Introduction
When the COVID-19 virus plagued the entire planet with severe casualties, there was no way for you to get proper gear for your online meetings. If you only had your laptop/desktop, then surely the webcam quality was decent at best.
So, if you could use your iPhone/iPad camera as a webcam, then your whole setup just lights up! That is exactly what EpocCam from Elgato tried to do.
Now, the planning might’ve been incredible, but what about the execution? Let’s dive deep into the overall usability of this application with practical use cases in this detailed review!
Basic Overview
The application is created by Kinoni and anyone will be able to find the driver from its website. It’s a quite simple application that can be downloaded within seconds and installed on the computer.
Here’s what EcpoCam claims to offer (we’ll know in a while if it can actually deliver its claims):
- Transforms smartphone into a high-quality webcam
- Compatible with iOS and Android devices
- High-definition video and audio streaming
- Manual focus and filter options
- Easy setup and configuration
- Flexibility and mobility for various use cases
- Suitable for remote work, online teaching, content creation, and gaming
Now let’s get on to the testing and see what the actual scenario of this application is.
Testing EpocCam
I downloaded the software on my Windows PC and installed it. The installation process was quite intuitive and there’s nothing major to highlight. So, after the installation was done, I launched the application and found the general settings (the software already took permission to access my camera and microphone).
Then, from the EpocCam Viewer, I could set the smartphone that I want to use from the list and that’s it. My smartphone was paired up and the application said I can now use both the cameras of my phone as webcams.
I hopped onto my go-to streaming channel Discord and found the cameras to be working just fine. The paid version let me set the focus and it was good enough and the video quality was definitely better compared to my traditional 1080p webcam.
However, if you are using the free version, the ads can be very annoying. Sometimes, it even takes up the middle portion of the screen without letting you see the video feed.
While the app was working fine enough, my expectations were a bit higher. Because in the streaming mode, the green screen feature was pretty shaky with the application. Then, I found another issue while testing the wireless connection.
I was roaming around the room to test whether it could actually deliver stable video up to 20 feet. However, the camera feed became unstable just after 10 feet of distance. It’s not a huge deal breaker for me as I tend to be stationary with my webcam but it is definitely not accurate with the developer’s claim.
Sometimes, the video feed was shown a flat “Connecting” message which is again a pain, to be honest. Moreover, it even showed sometimes that my EpocCam plugin was not found.
So far, my hands-on experience has definitely been subpar.
But the thing that impressed me was the stable microphone input. The voice was crisp and I could tell that if anyone wants to have a great microphone on a budget, this software can surely help.
Then, again, I found another drawback which is that the support for Zoom, Skype, and other online calling applications could be more stable. After a while, Zoom released a press release stating that they wouldn’t support any third-party software for virtual cameras.
Similarly, Apple from macOS 10.14 Mojave, removed the option to use third-party virtual cameras. So, you can’t really use this software unless you go for a workaround through the Xcode command line.
So, from my personal testing, the app barely managed to offer some services that could be worth the claimed features.
Bottom Line
If you want to use the app casually every now and then for a few meeting calls, or content creation, then there’s no problem using it. However, if you’re solely relying on this application for your remote work or streaming, then there are some better alternatives.
Hence, the final decision is on you and there’s no harm in trying the free version on a trial basis!
