Buzz
In today's world, every laptop comes equipped with a built-in webcam, allowing you to capture photos or record videos of what's happening in front of your laptop. However, to use the webcam, you need a specialized application, depending on your laptop's operating system. Here, I'll guide you on how to capture photos and record videos using a laptop on the most popular operating systems today – Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.
Capturing Photos and Videos with Your Laptop on Windows 10 and 8
Step 1: Launch the Camera App
Search for the Camera app on your computer and click on it to launch (if the app is not already installed, search in the Microsoft Store and download it).
Step 2: Choose Photo or Video Mode
Once the app is opened, the default mode is photo capture. To switch to video mode, click on the camcorder icon on the right.
Step 3: Capture Photos or Record Videos
+ If you're in photo capture mode, simply click the Take Photo button (camera icon). The Camera will capture an image of what's in front of your laptop (currently being previewed on the screen).
+ If you're in video mode:
- Click on the Take Video button (camcorder icon) to start recording.
- During video recording, you can pause at any time. Once you have the desired video segment, end the recording.
* Before starting to capture photos or record videos, you can adjust brightness, countdown timer (for photo mode), quality, or the saving directory, ...
Step 4: Review the Results
You can view the captured photo or video by clicking on its thumbnail at the bottom right corner.
Next, you have several options such as zooming in, rotating, deleting, sharing, copying, or opening the containing folder.
Capturing Photos and Videos with Your Laptop on Windows 7
Windows 7 cannot install the Camera app from the Microsoft Store like Windows 8 and 10. If your laptop already has camera software installed, use it. If not, I recommend downloading and installing Cyberlink YouCam.
(This software can also run on Windows 8 and 10. You can use it even if you're not using Windows 7).
To take photos with your laptop's webcam:
Make sure you're in photo capture mode, then click the capture icon (or press F2) to snap a picture with your webcam (currently being previewed on the screen).
To record video with your laptop's webcam:
- Switch to video recording mode. Click the red circular icon (or press F4) to start recording.
- During recording, you can pause at any time. Click the square icon (or press F3) to end video recording.
You can review the results by double-clicking the thumbnail of the captured photo / video.
You can customize the quality, format, and saving directory in the settings. Moreover, Cyberlink YouCam also allows you to play around with many fun features such as adding scenes and frames, filters, emoticons, or text to your images. A perfect software for those who want to have fun with their faces!
Through this article, I've guided you on how to capture photos and record videos with a laptop on Windows 10, 8, and 7 operating systems. Wish you all success!
