Since the pandemic began, webcams have become one of the most important tools in the technological arsenal - and yet they have never been easy to configure in Windows 10.
However, Microsoft intends to rectify this issue with an upcoming Windows 10 update, which will introduce a dedicated Cameras page to Settings listings.
The new Settings panel will act as a central hub for webcam tweaks, listing all cameras (both in-built and external) available to the user and providing a simple way of adjusting performance options such as brightness and contrast.
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Windows 10 webcam settings
As a result of the pandemic and nation-wide lockdowns, video conferencing has become a crutch for many of us this year, in both personal and professional contexts.
However, despite the time and money poured into building the most feature rich video conferencing experiences possible, the humble webcam still acts as a central point of failure. Without a functioning camera that delivers a clear picture, you’ve fallen at the first hurdle.
According to a recent study, technical glitches are the number one source of “Zoom anxiety”, which is described as a “feeling of panic when asked to jump on a video call”. And webcam difficulties are surely responsible for a large proportion of these technical issues.
With the new Windows 10 update, users will hopefully find it easier to optimize their webcam set-up, giving them one less cause for concern. The image preview feature, for example, will give users a chance to check webcam quality ahead of time and troubleshoot any problems they might have.
The in-built Windows 10 configuration options should also combine well with webcam features provided by video conferencing platforms themselves - such as virtual backgrounds and background blur - to give the user the greatest possible control.
The camera settings upgrade is already available in early-access with Build 21277, hidden behind experimental flags, but is expected to roll out to all users in the new year.
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Via Windows Latest
