Webcam utility pro announced, what do you think ?

After the announcement of this new, subscription based only, enhanced version of canon webcam utility, i would like to know what you think about it ?

IMHO, it's always good to have new features for our cameras to ease things in the way we use them.

But as each generation of camera get bundled with more and more features and on the other side smartphone photography is getting better everyday, the market for cameras is downsizing like ice the poles ! So our cameras are betters and but more expensives. When my 5D mkIII was stolen in the train in 2019, i decided to wait and go for the R5 as replacement while i could have almost 2 5D mkIII for the same price.

And now this new software, which shows there are helpful features that could be enabled in our cameras if Canon wanted to do so (like UVC), are only for subscription based users.

What is the point in selling 50$/year software to people already spending thousands on cameras & lenses?

I'm not in hateful mood, i'm just doing open thinking.
 
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Sep 24, 2012
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I feel like this subscription is going to go over like a lead balloon.

I wonder what this gives us over using something like Cascable + OBS.
Or even the free webcam tool + OBS. Other than multiple Canon cameras, I'd say it offers nothing. When we all got forced to remote meetings, I quickly learned that OBS virtual camera happily works the free Canon webcam utility and will feed a cropped and upscaled video to Teams, Zoom, WebEx, etc.

Unless you want multiple Canon cameras hooked up over the subpar USB method, this offers nothing that OBS doesn't have for free. And, if you do need multiple cameras, I'd imagine you're running capture cards and would just use HDMI off the cameras to get full-resolution video, not the "digital upscale" from the paid Canon software.

This is also probably too late. After trying Apple's "Continuity Camera" with Ventura and an iPhone 14 I don't think I'll use a Canon as a webcam ever again. It blows away the 6D2 with 35/2 over Canon's USB software for quality and convenience even in low light. Using Continuity Camera is so smooth -- it's the most "Apple" or "It just works" feature I've used since Snow Leopard. There are no cables to mess with, the Belkin clip is simple and fast (or you can use any regular tripod) and the video off the new iPhone's is excellent. Add in Centre Stage or Portrait Mode if you want it, and it's a slam dunk.
 
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Oct 3, 2015
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I don't get it myself as can't see who it is aimed at. Quality wise based on digital upscale being mentioned and knowing how the free version they released was poor vs using something like OBS and a capture card I don't see what this offers over using HDMI capture device and existing software (both free and pay). Compared to cost based services there are already options that are more flexible and established that will do a lot more. For regular none business niche consumers who want easy minimal setup option without adding more hardware like monitors/capture cards etc this would have made sense for low cost one time payment maybe. I could be totally wrong and genuine interested in what I'm missing, but large part of me suspects I'm not and it's just a test to gauge interest.
 
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hne

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Jan 8, 2016
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This seems dumb. For the price of half a year of this software rental you can get an HDMI-to-UVC dongle and do proper full HD video. OBS on top of that and the feature list is pretty much empty.

Well, wireless video is nice of course but the battery won't last long enough to really matter. At least not with constant autofocus. And what's the point of a wireless webcam of it won't autofocus?
 
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And even better, the R6II supports UVC/UAC out of the box, so you don't need any software to use it as a webcam. I'm hoping that all future Canon cameras will support that, especially the rumoured R100.
I've been using my R6 with my MacBook Pro and the free EOS Webcam Utility for delivering online courses using Teams and Zoom. If the R62 can provide better quality for that use case without requiring an additional app or subscription, that makes the upgrade an even easier decision.
 
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koenkooi

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Feb 25, 2015
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I've been using my R6 with my MacBook Pro and the free EOS Webcam Utility for delivering online courses using Teams and Zoom. If the R62 can provide better quality for that use case without requiring an additional app or subscription, that makes the upgrade an even easier decision.
I haven't found anything yet about how it will work, but it having it be plan UVC, the EOS Webcam Utility shouldn't be needed anymore. So it would be fewer apps!
 
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Canon Rumors Guy

Canon EOS 40D
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I'm tired of my credit card being slammed every month for subscriptions, I really like this software and I'd gladly pay for it outright. Canon just seems to be throwing darts at subscriptions services hoping that one will hit. I don't think that this will be the one.
 
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koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
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I'm tired of my credit card being slammed every month for subscriptions, I really like this software and I'd gladly pay for it outright. Canon just seems to be throwing darts at subscriptions services hoping that one will hit. I don't think that this will be the one.
In one of my previous jobs for a silicon vendor I had to deal with Arm ltd a lot. They would come up with something new and awesome, but to use it you had to buy the expensive tooling from a daughter company. And pretty much every customer is too cheap to do that, so the feature never gets used.

The 'cloud denoising', DPP Express and now this feel very similar to that. A good idea, but very few people in the target audience will pay for it.
 
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