Ownership, now that's a tricky word Camera owner asks Canon, skies: Why is it $5/month for webcam software? Just because it's a good rig doesn't mean you can use it on Zoom. Kevin Purdy Jan 17, 2025 2:36 pm | 31 The Canon PowerShot G5 X II, which is either less valuable than a $50 USB webcam or far better, depending on your Canon subscription software. Credit: Canon The Canon PowerShot G5 X II, which is either less valuable than a $50 USB webcam or far better, depending on your Canon subscription software. Credit: Canon Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn morePhotography enthusiasts pay a lot for their very powerful cameras. How much more should they pay to put them to much, much easier work as a webcam? However many hundreds of dollars you paid, Canon thinks you should pay $5 per monthor, heck, just $50 per yearto do that.Roman Zipp detailed his journey from incredulousness to grim resignation in a blog post. He bought his Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II for something like $900 last year. The compact model gave him the right match of focal length and sensor size for concert pics. What it did not give him was the ability to change anything at all about his webcam feed using Canon's software. (The "$6,299 camera" referenced in Zipp's blog post title is his indication that all models of Canon's cameras face this conundrum, regardless of price point.)Ah, but that's because Zipp did not pay. If you head to Canon's site, provide a name and email, and manage to grab the EOS Webcam utility when Canon's servers are not failing, you can connect one camera, with one default scene, at 720p, 30 frames per second and adjust everything on the camera itself if you need to. Should you pay $5 per month, or $50 per year, you can unlock EOS Webcam Utility Pro (PDF link), which provides full 60 fps video and most of the features you'd expect out of a webcam that cost hundreds fewer dollars. Comparison of webcam software features available to Canon's "PRO" and "Free" users. Credit: Roman Zipp/Canon Comparison of webcam software features available to Canon's "PRO" and "Free" users. Credit: Roman Zipp/Canon "Software development isnt free, and Im happy to pay for software I use regularly," Zipp writes. "However, Canon is a hardware company, not a software company, and they shoulddue to the lack of standardsprovide software that allows you to use their cameras as intended. Aside from development costs, theres no justification for a subscription model, particularly from a company earning nearly $3 billion in profit."Zipp's pointed complaint made the front page of Hacker News, where commenters immediately got sidetracked into a discussion of UK tariff laws on video equipment, sneakers, cookies, and ethanol. But further in, recommendations appear for the open source Magic Lantern camera add-on software, or possibly CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit) firmware. Whether or not Zipp can better use his camera as a webcam is somewhat beside the point, or at least the point he's making.Many higher-end (or at least better-than-smartphone) cameras output video in formats that computers and web conferencing software cannot natively accept. HDMI output is an option, but using that typically requires a capture device and specialty software to mix and use it and that the camera provide "clean" HDMI out, with no overlays. The G5 X Mark II does seem to offer that and has a USB-C port. It also seems to work fine once the software is paid for. It's an open question whether Canon should provide this as part of the cost of the camera, one for which Zipp and many commenters have an answer.Ars has reached out to Canon for comment and will update this post if the company responds.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 31 Comments