GoPro HERO8 Black Can Now Also Be Used As A Webcam

It's been a while since we've heard any major news from the company that started the whole action camera market. That doesn't mean GoPro is out of the picture, no pun intended. It has yet to launch a major action cam after launching a number of accessories and it isn't doing that today either. Instead, it is putting its current flagship shooter to other uses, making the GoPro HERO8 Black just as relevant inside the house at a time when going out might not be the best idea.

GoPro has become synonymous with the black boxes that you put on top of helmets, car dashboards, and even on your body to capture moments from your point of view, or almost your point of view. Action cameras may be great outdoor memory recorders but they won't be seeing much action these days due to COVID-19 countermeasures. Fortunately, GoPro has another use for the HERO8 Black.

Following the lead of camera makers like Canon and Fujifilm, GoPro is repurposing its action camera into a webcam for any and all video recording or streaming needs from your computer. The process is as simple as hooking up the came to your Mac though with a slight catch. You have to download a firmware to update the HERO8 Black first.

What the smaller action camera may lack in terms of pro photography features, it makes up for with its wide-angle view. It's also more convenient to place it anywhere you need and at any angle. Plus, GoPro users most likely have a number of accessories and mounts they can also use to liven up shots or make it easier to find the perfect vantage point.

To use the GoPro HERO8 Black as a webcam, you'll have to not only upgrade it to the latest firmware version, you also need to install a companion software for your computer. In a rather odd turn of events, that software is only available for macOS at the moment with a Windows version still in development.