Using a laptop and camera – part 2
To connect the camera to the laptop, you cannot just run an HDMI cable from your camera to your laptop’s HDMI port. This port is normally output only and will not accept the camera’s signal. You will need a HDMI capture device. These can be purchased from about $100 to however expensive you want to go, depending on the amount of functions it has. You will probably notice many of these are gamer-oriented but that is ok. They work perfectly for video capture from cameras too.
A couple of commonly used HDMI capture devices are:
| Manufacturer | Type |
| Elgato | HD60 S |
| HD60 S+ | |
| Cam Link 4k | |
| Avermedia | Live Gamer Mini GC311 |
| Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus | |
| Hauppauge | HD PVR Pro 60 |
| HD PVR Rocket | |
| HD PVR 2 | |
| Magewell | USB Capture HDMI Gen 2 |
| USB Capture HDMI Plus | |
| USB Capture HDMI 4k Plus | |
| Aten | UC3020 |
| Blackmagic design | Intensity |
| Ultrastudio HD mini | |
| Atem Mini |
Most of these devices support the USB or USB-C standard. The Ultrastudio HD mini only supports the Thunderbolt connection. If you do not have this type of connection on your laptop, you cannot use this device or you will have to purchase a Thunderbolt to USB or USB-C converter.
The Atem Mini supports multiple HDMI inputs, which allows you to add up to four video sources like cameras of computer video outputs.