I spent most of last Friday researching cameras to use as inputs: webcams, surveillance cameras, etc. Then I came across software that lets you use a canon powershot or eos camera as a video input: extrawebcam. I just happen to have an old canon sx100 lying around, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Well, it works great! You can control iso settings, light adjustments, fix the focus, take time lapse stills, and lots of other neat settings. I turned on resolume, and it lets me choose from three different feed resolutions. I can also go back and tweak exposure settings in the software in real time. Pretty cool.
I still need to do some event testing, but this seems to be a great, extremely portable solution (small, light, easily mounted, etc). Heck, I could even look into buying an eos canon with a bigger sensor or better low light sensitivity if I want (the sx100 only goes up to iso 1600).
Link to software: http://extrawebcam.com/
