have a biased opinion here, but you're still going to need an actual cameraperson to get more than a functional image.
So what about folks without a full frame camera, vintage glass and location cinematography experience? Rather than getting into the many technical reasons why a decent point and shoot camera on auto still looks better than a built-in laptop/cell phone camera, let me run through a couple practical scenarios.
Scenario 1: Webcam
From software side, the Cam Link is pretty much plug-and-play: select it in your application settings and it seems to be the default after the first use. If it's not immediately recognized, restarting the application with the Cam Link attached and camera powered on seems to get things running again.
(image description: Four screenshot images of setting menus from 1. FaceTime, 2. Google Hangouts, 3. YouTube Live, and 4. Zoom. In each image, the video/camera pop-up menu reveals “Cam Link 4K” selected as an option. In the Zoom camera image area, the face of Dev Patel is overlaid over the face of the subject.)
Elgato lists minimum system requirements as MacOS 10.12 (Sierra) and 4th gen quad-i5 CPU, but I have been using a 2015 MacbookPro 13” running MacOS10.11 (El Capitan) on a dual-i5 CPU and have experienced no problems. Maybe I would get 4K with a more powerful setup, but I don't need 4K here and don't miss it.
On the camera hardware side, you can use basically any camera with a clean HDMI signal. Elgato has compatibility page, but few production camcorders or cinema cameras are listed. So far, my Sony cameras all work great (FS7, EX1-R, a7rII, a6300); I attached a GoPro Hero 3 Silver which worked fine but honestly not worth the trouble since the image wasn’t better than the FaceTime camera. Some cameras, such as the Canon G5X I borrowed from my partner, have HDMI out but always send display overlays like focus area regardless of MF/AF mode, which can very distracting to viewers. I have not tested the Cam Link 4K with a non-camera HDMI signal.
(image description: Profile view of an open laptop computer on a stand made of flat sheets of metal held together with threaded rods. A mirrorless dslr camera peeks over open laptop screen and is supported by a ball head atop a rod connected to the laptop stand. Power cables run from the camera and laptop to an outlet on the wall on the lower right of the frame.)
(image description: Rear view of a laptop and camera setup. A Matthews Mini-Grip head attaches the rod supporting the camera to a Mini-Cardellini which is in turn clamped to the laptop stand. The camera's rear screen displays the apartment entryway from the previous images.)
For rigging, I have my dslr attached to a DJ laptop stand ($20) via mini-Cardellini, mini-grip head, mini-grip rod, and small Manfrotto ball head. I don't have an exact cost breakdown of the camera support because it's gathered from camera AKS, but I'd estimate $100-125, much of that being the Cardellini. Keeping the unit contained and portable is helpful if you aren't able to maintain a dedicated video conferencing area, need to adjust for changing light conditions, or just want to be able to work in different places. Since in-camera batteries in DSLRs die fast in video use and attaching larger batteries would make the setup top heavy, I opt for AC power for both call length and equipment safety. Remember to disable any automatic power down or standby modes. I have the OpenMemories tweak installed for unlimited recording time, though as far as I know, the 29:59 recording limit doesn't affect how long you can leave the camera running; I haven’t experienced any overheating of the a7R2 as a webcam, though I have not been recording calls.
Aesthetically, elevating the laptop and camera near eye level prevents unflattering low angles and prevents exposure-straining direct ceiling lights from entering the frame. The mini-grip allows for repositioning for traditional interview eyelines which leads to the next use scenario:
(image description: A dslr camera is positioned just to the right of an open laptop screen. The camera is tethered to the laptop via the Cam Link 4K device. On the laptop screen is an image taken by the camera of a man in front of an apartment entryway. He is on slightly to the right of the frame looking toward the left of the frame.)
Scenario 2: Remote interviews
The real benefit I see for independent documentarians is to use the video capture dongle for remote interviews. Since video chat became ubiquitous, many of us camerafolk have had to improvise some kind of setup for a director who, for budget or other logistical reasons, can’t be on location; this is basically a much nicer version of that. Instead of texting them a phone pic of your viewfinder, now the director can not only see what the camera is seeing, they can also hear what the camera is hearing. That's right, the wireless lav and overhead mic you're recording in-camera is sent via the camera's HDMI through the Cam Link 4K so you can select it as your microphone the same way you selected the Cam Link as the camera. If you’re so inclined, you can mic yourself up for web chats, too. While I haven't tested other input signals yet, I would imagine a PA feed from a presentation (per my initial client enquiries) or scratch audio from a sound recordist would work the same. Having used this setup for many hours of video conferencing, I have not experienced or been notified of any sync or lag issues that would affect interview flow.
Additionally, by adding a passive HDMI switcher ($10), it's possible to show the remote director a B/C/D-cam without losing chat connection, though there are some things to keep in mind. First, the camera handoff takes a couple seconds during which the picture will go black then cycle before a correct image appears. If you've got nimble fingers you can hot swap HDMI cables, but I have found that if there's no camera attached for more than a 3-5 seconds, your computer may revert to its built-in camera and you may have to reselect the Cam Link 4K in you chat settings. Second, audio will correspond to a camera's HDMI signal so it's best to stick with your A-cam, a direct feed from the sound recordist, or a phone placed close to the subject during the actual interviewing. I consider the option to switching cameras as a bonus on top of a value-add, not a practical replacement for hardware- or software-controlled switching for livestreaming or external recording. Also, if you plan on attaching multiple video capture devices to your CPU, they may need to be different models (e.g., a Cam Link 4K and a BMD US Mini Recorder) otherwise your computer will get confused and/or you may need to look into additional software such as OBS which is outside the scope of this writeup.
One more caveat: I would only use the Cam Link 4K camera for video calls on a reliable wifi connection. When using my phone as a hotspot for my laptop, the far end would lose audio and video with enough frequency and duration to disrupt an interview. My Verizon connection in downtown Oakland during was uploading at <1Mbps which worked ok with the phone camera, but not the larger bandwidth laptop signal.
Scenario C: Remote Editing
Since the Cam Link 4K was unavailable, an editor friend picked up the Elgato HD60S which is slightly more expensive ($170) but still available and allow pass through of the HDMI signal, something that editors may find useful for remote collaboration. In initial testing, a stream of his program window via the HD60S (passed through to his client monitor) to YouTube Live had few if any dropped frames; however, audio lost sync and would need to be corrected with additional software such as OBS. Sync issues may not be apparent on a b-roll heavy sequence, but it’s important to be aware of when presenting for frame-accurate feedback. Elgato software allows for adjustment of exposure/gamma, but doesn’t allow LUTs, as far as we could tell, and didn’t have adjustments for audio sync.
I have not tested either HD60S/S+ with a camera yet, nor the Cam Link 4K with a non-camera signal, but will update if/when I get a chance.
Conclusion
A video capture dongle opens up a lot of possibilities, but it’s not going to remove the need for a good cameraperson just like 8K cameras with 15+ stops of dynamic range doesn’t mean you can shoot everything with a 14mm then reframe and relight in post. As a freelance cameraperson who sometimes acts as one-person-crew for out-of-town producer/directors, it's worth having in the camera bag, especially since it takes less room than a card reader. If you’re shipping camera kits to interview subjects, the Elgato Cam Link 4K is simple enough to get running if they have the capacity to set up the camera and video chat with you in the first place; plus it may allow you to actually direct the camera placement and give a little more assurance over the results. If you have a camera to spare, you’ll impress potential clients with your great-looking, great-sounding web cam, they will hire you, and you’ll become rich enough to buy microfiber lens cloths instead of getting them for free at gear demos. I could imagine hacking together an interrotron using a detachable screen and a teleprompter, but I will leave that to others to test. Editors may want to go with a device with signal pass through like the HD60S, or a PCI option.
Got ideas for how to use these gadgets or hands-on experience using them with other gear? Looking for more details about anything I mentioned above? Please leave a comment so we can all learn together.