Canon Ixus 30 as Webcam?

Is it possible to turn your Canon IXUS 30 into a web camera or webcam?

I tried connecting the digital camera to the PC via a USB cable, and the WinXP system refused to recognize it as a camera input device, unless I set the camera to playback mode (viewing of stored photos).

One alternative is to set the digicam to video mode, then run AV cables into some kind of TV Tuner or AV Capture Card (those cards that allow you to watch TV shows in your computer).

I haven't actually tried it, but please remember that Canon IXUS 30 cameras will automatically shutdown after some period of inactivity...

...unless you're recording a video.

So, if you're deadset on using your digicam as a webcam, be sure it has a large enough SD memory disk to store the video you'll be recording (just to keep the camera switched on). ;-)

In the end, it would be better to just get a stand-alone web camera.

[ First posted on 08/11/2006 by Manuel Viloria ]