💡 Here’s a quick summary if you’re short on time.
Yes, you can use your Canon EOS M50 as a webcam using a USB cable.
All you need is:
- The correct USB cable – IFC-600PCU cable
- The correct software – Canon EOS Webcam Utility
- A compatible webcam application – Zoom, Skype, OBS, etc.
This will let you use your Canon EOS M50 as a webcam on your Mac or Windows device for video calls, live streaming, or just recording videos.
Please note: If you are looking for instructions for the Newer Canon EOS M50 Mark II and not the original Canon M50 then please check out the post linked below.
- Related post: Can I Use My Canon EOS M50 Mark II as a USB Webcam?
Table of Contents
How Do I Use My Canon EOS M50 as a Webcam?
To use your Canon EOS M50 as a webcam you will need to:
- Have the right USB cable – Canon IFC-600PCU
- Have the Canon EOS Webcam Utility software
- Have a compatible application to use such as Zoom, Skype or OBS Studio.
We guide you through each of the above requirements so you have everything you need to achieve high-quality video by using your Canon EOS M50 as a webcam.
You could also use the more expensive ‘HDMI method’ with a capture card, but this will not be covered in this post because the Canon EOS M50 does not have clean HDMI.
If you want a camera with a clean HDMI output then you can use the newer Canon M50 Mark II as that has a Clean HDMI output.
What USB Cable Do I Need to Use My Canon EOS M50 as a Webcam?
To use your Canon EOS M50 as a webcam you will need an IFC-600PCU cable.
Unfortunately, the IFC -600PCU cable is not included in the box when you buy the standard Canon EOS M50 bundle. This means you will have to get your own.
There are replacement cables on Amazon like the two examples below, either would work fine.
IFC-600PCU USB CABLES ON AMAZON:
*For Mac Users:
You may need a USB-C to USB adapter to be able to plug in your IFC-600PCU cable into your Mac.
This is because your Mac device may not have a standard USB port (depending on the model you have) and might only have a USB-C port.
In this case, you want to connect the IFC-600PCU cable to the adapter cable, and then plug the adapter cable into your Mac.
Below is a USB to USB-C adapter you can get on Amazon:
For my MacBook Air, I use a USB-C hub adapter because it gives me more options. The one I am using right now is the Anker USB-C hub below:
What Canon Software Do I Need to Use My Canon EOS M50 as a Webcam?
You will need to download and install the latest Canon EOS Webcam Utility software. Here’s how to do that.
- Go to the Canon support website for the EOS Webcam Utility software.
- Scroll down to the section where it asks you to choose your camera model. You will want to choose the Canon EOS M50.
- When you click on the Canon EOS M50 you should be taken to this page which is a support page for the Canon EOS M50.
- Make sure you are on the ‘Software and drivers’ tab and scroll down to the ‘Downloads’ section.
- Choose the correct Windows or Mac operating system, it should default to the correct operating system as it normally detects this automatically. For example, if you are using Windows 10, then it will most likely detect ‘Windows 10’ or ‘Windows 10(x64)’.
- Go down to the list of software and download the most recent version of ‘EOS Webcam Utility Pro 2.0’ software for your operating system. Don’t get this confused with ‘EOS Utility’ which is different from ‘EOS Webcam Utility’.
- Once it is downloaded, open up the downloaded file which should look similar to this ‘EOSWebcamUtilityPro-WIN2.0zip’. It might look slightly different depending on how recent your version is.
- It should be saved as a .zip file. Open and extract the .zip file. On Windows, you can normally do this by right-clicking and clicking ‘extract all’.
- Read the ‘readme.txt’ file and run the ‘setup.exe’ file within the folder.
- Follow the instructions that are shown until setup and installation are complete.
- Once installation is complete you should restart your computer.
*Note for Mac users
At the time of updating this post (March 2023) the Canon EOS Webcam Utility Pro works with the following Mac OS:
- 12 (Monterey)
- 11.6.8 (Big Sur)
- 10.15.7 (Catalina)
Now we will move on to show you how to set up your Canon EOS M50 to work as a webcam with the software you just downloaded.
How to Set up My Canon EOS M50 for Webcam
- Turn your Canon EOS M50 camera on and set it to movie mode.
- Adjust the settings until you have your desired look.
- Connect the USB cable we mentioned above to the camera. The small end should go into your Canon EOS M50 and the other end should go into your computer.
- Now open up your compatible application on your computer. This could be something like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype etc. (we include a more extensive list further below.)
- Locate the EOS Webcam Utility feed in your video settings for your webcam app. This should connect your camera’s video feed to your live streaming or video conferencing app.
- You should now have a much better-quality image for your online video conferences or live streams.
What Applications Are Compatible With EOS Webcam Utility?
The compatibility with different applications varies whether you are using Windows or Mac.
Windows:
At the time of writing this article, the following applications are compatible with EOS Webcam Utility on Windows. You should be able to use any of them for your webcam needs with your Canon EOS M50.
- Cisco Webex
- Discord
- Facebook Live
- Hangouts
- Hangouts Meet
- Messenger (Facebook)
- Microsoft Teams
- Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
- Skype
- Slack
- Streamlabs
- YouTube Live
- Zoom
Mac:
At the time of writing Canon EOS Webcam Utility currently supports the following Mac OS:
- 12 (Monterey)
- 11.6.8 (Big Sur)
- 10.15.7 (Catalina)
The compatibility with different applications can vary depending on which Mac OS version you are using.
Further resources
The video below may help you as it also guides you through the setup process visually.
Related Reading