Olympus Releases App That Turns Your Mirrorless Camera Into A Webcam

Ever since COVID-19 spread across the globe, people have been forced to adjust to working from the relative comfort and safety of their homes. One of the things people needed to adjust to is the use of video conferencing apps to communicate with colleagues and friends, as opposed to seeing them in person.

While video conferencing apps such as Zoom, Skype, Meets and Teams effectively help people maintain communication with one another, the number of people forced to use such platforms is expected to result in one caveat: the lack of good webcams that can be used for the purpose.

Thankfully, those who own certain Olympus mirrorless cameras will now be able to use their DSLRs as webcams with the help of a new app from the company called the “OM-D Webcam Beta.”

The new app, spotted by Gizmodo, is a free app that's still in beta mode, which means it is still being tested. It's not yet compatible with all of Olympus' mirrorless cameras, but it already works with a few, including the following:

• E-M1X
• E-M1
• E-M1 Mark II
• E-M1 Mark III
• E-M5 Mark II

Gizmodo noted that those who own these cameras will be able to use the app with no need for more equipment or accessories. All a user needs to make it work are the following:

• First, the OM-D Webcam Beta app. Those who want to try it out can download it here. Once downloaded, users will need to install it on their computers.
• Second, the compatible camera, which needs to be connected to the PC running the beta software using the USB-C tether cable that came with the camera.
• Third, a video conferencing app.

The software doesn't have demanding computer requirements. Computers that are running on Windows 10, are powered by a Core2Duo 2.13GHz (or later), have 1GB of RAM and at least 1GB of storage will be able to run the app.

Olympus provides detailed installation and setup instructions via a website it created to announce the app. Those who want to try it out should proceed to the website and follow instructions displayed on the screen.