Canon Turns DSLR, Mirrorless Cameras Into Webcam As It Launches Accessory Kit Lines

Canon is rolling out a webcam accessory kit that retools DSLR and mirrorless cameras into high-quality video conferencing webcams. The kits come in three packages, The Verge reported.

All three kits will reportedly include a USB cable to connect the camera to a desktop or a laptop, a battery insert and a power cord. The kits will not include a tripod for camera mounting. While one of the kits is priced at $159.99, the other two are both $89.99.

The more expensive kit works with an EOS RP mirrorless camera. The DR-18 coupler that comes with the kit does not fit the EOS R5 and R6 so they are not included in the RP kit compatible cameras. EOS R5 and R6 holders must use a DR-E6 coupler with the kit.

On the other hand, one of the two kits priced at $89.99 supports the EOS Rebel T3, T5, T6 and T7 DSLR cameras. The other one supports Canon’s EOS M50, M50 Mark II, and M200 mirrorless cameras, PetaPixel reported.

The accessory kits are intended to work with Canon’s Webcam Utility software. Users who do not own a Canon camera yet may purchase the webcam starter kit at $466 from Canon's website.

Canon’s webcam accessory kits are available for pre-order at Adorama, Amazon, Best Buy and B&H Photo. Pre-orders are expected to ship from March 25.

The kits are part of Canon’s move to address the shortage of webcams due to the high demand caused by an increase in video conferencing requirements in the pandemic, according to PetaPixel.

In April 2020, Canon released its Webcam Utility software supporting 25 camera models. During its launch, the software supported only a limited number of video chat applications and worked only with Windows devices.

In May, Canon launched the beta version of the software for Apple devices. In November, the company finally supported twice the number of camera models as it released the software out of beta and added support to 14 commonly used video chat applications.