How To Connect Camera to Computer for Zoom

The Zoom era was witnessed during the pandemic, when everyone was working from home, leading to the need for a videoconferencing platform.

With Zoom, you can use your computer’s built-in camera as your webcam or connect an external webcam and use it on Zoom. A webcam lets others in the Zoom meeting see your video feed and gives room for visual interaction with your colleagues.

This guide details everything about connecting a camera on Zoom. We will cover the steps to connect the camera to a computer for Zoom and how to test if your Zoom camera is working correctly.

How To Connect Camera to Computer for Zoom

You can use Zoom on your browser, desktop, or mobile phone. When using it on your computer, you can utilize the built-in camera as your webcam or purchase an external webcam and use it.

The built-in camera has low video quality. For a professional meeting, you should consider budgeting for an external webcam as it will offer you a clear video feed, making your Zoom video feed presentable. When you purchase an external webcam, follow its instructions to connect it to your computer via USB or HDMI.

Once the webcam is connected, and you confirm that your camera is working fine, follow the below steps to connect the camera to your Zoom.

1. Open your Zoom application and sign in.
2. Click the gear icon at the top.
3. In the “Settings” window, click on the “Video“ tab on the left.
4. Locate the option for the “Camera“ on the left.
5. Tap the drop-down menu next to the camera.
6. From the listed webcams, select your built-in camera or the external webcam that you wish to use on Zoom.
7. If necessary, click “OK” and restart Zoom.

You are now all set for your Zoom meeting. We will see how you can test your Zoom camera to check its video quality before you join the Zoom meeting.

How To Test Your Zoom Video

When unsure about your webcam, you can test it before going live in the Zoom meeting. That way, you can see how your video feed appears when others view it. Besides, it’s an excellent way to enhance your confidence while in the Zoom meeting.

We will cover the steps to test your video on Zoom using the Zoom desktop client and the mobile app.

Zoom Desktop Client

Here’s how to test your video before joining the meeting.

1. Open your Zoom desktop client on your Mac or Windows.
2. Sign in to your Zoom account.
3. Tap on your profile picture and click “Settings.”
4. Click on the “Video” tab.

A preview of your video will appear on the camera screen.

Suppose you want to test the video while already in a meeting. Use the steps below.

1. Join or start your Zoom meeting.
2. In the Zoom meeting window, locate the “Start/Stop Video“ option at the bottom and click the up arrow next to it.
3. Click on the “Video settings“ option.

Your Zoom camera video will appear; you can see how the video feed appears for others.

Zoom Mobile App

For the Zoom mobile application for Android or iOS, you must start the Zoom meeting to see how your video feed appears. You can start a meeting with no participants to test the camera.

Follow the quick steps below to start an instant Zoom meeting to test your video.

1. Open your Zoom mobile app and sign in.
2. Click on the “Meetings“ tab.
3. Click the “New Meeting“ option.
4. Click the “Video On“ switch to enable it.
5. Tap the option for “Start a Meeting.”

Your video feed will appear once you start the Zoom meeting, and you can use it to check if your camera video feed is appearing as you would expect. How your video feed will appear is how others in a Zoom meeting will see it.

Conclusion

Connecting your camera to Zoom is straightforward. Open your Zoom application and access the settings tab. On the left sidebar, click on the video option and tap the camera drop-down option to select your webcam from the list. Once selected, check the video feed to test the quality of your video feed.