How to DO A LIVE with a CAMERA (in 3 steps)
For content creators on the internet, doing Lives from time to time is a good way to get closer to your community. At the same time, if you don't have the necessary equipment, your live will be a failure and will not engage your audience.
In this article, I will show you how to go live with an external camera in 3 simple steps. After reading this article, you will be able to do a live broadcast on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch or other with an external camera. I'll show you what equipment to buy and how to use it.
Why use an external camera to go live?
Whether at home or for an event, it's interesting to use an external camera to broadcast your live. Before showing you the 3 steps to follow to go live with a camera, here are the advantages of using an external camera compared to a webcam.
- Good quality image
The first big advantage is better image quality. By using an external camera, you will be treated to a much prettier and more professional image. This makes it easier for you to enjoy beautiful background blur. In addition, you have many more adjustment possibilities to get the image you want.
This advantage comes at a price. If you decide to opt for this system, you will need to do lives regularly in order to be profitable. For your home lives, this may not be essential to begin with. It's up to you to see if the spirit of your channel requires it. It is more recommended if you are in a somewhat luxury niche.
- Stream live events
The second advantage of using an external camera to go live is the possibility of being able to broadcast live during your events. You can choose a suitable lens such as a long focal length to film from afar if necessary. You can also zoom.
You can also use a multicamera, as they have different optics to film the same thing from different angles. You can place the camera on a tripod and perform tracking movements. In addition, the sound will be significantly better because you will be using an external microphone.
- Save to video box for editing
The final benefit is that you have the option to record into the video box for good quality editing. This feature is ideal for seminar summaries.
So, how to use an external camera to go live? Here are the 3 steps to follow.
How to use an external camera to go live?
Step 1: Connect your camera to your computer
The first step is to find a way to connect your camera to your computer . If you connect your camera to your computer with a simple USB or HDMI cable, you will find that in most cases it will not work. This will only charge your camera and you will have access to its memory card to transfer your videos.
Interfaces like YouTube or Facebook will not recognize your camera. You must therefore transform the signal from your camera. To do this, you must use an external box like the Blackmagicdesign Web Presenter and an HDMI cable.
More and more manufacturers provide software with their cameras that allows you to transform it by simulating it as a USB webcam on your computer. I was able to test it on Fujifilm, Lumix, Nikon and Canon. I imagine Sony and everyone else does too. To begin with, it works, but you will often see that you lose a lot of quality.
To avoid this problem, there is a solution that truly outperforms all others. It's called the Camlink 4k from the Elgato brand . Currently, it costs €129 and to be able to use it, you just need to have an HDMI port on your camera.
There are other cheaper solutions, sometimes much cheaper. But for my part, with the tests I did, it was the same as using my camera software. There are also other more expensive solutions from brands like Atomos .
You also have the Yoloboss Pro which is a revolution in streaming and which allows you to connect several sources, to have feedback on screen and even to switch between the different connected cameras. A bit like on television.
If you want to know more about the Yoloboss Pro, do not hesitate to watch this video in which we explain everything about this technology.
For now, we're going to keep it simple and learn how to film yourself with a camera without it costing a fortune.
2nd step: Connect the box to your computer and your camera
The second step is to connect your box, here the Web Presenter , to your computer. In fact, to connect the box to your computer, you need the type B to C cable. You connect the USB with the USB webcam input of the box and you plug this cable into your computer.
You must then plug in the power supply to the box and your camera will be recognized as a webcam by your computer.
As for the Camlink , you need to connect it to your computer and your camera. In fact, to connect the Camlink to your computer, it's exactly like a USB key. It just has to be on a USB port in 3.0 or higher. To find out, sometimes the inside of the USB port is blue or there is an SS word written nearby.
Don't worry, unless your computer is really old, there is always at least one lying around on every computer, you just have to find which one.
To connect the Camlink to your camera, use an HDMI cable with a standard HDMI port on one side , like on consoles or televisions.
If the cable is supplied directly with your camera, you will need to consult the instructions to find out if it is a mini HDMI or Micro HDMI port. Sometimes it's also standard HDMI.
If the cable was not provided, you can easily find one on Amazon . Be careful to take the correct length you need. I recommend at least 2 meters , it's always practical.
Normally, after all this, you don't have to do anything else on your computer. Everything will install automatically, and all software that can access a webcam on your computer, whether Skype, discord, zoom... will see your Camlink.
The same goes for the software you use to broadcast your live broadcasts. To broadcast live, whether it is OBS Studio , but also Streamyard , we have made a complete tutorial on Streamyard which is software much more accessible to beginners than OBS Studio. Feel free to watch the tutorial here .
Your camera will also be recognized by streaming solutions directly integrated into Facebook, YouTube, etc.
We now move on to the third step which is to adjust the audio.
Step 3: Adjust the audio
To adjust the audio, you have two options. Either, you use the sound directly on the external camera by putting an external microphone such as a directional microphone or a lavalier microphone.
On Amazon, you can get an entry-level lavalier microphone for less than $25. Do not hesitate to consult our resource page on which you will find several microphones according to your needs.
You can also directly connect your microphone via an XLR cable to the microphone input of your box.
The second solution is to connect a microphone directly to your computer.
There are great USB mics in every price range, from the Blue Yeti to the Shure MV7 . There are also XLR microphones, often high-end, but you will then need an additional sound card.
This solution allows you to have really tip-top microphones, but it has a big drawback.
You may end up with a gap between your image and your sound, since they will not come from the same source.
If you use OBS, this can be done in the software settings directly. If you want to know more, be sure to check out our complete guide to OBS Studio here.
I cover the topic of audio lag in a dedicated chapter of the video.
If you don't use OBS, there is also a solution via Voicemeeter software, I talk about it in the same chapter.
The OBS software is completely free and it will allow you to share your screen, insert your logo, make a recording only rather than a live one, add videos, images, music, etc.
It's really an interesting solution, but more technical than Streamyard.
Conclusion
In this article, we have seen the 3 main steps to follow to go live with a camera. First of all, you must first connect your camera to your computer, then connect the box to your camera then to your computer to finally adjust your audio.
The advantage of using an external camera is that you will have a better quality image, you will be able to broadcast live events or even record directly into the box for better quality edits.
Resources
► Our tutorial on Streamyard
► Our tutorial on OBS Studio
► Elgato Camlink 4k
► Mini HDMI cable → HDMI
► Micro HDMI Cable → HDMI
► HDMI cable → HDMI
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