I was given a new webcam for Zoom etc. meetings but then needed to make a brief video for other reasons. Didn’t know that Windows 10 had a camera app that could do this for me, until I found your tutorial. It’s exceptionally clear and easy to follow and solved what had been a problem for this 75 year old. Thank you very much.
Mike, I’m super happy that our tutorial was useful to you. Thank you for the kind message. It encourages us to keep doing what we do. All the best! Ciprian
To: Codrut Neagu
I have turned on Pro mode but none of the new controls show up. I am running Windows 10. Is there some other action I need to take to access brightness?
This article ‘How to test and use your webcam in Windows with the Camera app’ is really amazing.
I would like to thank you for your best article about using the Camera with WIN 10 & WIN 11
I only have question and I wish I can ask you directly to the publisher.
Is there barcode scan feature available on WIN 11 please?
I spent three days on searching how to enable scan mode on WIN 10 with no success.
Hi! Yes, the Camera app from both Windows 11 and Windows 10 has the barcode scan option. If you can’t find it, make sure you update the app. And by the way, you don’t have to enable anything – the barcode scan button shows up under the camera button on the right.
Greetings:
I have Pro Mode turned on but no additional controls showed up. The only controls are Timer and Brightness. My Win10 is fully updated. I’m using a Logitech webcam.
In the camera roll example there is a random picture of a monkey wearing a Rasta hat. Why? Haven’t we gone past this sort of thing now? I’d like to share this article with my colleagues but there’s no way I’d be comfortable with it whilst that image remained. Is it possible to change it? Thanks.
It all looks very clear, but on my laptop windows 10 camera I don’t get all the buttons you have. On the left, I only get brightness and a timer. No zooming in/out symbol. The laptop is an HP Envy, bought new in November 2019, and I always allow updates so I don’t know why I don’t have the buttons you have.
Absolutely hate this app, it’s so limited. Also hate the Photos app and am currently looking to find more robust, more professional, more sophisticated software – does Microsoft really think these are high caliber, robust programs? I sure hope not. I’m assuming they are so basic because they assume people will install their preferred quality software. This software are missed golden moments for MS in my opinion.
Excellent instructions! Clear and specific–does not require the reader to ‘fill in the blanks’ between high level, ambiguous directions, as is too common on the web.
An excellent article on Windows10 Camera App. I just bought a new Dell XPS 15 laptop with Windows10 installed. I have virtually none of the options described in the article. The only choices I have are Photo, Video, Brightness and Timer. I don’t have a clue on how to add the other functions. What should I do?
I bought this Microsoft Software Application because it alleges to now support multiple web cams.
However, I cannot make it work as I planned.
It appears I can only record from one PC camera at a time!
I wanted to simultaneously record video and audio from two web cams and then take the two A/V files into an editor like Resolve to “produce” my final multi-angled web video.
Please help me to get unstuck!
I hope I am wrong as I was hoping this package would cheaply record as many video files simultaneously as I had web cams.
Without this functionality, I see little to no value in this Microsoft Multi-Camera app.
Windows 10 Camera App: Does not save full webcam video
Today I tried to record about 3 minutes of video using a webcam and the Windows 10 Camera app. The app appeared to work correctly, but it actually only saved the first 30 seconds of footage recorded. There was no error message, and the app didn’t crash. It just didn’t save the entire recording.
I recorded a one hour video and it looked like it was recording, but after I hit stop it had only recorded the first thirty seconds. This has not happened previously. Is there a limit of how many videos you can make? My storage seems to be adequate so I’m not sure why it didn’t record the second video.
So what do you do if you open the Webcam App and the camera activates and you get no picture? All scans and checks show everything operating correctly and set up right but no picture. Can get on group chats and team meetings and see shared screens and other participants but they can not see me.
I want to record for an extended period of time – appx 3-4 hours – how is the video stored prior to saving it – is there a max amount of data/time that video can be performed? I can’t find this kind of information anywhere
Very detailed tutorial. Thanks very much for putting it together. For some reason though, when I try to record a video, nothing happens. The counter stays at zero. it simply will not record. Very frustrating.
A lot of helpful information for the windows 10 apps camera the camera video is cheap the one on the computer i use (dell) low quality video and pic only good for home made videos . thanks , for the info . how to use the windows 10 apps for camera .
sincerely,
Jerome Moses
Thank you for posting this! By the way, your family is beautiful! Your daughter and significant other are absolutely adorable 🙂 Your love for one another shines through the screen! <3
All I get when I open Camera is the message ‘We can’t find your camera’. As if it thinks I want to use it with an external camera instead of the webcam. I just wanted to do a video diary. There aren’t any buttons or anything, just a blank black screen and the message.
Why do I keep losing my voice? I record the video, I go to watch it, it freezes, I hit play again and my voice is gone. I can use Skype, and facebook chat with no problems with my audio.
Is it possible to use the Windows camera app with my logitech HD USB webcam? I like the Windows recording pause feature, so would like to use it. Thank you.
Thanks so much for this little tutorial. A friend has asked me to help her make a few YouTube videos to promote her new book, but being a Linux user, I had no idea where to start with Windows 10. Cool pics, by the way =)
Is there a way to get smooth recording in video mode? All of my videos are herky-jerky and hand movements leave trails, I have tried to adjust the few available settings and nothing changes
I am using a Dell Inspiron 11series 3000 2 in1 computer with Windows 10. It would appear to me that the only pictures that’s can be taken are “selfiies”. There doesn’t seem to be any way to point the camera, see what you are focused on and shoot. It would appear that there was little thought put into the use of the camera.
Hi, is it possible to record my screen (i.e. presenting a PPT or similar) while recording video footage at the same time so both show in the recording footage? I used to be able to do this with Skype — record my video full-screen, and then toggle to a PPT presentation while still showing the camera video in a smaller window within the recorded screen. This no longer works with the Windows 10 update.
Basically I need my recording to show PPT slides AND my face. Any ideas or suggestions for other products (I’m currently testing Camtasia, but it’s pricey) that I could use for this?
I recommend OBS for anyone looking for this kind of versatility and more features. It can do Picture-in-Picture and you can organize the display from multiple inputs.
My laptop has an inbuilt camera and it works in video chats and all but, when I tried opened it alone, I can´t locate it. It´s supposed to be in Imaging Devices in the Control Panel but it’s not. I tried on the Windows Store to download it but says it´s already install, how can that be? I can´t trace it, don´t know if I´m looking in the wrong place or something is wrong with my laptop. Help, please
This is helpful but my problem is that the audio is barely audible. How do I adjust the settings for the audio as well as the video? I cannot find anything for the microphone input volume in the app.
Thanks.
When I click on “Change where photos and videos are saved”, I am being directed to STORAGE settings for Windows 10 apps. Then “Change where new contents is saved” page, and there the preset default location is This PC (C:), which is fixed/unchangeable. How can I change the saved file location to a designated folder?
This is a good explanation of how to use Win 10 camera ap. The program itself, like all Win 10 programs, is completely non explanatory. Screen icons are shown, but there is no explanation of what these icons do. Before Iread your article, I had no idea that I had to press the OK icon, the check mark, in order to use the timer
71 Responses to “How to test and use your webcam in Windows with the Camera app”
I was given a new webcam for Zoom etc. meetings but then needed to make a brief video for other reasons. Didn’t know that Windows 10 had a camera app that could do this for me, until I found your tutorial. It’s exceptionally clear and easy to follow and solved what had been a problem for this 75 year old. Thank you very much.
Mike, I’m super happy that our tutorial was useful to you. Thank you for the kind message. It encourages us to keep doing what we do. All the best! Ciprian
To: Codrut Neagu
I have turned on Pro mode but none of the new controls show up. I am running Windows 10. Is there some other action I need to take to access brightness?
What webcam do you have? Its drivers may not allow you to change settings such as the brightness.
This article ‘How to test and use your webcam in Windows with the Camera app’ is really amazing.
I would like to thank you for your best article about using the Camera with WIN 10 & WIN 11
I only have question and I wish I can ask you directly to the publisher.
Is there barcode scan feature available on WIN 11 please?
I spent three days on searching how to enable scan mode on WIN 10 with no success.
Hi! Yes, the Camera app from both Windows 11 and Windows 10 has the barcode scan option. If you can’t find it, make sure you update the app. And by the way, you don’t have to enable anything – the barcode scan button shows up under the camera button on the right.
Greetings:
I have Pro Mode turned on but no additional controls showed up. The only controls are Timer and Brightness. My Win10 is fully updated. I’m using a Logitech webcam.
The controls that show up vary based on your webcam too. Maybe download and install the Logitech drivers for your specific webcam?
my app does not show anywhere that I can change the file location as shown on the article, any ideas?
In the camera roll example there is a random picture of a monkey wearing a Rasta hat. Why? Haven’t we gone past this sort of thing now? I’d like to share this article with my colleagues but there’s no way I’d be comfortable with it whilst that image remained. Is it possible to change it? Thanks.
It is a tiny joke, some people actually laughed. Can we be a bit more relaxed, please?
Picture removed.
I get no additional settings with Pro Mode turned on. Why is this? I’m on a new Acer Asipre 5 laptop.
Your specific camera on your specific laptop doesn’t offer such options in its drivers.
It all looks very clear, but on my laptop windows 10 camera I don’t get all the buttons you have. On the left, I only get brightness and a timer. No zooming in/out symbol. The laptop is an HP Envy, bought new in November 2019, and I always allow updates so I don’t know why I don’t have the buttons you have.
The settings and buttons you get depend on the webcam you have. Not all webcams have the same specs, so not all of them can do the same things.
“The settings and buttons you get depend on the webcam you have. Not all webcams have the same specs, so not all of them can do the same things.”
May I ask what webcam did you use when you did this excellent tutorial? I’m trying hard to make the ZOOM feature work in my own Camera app…
I can record a video using the camera app on windows 10 but I don’t know how to save the video. Can someone help me please.
I can’t get the option to come up for how to zoom in on windows 10
any luck on how to zoom in?
Absolutely hate this app, it’s so limited. Also hate the Photos app and am currently looking to find more robust, more professional, more sophisticated software – does Microsoft really think these are high caliber, robust programs? I sure hope not. I’m assuming they are so basic because they assume people will install their preferred quality software. This software are missed golden moments for MS in my opinion.
I have no button for zoom. How to have it?
Excellent instructions! Clear and specific–does not require the reader to ‘fill in the blanks’ between high level, ambiguous directions, as is too common on the web.
An excellent article on Windows10 Camera App. I just bought a new Dell XPS 15 laptop with Windows10 installed. I have virtually none of the options described in the article. The only choices I have are Photo, Video, Brightness and Timer. I don’t have a clue on how to add the other functions. What should I do?
You cannot add the other functions. They also depend on your webcam and its drivers.
I bought this Microsoft Software Application because it alleges to now support multiple web cams.
However, I cannot make it work as I planned.
It appears I can only record from one PC camera at a time!
I wanted to simultaneously record video and audio from two web cams and then take the two A/V files into an editor like Resolve to “produce” my final multi-angled web video.
Please help me to get unstuck!
I hope I am wrong as I was hoping this package would cheaply record as many video files simultaneously as I had web cams.
Without this functionality, I see little to no value in this Microsoft Multi-Camera app.
Windows 10 Camera App: Does not save full webcam video
Today I tried to record about 3 minutes of video using a webcam and the Windows 10 Camera app. The app appeared to work correctly, but it actually only saved the first 30 seconds of footage recorded. There was no error message, and the app didn’t crash. It just didn’t save the entire recording.
I recorded a one hour video and it looked like it was recording, but after I hit stop it had only recorded the first thirty seconds. This has not happened previously. Is there a limit of how many videos you can make? My storage seems to be adequate so I’m not sure why it didn’t record the second video.
So what do you do if you open the Webcam App and the camera activates and you get no picture? All scans and checks show everything operating correctly and set up right but no picture. Can get on group chats and team meetings and see shared screens and other participants but they can not see me.
In the conferencing apps that you use, select the correct webcam, and people should see you.
I want to record for an extended period of time – appx 3-4 hours – how is the video stored prior to saving it – is there a max amount of data/time that video can be performed? I can’t find this kind of information anywhere
Very helpful – thanks.
Very detailed tutorial. Thanks very much for putting it together. For some reason though, when I try to record a video, nothing happens. The counter stays at zero. it simply will not record. Very frustrating.
“Then, when you want to finalize your video, click or tap the Stop button, which is found on the same right side of the app.”
Now that it’s finalized, how you save it and to where is your video saved?
A lot of helpful information for the windows 10 apps camera the camera video is cheap the one on the computer i use (dell) low quality video and pic only good for home made videos . thanks , for the info . how to use the windows 10 apps for camera .
sincerely,
Jerome Moses
Does the “share” feature work in the camera app?
Thank you for camera setting advisory- Win 10 was turned off and your page enabled me to adjust settings for Skype
I want to use my camera to take pictures but can only do selfies. How do I change the camera to take pictures facing the other way?
I also have this problem, nobody seems able to tell me so far.
Do you have a laptop? If you do, then you need to move your laptop the other way. There is no camera on the back. 🙂
How do I send this large file.
Thank you for posting this! By the way, your family is beautiful! Your daughter and significant other are absolutely adorable 🙂 Your love for one another shines through the screen! <3
Thank you! 🙂
All I get when I open Camera is the message ‘We can’t find your camera’. As if it thinks I want to use it with an external camera instead of the webcam. I just wanted to do a video diary. There aren’t any buttons or anything, just a blank black screen and the message.
Why do I keep losing my voice? I record the video, I go to watch it, it freezes, I hit play again and my voice is gone. I can use Skype, and facebook chat with no problems with my audio.
Thanks for the very helpful article. Is there an article that describes how to use the video editing features in the app?
Is it possible to use the Windows camera app with my logitech HD USB webcam? I like the Windows recording pause feature, so would like to use it. Thank you.
It is possible to use the Camera app with any webcam that is connected to your PC, as long as it is installed properly and the drivers work.
Great tutorial!
I was able to shoot my first video within 5 minutes of reading your tutorial.
Many thanks ?!
What a clear and concise explanation. One of the best I have seen. Many thanks for going to all that trouble.
Thank you so much for this excellent tutorial!
Thanks so much for this little tutorial. A friend has asked me to help her make a few YouTube videos to promote her new book, but being a Linux user, I had no idea where to start with Windows 10. Cool pics, by the way =)
Is there a way to get smooth recording in video mode? All of my videos are herky-jerky and hand movements leave trails, I have tried to adjust the few available settings and nothing changes
If you ratchet down from 16:9 and also the bitrate then you should end up with something equally as good but much smaller in size.
I am using a Dell Inspiron 11series 3000 2 in1 computer with Windows 10. It would appear to me that the only pictures that’s can be taken are “selfiies”. There doesn’t seem to be any way to point the camera, see what you are focused on and shoot. It would appear that there was little thought put into the use of the camera.
Thanks a bunch for this helpful piece! Did quite a few searches and tried a number of things before finding your piece and it saved the day!
Happy we could help. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our content and receive more tutorials and how-to content from us.
The tutorial is straight forward, well explanatory and the app is very easy to use, its highly recommended
Hi, is it possible to record my screen (i.e. presenting a PPT or similar) while recording video footage at the same time so both show in the recording footage? I used to be able to do this with Skype — record my video full-screen, and then toggle to a PPT presentation while still showing the camera video in a smaller window within the recorded screen. This no longer works with the Windows 10 update.
Basically I need my recording to show PPT slides AND my face. Any ideas or suggestions for other products (I’m currently testing Camtasia, but it’s pricey) that I could use for this?
Much appreciated. Thanks!
Kelly
This app was not made for what you need. It’s just a simple Camera app that uses your webcam to take pictures or record videos.
I recommend OBS for anyone looking for this kind of versatility and more features. It can do Picture-in-Picture and you can organize the display from multiple inputs.
This is adorable. And also exactly what I needed to read. Thank you!
Thank you too! Glad to be of service 🙂
My laptop has an inbuilt camera and it works in video chats and all but, when I tried opened it alone, I can´t locate it. It´s supposed to be in Imaging Devices in the Control Panel but it’s not. I tried on the Windows Store to download it but says it´s already install, how can that be? I can´t trace it, don´t know if I´m looking in the wrong place or something is wrong with my laptop. Help, please
This is helpful but my problem is that the audio is barely audible. How do I adjust the settings for the audio as well as the video? I cannot find anything for the microphone input volume in the app.
Thanks.
When I click on “Change where photos and videos are saved”, I am being directed to STORAGE settings for Windows 10 apps. Then “Change where new contents is saved” page, and there the preset default location is This PC (C:), which is fixed/unchangeable. How can I change the saved file location to a designated folder?
The camera app won’t switch to my usb webcam, what can I do to make it work?
I searched everywhere and realized this tutorial is one of the best I could find in the whole WWW.!
Thanks to the author
Thanks.
Totally worked.
You are welcome. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our website.
This is a good explanation of how to use Win 10 camera ap. The program itself, like all Win 10 programs, is completely non explanatory. Screen icons are shown, but there is no explanation of what these icons do. Before Iread your article, I had no idea that I had to press the OK icon, the check mark, in order to use the timer