Hey Hacker News! Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, looks like many of you feel the same way. Also there's now a RSS feed.

Companies squeezing every last penny out of their customers is no news. And Canon is no stranger.

Last year, I've bought a Canon G5 X II camera which I wanted to use mainly for taking pictures at concerts. For me, it was the perfect match of focal range (zoom) and sensor size (more light) for any compact camera I've compared.

Because I'm only using this camera for a small range of events, it's just collecting dust in the meantime.

So, why don't use it as a webcam with my Macbook?

Admittedly, it did not cost me the $6300 from the article's title, much closer to $900. Nonetheless, everything I'm describing translates to every other Canon camera model!

Problems Problems Problems

I've tried this at first in 2024 with macOS 14, which did not work. I had similar experience with FUJIFILM's X Webcam software where either the camera will not get recognized by the software or the camera feed will freeze or simply be not available within other apps.

As of January 2025 with macOS 15 Sequoia, these issues have been resolved for me.

Well actually, only if you are able to download the software at all. Seems like their Microsoft IIS server is having some issues. The following error page will be presented to you, after they asked you for your full legal name and mail address - without which you can not download the software.

$5/mo, $50/yr

So I've been really excited when I finally found a downloadable file on the Canon webpage which was not blocked by a faulty newsletter grift and saw the live feed of my camera!

Well the excitement didn't last long since nearly every single setting is disabled if you're using the software without a paying Canon account.

No brightness adjustments, no color correction, only 720p. Even in the paid version there doesn't seem to be a white balance adjustment setting.

Canon will happily take your credit card for you to pay a small monthly price of $4.99 per month or even a discounted $49.99 per year!

** The 30-day free trial is valued at $4.99 and can be cancelled at any time during the free trial period through your MyCanon Account Dashboard. After the free trial period, your subscription will automatically be rolled over into the annual or monthly non-refundable, auto-renewable subscription selected upon enrollment in the free trial, which can be cancelled at any time through your MyCanon Account Dashboard. The current available subscription plans are $49.99/year or $4.99/month.

In a support document, Canon lists all differences between the free and paid version. So you can be very gladful, they allow you to even connect the camera.

Software development isn’t free, and I’m happy to pay for software I use regularly. However, Canon is a hardware company, not a software company, and they should—due to the lack of standards—provide software that allows you to use their cameras as intended. Aside from development costs, there’s no justification for a subscription model, particularly from a company earning nearly $3 billion in profit.

Why

So Canon will not allow you to use your own camera on your own computer with your own cables the way you intent to without paying for another subscription.

Canon, what the fuck?

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