Webcam settings
for Mac.
macOS has no controls for a USB webcam's exposure, white balance, or focus. Webcam Works shows the ones your camera reports and changes them on the camera itself, with a live preview as you go. What you set follows the camera into Zoom, Meet, Teams, and every other app.
What's included.
Image
Brightness, contrast, saturation, and sharpness, each with a percentage readout. Brightness and contrast have an Auto pill that returns them to the camera's own default.
Exposure
Choose who drives exposure: Off for manual, Camera AE for the camera's own metering, or Smart AE. In manual you set Exposure time and Gain yourself. With Camera AE, Frame rate priority chooses between holding the frame rate and allowing longer exposures.
Smart Auto-Exposure
Smart AE meters the middle of the frame and sets exposure time and gain in small steps, so the picture holds steady instead of pumping. The Exposure level slider sets how bright it aims. It appears only when your camera lets software set exposure time and gain, and it adjusts while Webcam Works is receiving the camera's picture.
White balance
Set a fixed color temperature in kelvin, or leave Auto on and let the camera judge the room. A fixed value keeps the picture from drifting orange or blue as the light changes.
Backlight and HDR
Backlight compensation lifts a face that's dark against a bright window. HDR is there on supported Logitech Brio, Razer Kiyo Pro, Dell UltraSharp WB7022, and AnkerWork C310 models. Leave it off in even light, where it can soften the picture.
Anti-flicker
Match the camera to your power line, 60 Hz in the US or 50 Hz in most of Europe, and rolling bands under LED and fluorescent light usually go away. Only the values your camera accepts are offered.
Focus
A manual focus slider with an Auto pill. Keep autofocus on for calls. Turn it off when you record from a fixed spot and the lens keeps hunting every time your hands move.
Framing
Zoom, and pan and tilt where the camera has them. On cameras that crop digitally, pan and tilt appear once you zoom in. Supported Brio, Razer, Dell, and AnkerWork models also get field-of-view presets.
Format
Resolution and frame rate, chosen from the list the camera reports. If a combination is missing, the camera can't do it. On a call, 1080p at 30 fps beats 4K at 15.
How it works.
- 01Pick your cameraOpen Webcam Works and choose your USB webcam. It reads the controls the camera reports and shows only those, so a missing row means the camera doesn't offer that setting.
- 02Get exposure right firstPut light in front of you if you can. Then, on Exposure, set Auto exposure to Off and raise Exposure time before Gain, or pick Smart AE and set the Exposure level.
- 03Then color and detailSet White Balance, then Saturation and Sharpness on Image. Most cameras oversharpen, and below 50% usually looks more natural. Set Anti-flicker to match your power line.
- 04Save itOn Presets, click New from current. Webcam Works applies the active preset again whenever the camera reconnects.
Good for.
Video calls
Fix a dark or orange picture once and it carries into Zoom, Meet, Teams, and FaceTime. On a USB webcam the change lives in the camera, so there's no second camera to select.
Backlit desks
A window behind you makes the camera expose for the sky. Backlight compensation, HDR where your camera has it, or Smart AE brings your face back out of the shadow.
Recording and streaming
Lock exposure, white balance, and focus so nothing shifts between takes or mid-stream. Fixed settings also make footage from different days match.
Questions.
01Does macOS have webcam settings?
Not for the camera itself. System Settings controls which apps can use the camera, and the Video menu in the menu bar has video effects such as Portrait and Studio Light on cameras that support them. There's no built-in place to set a USB webcam's exposure, white balance, or focus. Webcam Works adds one.
02How do I change my webcam settings on a Mac?
Install Webcam Works from the Mac App Store, open it, and choose your USB webcam. Adjust the Image, Exposure, Focus, Framing, and Format cards while you watch the live preview. The changes are made on the camera, so Zoom, Meet, and other apps pick them up. The controls keep working while another app is using the camera, so you can adjust during a call.
03Why is my webcam so dark on my Mac?
Usually a window or lamp behind you is the brightest thing in view, so the camera exposes for that. Or the room is dim and the camera adds gain, which brings grain with it. Add light in front of you first. Then raise Exposure time before Gain, try Backlight compensation, or turn on Smart AE to hold a steady brightness.
04How do I lock my webcam's white balance on a Mac?
In Webcam Works, open Exposure, turn off the Auto pill next to White Balance, and drag the slider until skin tones look right. The value is in kelvin and stays until you change it. If an unplug or restart resets the camera, Webcam Works puts your last setting back when it sees the camera again.
05How do I change Logitech webcam settings on a Mac?
Webcam Works works with Logitech webcams that follow the UVC standard, including the Brio, C920, and C922. You get what the camera reports, such as exposure, white balance, focus, and zoom. Supported Brio models also get field of view, and the original Brio, Brio 4K Stream Edition, and Brio 505 get HDR.
06Can I change the settings of my MacBook's built-in camera?
Only some of them. macOS manages brightness, exposure, and white balance on built-in cameras and iPhone Continuity Camera, and doesn't let apps change them. Webcam Works gives you resolution, frame rate, and Center Stage where the camera supports it. To change color or brightness on those cameras, use the Webcam Works virtual camera, which adjusts the picture in software.
07Do I need to keep Webcam Works open?
Not for most settings. On a USB webcam they're stored in the camera, so they hold after you quit. Smart AE and scheduled presets need Webcam Works running, because the app does that work. Smart AE also needs the camera's picture: it adjusts while the Webcam Works preview is showing, an app is using Webcam Works Camera, or you're recording, and otherwise holds its last setting. Turn on Open at Login in the Webcam Works menu to start it with your Mac.