How to focus/zoom camera?

Question

I'm using a Windows (Win11) laptop with a builtin camera in video conferences (Google Meet, Zoom, ...). In front of my laptop there is a keyboard and my distance to the camera lens is about 60cm (23 inch).

I like to focus on my head instead of my head / chest / background.

How can I make my camera zoom on my head? The can be done static, it is not required that this is dynamic, i.e. following head movement ist not required.

I tried zoom's background blur feature but this is app specific. It would be better to have this as a builtin features of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Or did I miss something and it's already available?

EDIT: What I have done so far:

• I have checked all camera settings integrated in the Microsoft Windows 11 operating system: No focus/zoom settings found
• I check settings in Zoom, Google Meet, Jitsi, Microsoft Teams and could not find Zoom settings for the camera
• My Internet research gave really nothing useful: Microsoft just recommends to make photos and crop them but the live image cannot be modified (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-the-camera-app-ea40b69f-be6a-840e-9c8c-1fd6eea97c22)

UPDATE 5/2023

• Microsoft Teams seems to have a zoom mode. However there are no UI elements zu zoom in/out, but with STRG-"+" and STRG-"-" a remote shared screen can be zoomed
• Webex provides zooming of a shared screen with a + and a - button
• But still there is no camera focus / zoom feature in any system

Hey, Microsoft! Why not integrate such a feature in Win11+?

Answer 1

For more advanced settings I found this link helpful. Allows you to adjust zoom, pan and tilt settings if the device supports it. https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/access-advanced-settings-for-the-integrated-webcam-on-windows-10/

I have a Lenovo laptop with an "Integrated Camera" and was able to tighten the camera on my head using the settings below.

In summary:

1. Install ffmpeg

2. Get the device name of your camera using:

ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy -hide_banner

3. Open the advanced settings of the camera, assuming a device name "My Camera":

ffmpeg -f dshow -show_video_device_dialog true -i video="My Camera"

4. In the advanced settings you can adjust the zoom level, as well as pan, tilt and other properties.

You can use any camera preview (Windows Settings > Camera > Integrated Camera) to see the changes as you adjust the settings.

DialogBox 0001 Properties\Camera Control\Zoom, Pan, Tilt

Answer 2

Your best bet without sacrificing quality (webcams are already bad enough!) is to use a laptop stand. It will typically raise the webcam to eye level. This has another nice side effect: It will improve ergonomics of your setup. You will not be able to use the laptop keyboard anymore though.

If you don’t want that, you could use OBS Studio, software targeted at streamers. Instead of streaming to Twitch or whatever, OBS can also present its output as a virtual webcam. Other software would then be able to use that webcam like any other (except there’s compatibility problems, so ymmv).

In OBS Studio, you can place your original webcam as a video source. You can crop and position the video input as required:

To do this, select “Edit Transform” from the “Transform” menu after right clicking an object in the scene.

OBS Studio may introduce additional delay. It also requires non-trivial processing power to do its thing, in addition to the processing power your conference software requires.

Answer 3

Consider purchase of clip-on lenses for your webcam. (Example.) They still fulfill your requirement of using your current webcam and they come in front of your existing webcam helping you to achieve desired effect using standard optical way. They were designed for laptop users with requirements similar to yours.

For more guidance, you can post at Hardware Recommendations SE site.