Streaming with DSRL cam

[Mel1]

I don't feel like you're going to find a DSLR or mirrorless cam that works well for streaming for that amount of money. Might be better to focus on getting a newer, higher resolution Logitech Webcam instead.

thank you Amber :*

I have the Brio, and I have to admit it does have issues. I've been a bit disappointed with it.

Issues with focus even when I put autofocus off, and change the settings in OBS, issues with contrast.. issues with lots of things that drive me somewhat crazy. The quality I was expecting by buying it, and the quality I got were 2 different things. Next time I'm either buying a DSLR or just going back to the c920. Considering I had to replace the C920 every year due to the cable issue, then I'm likely going to go ahead w a DSLR.

I also had problems with the cable to the C920, they didn't even want to fix it for me. but eventually I cut the cable and replaced it. I was ready to buy a new one. ^^ The advantage is that I put a fairly long cable and I can move the camera more easily.

 

[MarieElise]

but eventually I cut the cable and replaced it.

Oh wow I didn't know this was an option/ could be done. Genius. Thank you.

 

[englishmuffins]

I have the Brio, and I have to admit it does have issues. I've been a bit disappointed with it.

Issues with focus even when I put autofocus off, and change the settings in OBS, issues with contrast.. issues with lots of things that drive me somewhat crazy. The quality I was expecting by buying it, and the quality I got were 2 different things. Next time I'm either buying a DSLR or just going back to the c920. Considering I had to replace the C920 every year due to the cable issue, then I'm likely going to go ahead w a DSLR.

I second the issues with the Brio. I bought it as an upgrade from my c922 pro, but my biggest issue with the brio is the auto focus. Incredibly frustrating for me. I’ll be saving up for a mirrorless camera now as well.

 

[MarieElise]

I second the issues with the Brio. I bought it as an upgrade from my c922 pro, but my biggest issue with the brio is the auto focus. Incredibly frustrating for me. I’ll be saving up for a mirrorless camera now as well.

When I first got it I tried streaming on SM with the autofocus on, and it would literally take 60 - 90 seconds to refocus. It's way less using OBS, and changing the settings in there (under video configuration)... but that combined with everything else... I'm not exaggerating either I taped my shows on SM and actually timed the refocus (on rewatch). Man, I was not happy that night. 60-90 seconds to refocus renders it pretty much useless for my purposes. But I have to admit, I did read the review thread Amber made here, so I knew it was risky going into it. I can only blame myself. It is a shame it's not what it's cracked up to be though.

 

[Mel1]

Oh wow I didn't know this was an option/ could be done. Genius. Thank you.

Welkome

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

So they screwed up the brio horribly. The reviews all praised it. I wonder if they originally shipped it with crappy initial firmware. A quick check shows firmware updates as recent as June. And it says "rare" autofocus issues, and in my experience "rare" is never "rare". Vendors love to get garbage out the door fast and working like a POS, and forget that while it gets them early sales, it damages their products reputation. The 922 has 1.2x non-digital zoom (they aren't interpolating/making up pixels-you can either show the entire screen downsized-orig res 2300x1500, or have it set to 1.2x and it shows 1920x1080 pixel-for-pixel). At 720 it has more non-digital zoom (not making up/interpolating pixels). My 922 has always worked well with reasonable lights, is the brio generally worse than the 922 with the same light? I have noticed that even between my 7 year old dslr and the current ones that with the same size/resolution sensor the light is only about 2x as good, so in 7 years the sensors have not really improved. So if the brio is using the same physical size of sensor as the 9xx series even with a better sensor it might still be worse.

I am thinking of getting a nice e-mount but the one I would like(A7C) won't work with the la-ea5 adaptor and the old 500mmAutoFocus/Reflex lens (a nice lightweight autofocus high magnification lens), so I am holding off hopefully until the firmware on the model I want will work correctly with it.

 

[MarieElise]

So they screwed up the brio horribly. The reviews all praised it. I wonder if they originally shipped it with crappy initial firmware. A quick check shows firmware updates as recent as June. And it says "rare" autofocus issues, and in my experience "rare" is never "rare". Vendors love to get garbage out the door fast and working like a POS, and forget that while it gets them early sales, it damages their products reputation. The 922 has 1.2x non-digital zoom (they aren't interpolating/making up pixels-you can either show the entire screen downsized-orig res 2300x1500, or have it set to 1.2x and it shows 1920x1080 pixel-for-pixel). At 720 it has more non-digital zoom (not making up/interpolating pixels). My 922 has always worked well with reasonable lights, is the brio generally worse than the 922 with the same light? I have noticed that even between my 7 year old dslr and the current ones that with the same size/resolution sensor the light is only about 2x as good, so in 7 years the sensors have not really improved. So if the brio is using the same physical size of sensor as the 9xx series even with a better sensor it might still be worse.

I am thinking of getting a nice e-mount but the one I would like(A7C) won't work with the la-ea5 adaptor and the old 500mmAutoFocus/Reflex lens (a nice lightweight autofocus high magnification lens), so I am holding off hopefully until the firmware on the model I want will work correctly with it.

I don't know the answer to any of this, but I can tell you that I bought my Brio Jan 2020 (Amazon) and the focus is totally fucked. Unless, like I said, I use OBS It was a few months before the prices and demand all skyrocketed due to Covid. @yummybrownfox can I ask do you have any focus problems with yours? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I wanna say you got one or two more recently.
I am also interested in what people have to say about the C22.

BTW I'm happy to share the settings I use to solve it in OBS, I just don't wanna distract the thread too much, but if anyone is interested I can definitely share what those are.

 

[Mel1]

BTW I'm happy to share the settings I use to solve it in OBS, I just don't wanna distract the thread too much, but if anyone is interested I can definitely share what those are.

It's not a problem, it doesn't bother me.

 

[yummybrownfox]

I don't know the answer to any of this, but I can tell you that I bought my Brio Jan 2020 (Amazon) and the focus is totally fucked. Unless, like I said, I use OBS It was a few months before the prices and demand all skyrocketed due to Covid. @yummybrownfox can I ask do you have any focus problems with yours? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I wanna say you got one or two more recently.
I am also interested in what people have to say about the C22.

BTW I'm happy to share the settings I use to solve it in OBS, I just don't wanna distract the thread too much, but if anyone is interested I can definitely share what those are.

The only issue I have with my Logitech Brio is that every time I plug it in to go live on a cam site, it has me looking orange (I've joked "Why does this have me looking like Donald Trump?" ). So then I have to open up the Logi Capture software, and - I kid you not - the second that Logi Capture appears on the screen, without me having to adjust anything in it, my color is immediately back to normal. And just like that, I can exit out of the Logi Capture. Someone had suggested that maybe it's because I need to adjust the settings, and save them. But no, that's not it at all. Even when I used to save whatever settings, it would still go back to jacking up my color the next time I plugged my cam in. At least one other model on StripperWeb Forum has complained about the same thing with the Brio. And I didn't have that issue with the two Logitech C920s that I had. Crazy how when my broke-ass finally goes and buys the $200 webcam, there has to be an issue. Lol. And now that I don't need two of them simultaneously anymore, I'm trying to sell one of the Brios...as well as these two Logitech C920s (from 2020) that I still have here and don't need.

 

[MarieElise]

The only issue I have with my Logitech Brio is that every time I plug it in to go live on a cam site, it has me looking orange (I've joked "Why does this have me looking like Donald Trump?" ). So then I have to open up the Logi Capture software, and - I kid you not - the second that Logi Capture appears on the screen, without me having to adjust anything in it, my color is immediately back to normal. And just like that, I can exit out of the Logi Capture. Someone had suggested that maybe it's because I need to adjust the settings, and save them. But no, that's not it at all. Even when I used to save whatever settings, it would still go back to jacking up my color the next time I plugged my cam in. At least one other model on StripperWeb Forum has complained about the same thing with the Brio. And I didn't have that issue with the two Logitech C920s that I had. Crazy how when my broke-ass finally goes and buys the $200 webcam, there has to be an issue. Lol. And now that I don't need two of them simultaneously anymore, I'm trying to sell one of the Brios...as well as these two Logitech C920s (from 2020) that I still have here and don't need.

I forgot all about the orange issue, I noticed that too. I can't remember what I did to change it. When I first got it I was orange too.
Actually tbh I think I'm still orange, it's just that I've adjusted my eyes to it, and don't notice it as much anymore. I tried messing with settings in OBS and turned myself pink, so I just put them back. I'd rather be orange than pink.

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

Usually the off color is having the wrong color temperature auto-detected for what your lighting is. If you have various colors of lights (ie both 5k/sunlight lights and cool white lights) that plays hell with the cameras color temp detection on most cameras. On most of the cameras there is a obs control that will let you tweak it as you see fit to correct the color.

 

[GraysonDrake]

Im a model, streaming on cb, I dont know for a budget, maybe max 500 usd .

You pretty much need to use OBS if you're going to improve your stream quality, even if you got a 4k DSLR camera you wouldn't be able to utilize its full potential. I think a brio would be a good upgrade for you (it's like $200) and learning to use OBS would probably do more for your stream than spending money on a really expensive camera that will be throttled by CB's streaming interface anyway.

I have the Brio, and I have to admit it does have issues. I've been a bit disappointed with it.

Issues with focus even when I put autofocus off, and change the settings in OBS, issues with contrast.. issues with lots of things that drive me somewhat crazy. The quality I was expecting by buying it, and the quality I got were 2 different things. Next time I'm either buying a DSLR or just going back to the c920. Considering I had to replace the C920 every year due to the cable issue, then I'm likely going to go ahead w a DSLR.

I think that's an issue with OBS, not your camera. My partner set me up with a script that lets me back up my camera settings so then if OBS restarts and they're all fucked up again I can just run it and they're back to normal. I can't remember where they got it but I can ask and post it. There's a couple different solutions for it if you google for backing up camera settings on OBS.

Additionally, you might want to try getting a better USB cable if you're having quality issues. I was having bad audio issues with my yeti where there was a random whine that we couldn't get rid of until we swapped out the USB cables with better quality professional USB3 cables and it instantly improved things. I also did the same for my brio and had the same results, I even got comments on how much it improved from viewers.

 

[LilyOhRiley]

My partner set me up with a script that lets me back up my camera settings so then if OBS restarts and they're all fucked up again I can just run it and they're back to normal. I can't remember where they got it but I can ask and post it. There's a couple different solutions for it if you google for backing up camera settings on OBS.

Additionally, you might want to try getting a better USB cable if you're having quality issues. I was having bad audio issues with my yeti where there was a random whine that we couldn't get rid of until we swapped out the USB cables with better quality professional USB3 cables and it instantly improved things. I also did the same for my brio and had the same results, I even got comments on how much it improved from viewers.

Oh, I'd love info on that script! I live in terror of the day when my OBS malfunctions since one of my friends did all the settings for me

And I can't believe I never considered changing out the USB cables - that'll be my next purchase, at least for my mic

 

[MarieElise]

You pretty much need to use OBS if you're going to improve your stream quality, even if you got a 4k DSLR camera you wouldn't be able to utilize its full potential. I think a brio would be a good upgrade for you (it's like $200) and learning to use OBS would probably do more for your stream than spending money on a really expensive camera that will be throttled by CB's streaming interface anyway.

I think that's an issue with OBS, not your camera. My partner set me up with a script that lets me back up my camera settings so then if OBS restarts and they're all fucked up again I can just run it and they're back to normal. I can't remember where they got it but I can ask and post it. There's a couple different solutions for it if you google for backing up camera settings on OBS.

Additionally, you might want to try getting a better USB cable if you're having quality issues. I was having bad audio issues with my yeti where there was a random whine that we couldn't get rid of until we swapped out the USB cables with better quality professional USB3 cables and it instantly improved things. I also did the same for my brio and had the same results, I even got comments on how much it improved from viewers.

I've tried 3 new cables. I'm happy with the one settled on here https://www.ambercutie.com/forums/threads/usb-3-1-gen-cables.40626/post-1118739
but you are 100% correct it definitely does better with a different cable. Please do share your settings ideas.

I usually open up Logitech software when I first put my desktop on, and disable autofocus on the Brio itself.
Then I open up OBS, and go into the settings for the "video capture device", then "configure". Then I uncheck "low light compensation", and make sure "focus" is checked. But, yeah, I gotta redo it every time I put the computer on, or unplug the camera. Then I run OBS as a virtual camera, for Streamate. There is still a slight blur when I move a lot, but it refocuses a lot faster using these settings. Autofocus time is now under 10 seconds vs 60-90 seconds (which was unworkable for me).

 

[GraysonDrake]

I've tried 3 new cables. I'm happy with the one settled on here https://www.ambercutie.com/forums/threads/usb-3-1-gen-cables.40626/post-1118739
but you are 100% correct it definitely does better with a different cable. Please do share your settings ideas.

I usually open up Logitech software when I first put my desktop on, and disable autofocus on the Brio itself.
Then I open up OBS, and go into the settings for the "video capture device", then "configure". Then I uncheck "low light compensation", and make sure "focus" is checked. But, yeah, I gotta redo it every time I put the computer on, or unplug the camera. Then I run OBS as a virtual camera, for Streamate. There is still a slight blur when I move a lot, but it refocuses a lot faster using these settings. Autofocus time is now under 10 seconds vs 60-90 seconds (which was unworkable for me).

I think I found it! It's a little bit complicated to set up because you have to do it all manually, but you really only have to do it once and then it's easy.

Usage

saves and loads webcam settings to/from the file. Contribute to SuslikV/cfg-cam development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I recommend saving the files to your desktop so they're easy to find.

Oh, I'd love info on that script! I live in terror of the day when my OBS malfunctions since one of my friends did all the settings for me

And I can't believe I never considered changing out the USB cables - that'll be my next purchase, at least for my mic

What I did before was take screencaps of my settings for reference and re-input them in manually every time so if my solution doesn't work for you that's always an option.

And good cables are pretty inexpensive, I think mine was 12 bucks for a 10 foot cable.

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

I use OBS on a non-windows, non-mac OS, and I did not realize that on the OS I have all of the low level camera settings are visible in the OBS camera setup window, but those same settings don't seem to show on at least windows. On a C922 I have all of these options, and OBS seems to save them with the camera setup.

 

[GraysonDrake]

I use OBS on a non-windows, non-mac OS, and I did not realize that on the OS I have all of the low level camera settings are visible in the OBS camera setup window, but those same settings don't seem to show on at least windows. On a C922 I have all of these options, and OBS seems to save them with the camera setup.

What OS are you using? Ubuntu?

 

[thinkinboutit]

What is the "standard" logitech camera now ?
I want to upgrade but I dunno about the Brio, with all the issues it has.

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

What OS are you using? Ubuntu?

Not Ubuntu. Fedora another of the older Linux distributions that is still around and so far has a viable community.

On my control it has zoom up to 5x, but the slider stops zooming at 1.2 when doing 1080, when doing 720 it stops zooming about 1.8 (max zoom based on underlying sensor resolution without pixel duplication).

On standard logitech, if not brio then one of the C92X/C930 ones that cost around $70 in the US. With good lighting they produce a clear 1080/30 image. I think the stream cam has similar issues to the brio (for the about the same price), and since the brio is a 4k sensor which has some advantages. The brio should allow the same trick as the C92x series when running 1080 with around 2x zoom using a section of the sensor still using pixel-for-pixel (ie no software/digital zoom). I need to get one and figure out if the zoom works the same.

 

[AmberCutie]

What is the "standard" logitech camera now ?
I want to upgrade but I dunno about the Brio, with all the issues it has.

If I hadn't upgraded to mirrorless, I'd still be running the c922 right now, most likely.

 

[Mel1]

You pretty much need to use OBS if you're going to improve your stream quality, even if you got a 4k DSLR camera you wouldn't be able to utilize its full potential. I think a brio would be a good upgrade for you (it's like $200) and learning to use OBS would probably do more for your stream than spending money on a really expensive camera that will be throttled by CB's streaming interface anyway.

Thank you, I maybe should learn use OBS better ^^

 

[LolaLuv]

I currently have a Sony alpha a7iii mirrorless camera with a nice 50mm lens. I bought it to record clips and take pictures of myself, but because the screen doesn't flip up I can only use it at home where I'm able to plug it into my laptop to use as an external monitor. (If I try to use my phone for this it will only send pictures after I take them so I don't know if I'm in the frame until afterwards.) Yes, I could take my laptop anywhere, but it's not easy to set up a whole laptop monitor setup next to a camera tripod in most places.
Anyway, since I have a camlink, and an external battery for the camera I thought maybe it would be more useful as a nice webcam. I've tested it out for a few minutes on streamate and the picture quality is so beautiful compared to my c920 webcam. I really love it. I have some concerns about using it for a full shift though. Maybe someone can help me answer some questions.

1. When you guys say a DSLR/mirrorless can stream for a lot longer than 30 minutes, what does that mean? Is 6 hours reasonable or would I need to log off every 2-3 hours to let it cool down? I don't want to ruin the camera because I'm really happy with the camera despite its limitations.

2. My ASUS computer specs are
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.30 GHz
RAM: 16GB 13.9 usable
64 bit operating system, x64 based processor
Windows 10 Home
I don't know if that's good enough. I don't know if using a mirrorless camera needs more computer power or better technology than a webcam. I am very nontechnical. I'm learning but there's so much to learn. I also don't really know how to use obs. I think I'm just using the basic settings.

3. My internet is really bad. Where I live right now the internet is a utility that's included in the rent. It's only wifi. I don't have the option to have ethernet ports installed in my apartment, and the upload speed is around 4 mbps. My streams currently run smoothly enough almost every time, but I don't know if using a mirrorless camera will create greater demand on my internet usage. Again, I don't understand a lot of things about technology. Sorry if my limited knowledge makes answering me more difficult.

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

Are you using a HDMI -> usb dongle? If so a 1920x1080 dongle should be about the same load as a standard webcam running the same resolution.

if it is a 4k dongle it should be about 4x the load of a 1080/2k webcam. So long as you set the stream up in obs bandwidth to match your upload speed.

With an upload of 4mbits then you won't be able to do true HD as the mbps is not high enough.

Given you can only do a 1080/4mbit stream the C920 should have similar quality, that is unless you don't have enough light, in which case the DSLR will have much better quality with low light (each physical pixel is huge on the mirrorless compared to the C922 webcam).

I have a $40 light meter and my C920/922 works well with about 2000 lumens of light at the subject. The lower the lumens get the worse the quality gets, and the more grainy the image will be.

I have a large amount of light in the room that I use, it is a somewhat big room but in the 10x10 corner I have about 45k lumens of light, with a couple of directional ones used for spot lighting as needed.

A 3700U should be powerful enough for anything you can do with a 1080 stream. It should be powerful enough for 4k I would think.

 

[Nigerian Prince]

With an upload of 4mbits then you won't be able to do true HD as the mbps is not high enough.

Given you can only do a 1080/4mbit stream the C920 should have similar quality,

People always think about resolution and having a sharper image when upgrading to a camera, but tbh, the most noticeable thing will be the better colours, especially in skin tone, as well as the better dynamic range. Even 720p on most DSLR/mirrorless cameras will look better than something like the Brio at 4k for those reasons alone.

 

[LolaLuv]

Are you using a HDMI -> usb dongle? If so a 1920x1080 dongle should be about the same load as a standard webcam running the same resolution.

if it is a 4k dongle it should be about 4x the load of a 1080/2k webcam. So long as you set the stream up in obs bandwidth to match your upload speed.

With an upload of 4mbits then you won't be able to do true HD as the mbps is not high enough.

Given you can only do a 1080/4mbit stream the C920 should have similar quality, that is unless you don't have enough light, in which case the DSLR will have much better quality with low light (each physical pixel is huge on the mirrorless compared to the C922 webcam).

I have a $40 light meter and my C920/922 works well with about 2000 lumens of light at the subject. The lower the lumens get the worse the quality gets, and the more grainy the image will be.

I have a large amount of light in the room that I use, it is a somewhat big room but in the 10x10 corner I have about 45k lumens of light, with a couple of directional ones used for spot lighting as needed.

A 3700U should be powerful enough for anything you can do with a 1080 stream. It should be powerful enough for 4k I would think.

Thank you. This is very helpful.

People always think about resolution and having a sharper image when upgrading to a camera, but tbh, the most noticeable thing will be the better colours, especially in skin tone, as well as the better dynamic range. Even 720p on most DSLR/mirrorless cameras will look better than something like the Brio at 4k for those reasons alone.

That's exactly what impressed me about it. With the camera the image is like what the human eye sees.

The webcam isn't bad, but my red hair comes off a little too orange. Even using luts on obs it doesn't always look the best as I move around the room. With the camera everything, including the colors of my flowers and my headboard, all the little details, just look richer and more nuanced.

Also, when my lights reflect off my skin with the camera it looks soft, nice, and well lit. When I use the webcam if I get too close to my light sources I light up. I have pale skin and the reflection is so intense you can't see my facial features very well.

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

A DSLR will have higher dynamic range so less washed out at the brighter end. Lighting with the webcam needs to really be close to the same brightness on anything you want to look good. Too dark or too bright regions of the subject will look bad. With webcams you would have to adjust the color temp manually so it looks right (it is a setting on the webcam itself, not sure on windows how you set it, on my OS it is there in OBS as a slider bar), with the DSLR it is usually automatic, but when it is not automatic/quite right you can still setup a shot and go into a menu it will usually detect the color temp correctly. With my older DSLR camera it is challenged when the color temp is not one of its presets (mixed color temp lights) and seems to need a manual calibration to get it to be something that is not a pre-defined color temp. When I add spot lighting in to get the lighting similar too much washes it out and too little produces a poor image. Lighting should be a lot more forgiving with the DSLR.

 

[kittygy]

I dont know... i use sony a7s3 for my stream and it took me a long time to make the perfect settings for my stream, i stream with 4k/30fps on chaturbate, and i use obs virtual cam to stream to the other platform.. if you have more question you can ask

 

[bbbbadddd]

Very nice setup.

 

[David_Neve]

kittygy you've got a crazy setup! congrats! I am using an old Canon 600D and it does the job, but I am looking for upgrades because the autofocus is kinda bad (and it is noisy)

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

I dont know... i use sony a7s3 for my stream and it took me a long time to make the perfect settings for my stream, i stream with 4k/30fps on chaturbate, and i use obs virtual cam to stream to the other platform.. if you have more question you can ask

That is beyond being a cam room, that is a studio. You have the most awesome setup that I have seen.