With all the talk lately about Canon releasing updates to enable their cameras to be used as webcams, I decided to venture on a science experiment. I have a Sony RX-100 IV, an absolutely amazing camera that is just sitting idle. So decided to try and figure out whats involved in getting it to work as a webcam, and I was able to get it to work on both Windows and Mac. Here is how I got it done:

Tools Needed

Windows

  • Micro USB Cable
  • OBS Studio found here
  • Sony Imaging Edge Desktop Suite found here
  • OBS Virtual Cam found here

Mac

  • Micro USB Cable
  • Camtwist Virtualcam software found here
  • Sony Imaging Edge Desktop Suite found here

Configuring The Camera

Before connecting the camera to your PC or MAC, go to settings and under Tools, make sure “USB Connection” is set to “PC Remote”. Also when you connect the camera to the computer, make sure you set the camera to “manual” mode for the RX100. I noticed that if its set to any other mode, Live View will not work. You can change the mode once you kick off Live View in manual mode.

Configuration on Windows

Before you get started, make sure you install Sony Imaging Edge Desktop and the Remote app within the suite.

Install OBS Studio.

Now install the OBS Virtual Webcam plugin. Once you’ve installed all three apps, connect your camera to your computer via USB (using a data cable) and launch the Remote app. Once you launch the app, you will see your camera in the list below. Double click your camera and it will launch live view. If you dont see the option, try a different cable.

Now launch OBS Studio. Under “sources”, click the “+” sign.

Choose “Window Capture”, choose “Create New” and give it a name. Click “OK”

On the next screen, choose the following and click “OK”

  • “[remote.exe]” for “window”, set
  • “Automatic” for “capture method”
  • “Match title, otherwise find window of same type” for “window match priority”

You should see the following screen


You should now adjust the borders by holding “Alt” and adjusting the borders with your mouse such that only the video is selected as shown below.

Now in OBS Studio, click on VirtualCam within the “Tools” menu. Make sure the “Start” button is greyed out and that “Autostart” is checked.

Configuration is complete at this stage. Keep in mind that you should not minimize the Remote app while the webcam is running. You should also not resize the window for the Remote app.

Now go into the collaboration tool of your choice and you should see an option to choose “OBS-Camera” as your webcam. Below is my configuration in GoToMeeting. This will also work on Zoom, Skype and Teams.

Configuration On Mac

Similar to Windows, install Sony Imaging Edge Desktop and install the “Remote” app.

Install “Camtwist” from the link above and launch the app. Double click Desktop+ as the source and configure the settings as shown in the screenshot below. Click select capture area and select the video portion from the remote app. Click on “Save setup” and give it a name.

Configuration is complete at this point. Camtwist will be available as a webcam in your collaboration tool. Here is Skype as an example.

Based on my testing, the functionality seems more stable on Windows. On my mac, the Remote app occassionally pegs the CPU and crashes. This could also be due to the fact that my mac is older hardware as compared to my Surface Book 2.

Hope this was helpful! Do post feedback based on your testing!

17 thoughts on “How to use a Sony Alpha or Sony RX100 series camera as a webcam (Mac and PC)”

  1. Very helpful post – thanks!
    I was wondering if you knew how to update the software on the DCS-RX100 (no Roman numerals after model, that I can see). My USB menu doesn’t have the option for PC REMOTE and Sony’s web site only has info on how to retrieve images and movies from the camera.
    Thanks!

  2. excellent piece. but how come i can’t find the “pc remote” option on my rx 100 ii ?

  3. My RX100 doesn’t have the option to select ‘pc remote connect’ in the menu. My only options are: Auto, Mass Storage, and MTP. My firmware is v1.00. If I update the firmware will it solve this problem? Also, do you have a link to the firmware update? Anything I have tried crashes.

  4. Thanks for the great article. I have a Sony RX100M2 but I do not see a USB Connection mode that says PC remote. All I have is Auto, Mass Storage, and MTP.

    Is this only workable with your version of the camera or is there a way to get it to show up?

  5. Very helpful, even though I have the original RX100 and so no PC Remote setting … you’ve given me food for thought, so thanks! And I may end up with a IV or above someday. I’ve always wanted WiFi and the flip out screen.

  6. My sony rx100 ii doesnโ€™t have pc remote on the usb connection. How else can I use my camera as webcam?
    Appreciate.

  7. Hey! This article is super helpful. I also have a sony RX M3, but I don’t see the “PC Remote” option in USB Connection under Settings. How can that be? Software up-to-date, ver. 2.0.
    – Frances

  8. This guide worked great! One additional point – my camera wouldn’t pair with the USB LUC setting set to “Multi” – I had to set it to “Single” to get it to be detected by the PC.

  9. is it possible to add a green background filter or remove the background which remain just my image?

  10. Excellent article!
    I have a question before I invest in a Sony RX-100 IV as remote camera.
    1. I want to run the camera for many hours, delivering a remote image and via cable and occationally recording a video – is it possible to keep the “live” and keep it from going “a sleep”?
    2. Is there a protocol to control zoom?
    Cheers,
    Rudi

  11. To get the “PC Remote” option you first have to go to the “Network” menu and ensure that “Ctrl w/ Smartphone” is OFF.

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