5 odd things you can do with an extra web cam (aside from making video calls)

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Released Oct 6, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT

Monica J. White is a reporter with over a years of experience in covering innovation. She constructed her very first PC almost 20 years earlier, and she has actually because constructed and evaluated lots of PCs.

PC hardware is her primary beat, and graphics cards and the GPU market at big are her primary location of interest, however she has actually composed countless posts covering whatever associated to PCs, laptop computers, handhelds, and peripherals. From GPUs and CPUs to headsets and software application, Monica’s constantly ready to geek out over all things associated with computing.

Beyond her deal withHow-To GeekMonica adds to TechRadarPC GamerTom’s GuideLaptop MagSlashGearWhopand Digital Trendsto name a few. Her supreme objective is to make PC video gaming and computing friendly and enjoyable to any audience.

Monica invests a great deal of time elbow-deep in her PC case, as she’s constantly making upgrades, screening something, or outlining out her next develop. She’s the go-to tech assistance individual in her instant circle, so she’s never ever out of things to do. Whenever she has extra time, you’ll discover her video gaming till the early hours and socializing with her canine.

Whether video calls are the bane of your presence or you enjoy them, many people own a web cam. It may be in your laptop computer; it may be your phone; possibly you have a standalone cam. If you have an extra one, you have a bonanza of unusual possibilities awaiting you.

A web cam is generally a small USB electronic camera your PC currently understands how to utilize, which indicates you can utilize it for all way of things, from scanning files to utilizing it as a microscopic lense.

Turn it into a file video camera

Point it at your desk rather of yourself

Among the most convenient things you can do with an old web cam is to let it continue living its finest life on your desk, other than now, it’ll be utilized for files.

You can utilize it as an appropriate scanner-type thing, with a continuous connection to your PC for simple file transfers. It can be valuable as something you point at files or notes that are in some cases required for numerous confirmation functions.

Mount the cam above a flat surface area, position an invoice, handwritten note, delivering label, or anything else you desire beneath, and record it without dragging out a correct flatbed scanner. Windows’Camera app can even deal with file and white boards scanning with suitable electronic cameras.

It will not beat a devoted scanner, and you can likewise utilize your phone for comparable things, however if you typically handle files for work, this is much easier. You can likewise utilize OCR tools to pull the text out of your file as soon as you’ve scanned it.

Mount it over your workbench

Tape the things your typical electronic camera angle misses out on

An extra web cam likewise makes a remarkably helpful overhead workbench electronic camera. Mount it above your desk or bench, point it directly down, and you’ve all of a sudden got a devoted angle for things that might utilize an additional set of eyes, if not hands.

For PC structure, it may assist you check out all the nooks and crannies of your construct. It’s not on my list of PC structure tools I suggest, since you can make do without it, however hey, if you have one lying around, then why not?

It’s convenient if you utilize software application like OBS, since you can include the cam as a video source and record it without continuously establishing your phone or moving your electronic camera around. It does not even require to be any great, as all you’re searching for is an extra angle, not 4K video footage. I presume, a minimum of. I do advise purchasing a targeted desk light, however, as lots of web cams aren’t especially proficient at managing shadows and dark areas.

Make an incredibly low-cost time-lapse video camera

One frame every couple of seconds is all you truly require

Think it or not, a cam can be utilized for some trendy time-lapse video, too. Primarily since you can simply leave it plugged into your PC for hours on end without stressing over battery life.

Point it at anything you like: the view through your window, a

3D printer, a plant, and capture one frame every couple of seconds or minutes rather of making hours-long recordings of mainly absolutely nothing. You do not require the cam to be expensive for this, either.

Software application like FFmpeg can manage this by getting images from your cam at whatever period you select. OBS can work for it too if you ‘d choose to

tape constantly and speed it up after. If the cam lets you, ensure you lock the focus and direct exposure, due to the fact that automated modifications can produce one rather untidy recording. Utilize it as a standard tracking cam

Movement detection makes an old web cam remarkably good

I think it’s not that unexpected that an old cam can end up being a security electronic camera, however many individuals presume cams aren’t sufficient for the task.

Numerous are almost sufficient, and if the quality produced by your old web cam is a couple of levels above “potato,” you’re most likely great.[ 19659020]Your cam will do not have much of the functions of a security electronic camera, so it’s finest to simply focus it on something and let it deal with that a person task without any additionals. Software Application like Agent DVR supports normal USB cams and includes beneficial functions like movement detection and configurable detection zones, so that ought to conserve you a long time when you wish to enjoy the video back later on.

Webcams will not have weather condition resistance or onboard storage, so it’s not the finest service ever, however it’s a makeshift alternative that costs precisely $ 0.

Turn it into a DIY digital microscopic lense

This is where compromising an old web cam gets enjoyable

This is my preferred alternative on the list, and it’s absolutely the most enjoyable. It’ll take more work than the rest of these, however, so treat it as an enthusiasm job and not a fast two-minute task.

Some web cams, not all, can be developed into makeshift digital microscopic lens. You ‘d need to open yours up, eliminate the lens, and re-install it in reverse. That’ll alter the optics enough to let the cam concentrate on small items at extremely close quarters, so you can examine things up close and individual. Extremely individual.

Your mileage might differ by a lot here, and I can’t ensure it’ll work, however if you’re in the state of mind for a DIY job, there’s no damage in attempting (besides the prospective death of your cam).

A bad web cam can still be a helpful video camera

I’ve never ever had a web cam pass away on me, so in my experience, most get changed naturally (brand-new laptop computer=brand-new cam) or due to the fact that you desire something of much better quality. When it comes to the latter, it’s great if your old electronic camera is quite dreadful. It’ll still have some usage, as none of these tasks actually need excellent image quality.

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