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Camera Overview

Cap Desktop supports adding your webcam as a picture-in-picture overlay to any recording. The camera feed can be customized, repositioned, and toggled during recording.

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Selecting a Camera

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Before Recording

  1. Open the Cap main window
  2. In the Camera dropdown, choose from available cameras
  3. Select No Camera to record without camera overlay
Cap automatically detects all connected cameras and displays their resolution and frame rate capabilities.

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Available Camera Info

Each camera listing shows:
  • Device name: The camera model or label
  • Resolution: Maximum supported resolution (e.g., 1920×1080)
  • Frame rate: Maximum supported fps (e.g., 30fps)

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During Recording

You can change camera inputs mid-recording:
  1. Click the Settings icon in the recording control bar
  2. Select a different camera from the menu
  3. Or disable the camera by selecting No Webcam
Changing camera input during recording will pause the recording momentarily. The change is locked if you started recording without a camera.

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Camera Preview Window

When recording with a camera, a floating preview window displays your camera feed:

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Opening the Camera Window

  • The camera window opens automatically when recording starts
  • Click Show Camera Preview in the recording settings menu to toggle
  • Or enable it through the camera preview window controls
You can record with camera input enabled but keep the preview window hidden.

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Camera Window Customization

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Window Shape

Choose from three camera window shapes:

Round

Classic circular camera overlay

Square

Rounded square with modern look

Full

Full rectangular window matching camera aspect ratio
Cycle through shapes by clicking the shape icon in the camera window controls.

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Window Size

  • Small: 230px (default)
  • Large: 400px
  • Custom: Resize by dragging the corners of the camera window
Click the enlarge icon to toggle between small and large presets quickly.

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Resizing the Camera Window

  1. Hover over any corner of the camera window
  2. Click and drag the corner handles to resize
  3. The window maintains aspect ratio based on your camera feed
  4. Minimum size: 150px
  5. Maximum size: 600px

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Mirror Mode

Enable mirror mode to flip the camera feed horizontally:
  1. Click the Mirror icon (arrows) in camera window controls
  2. This flips the video like looking in a mirror
  3. Useful for reading text or showing demonstrations

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Camera Window Position

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Positioning

  • Drag the camera window anywhere on screen
  • Position is automatically saved and restored
  • The window stays within screen boundaries

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Default Position

On first launch, the camera window appears in the bottom-right corner of your primary display.

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Camera Only Mode

When using Camera Only recording mode:
  • Camera window is larger by default (400px)
  • Window shape is set to Full for maximum quality
  • Window is automatically centered on screen

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Camera Window Controls

Hover over the camera window to reveal controls:
1

Close

Close the camera preview window (camera still records)
2

Size

Toggle between small and large presets
3

Shape

Cycle through round, square, and full shapes
4

Mirror

Toggle horizontal flip

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Camera Disconnection

If your camera disconnects during recording:
  1. A “Camera disconnected” overlay appears on the preview
  2. Recording continues without camera feed
  3. Reconnect the camera to resume camera capture
  4. Cap will automatically detect the reconnected device
The recording control bar shows a warning icon when camera is disconnected.

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Camera Permissions

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macOS

  1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera
  2. Enable Cap in the list
  3. Restart Cap if necessary

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Windows

  1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Camera
  2. Enable Allow apps to access your camera
  3. Ensure Cap is allowed in the list

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Linux

Camera access is typically granted automatically. If issues occur, check:
  • Camera device permissions in /dev/video*
  • User is in the video group

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Native vs Legacy Preview

Uses hardware-accelerated rendering for better performance:
  • Lower CPU usage
  • Smoother playback
  • Enabled by default on macOS
Enable in Settings → General → Enable native camera preview

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Recording Locked Inputs

If you start recording WITHOUT a camera, you cannot add a camera mid-recording. Similarly, starting WITH a camera locks you into using camera input (though you can switch between cameras).
This prevents issues with recording format changes mid-session.

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Troubleshooting

  • Ensure the camera is properly connected
  • Check camera permissions in system settings
  • Try disconnecting and reconnecting the camera
  • Restart Cap
  • Another application may be using the camera
  • Close other apps that use the camera (Zoom, Skype, etc.)
  • Check camera privacy settings
  • Lower the maximum FPS in General Settings
  • Try disabling native camera preview
  • Close unnecessary applications
  • Check if another window is covering it
  • Close and reopen using the recording controls
  • Window position may be off-screen after display changes

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Next Steps

Recording

Learn how to start and manage recordings

Settings

Configure all Cap Desktop settings

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