USB-C type necessary for webcam use (Canon R6)?

jaygould · Feb 10, 2023

I recently purchased an R6 (mark I) and want to use it as a webcam. Currently I only have regular USB 3.0 ports on my PC, but I have one PCI-E x1 slot available on the motherboard, allowing me to install a PCI-E card with a USB-C 3.1 (gen 1) port on it. Would this be sufficient for powering the camera while using it as a webcam? Or would I need a USB-C 3.1 gen 2 for this to work?

Right now while having the camera connected to the PC, it just uses the internal battery (and won't charge).

bhf3737 · Feb 11, 2023

The short answer is no. In theory it is possible. But you need a USB-C port with power delivery (PD) rating of 30W or so to charge the camera. USB-C 3.1 (gen 1) cannot cut it. On R5 (I guess R6 should be the same) even if the Thunderbolt port of my laptop PC can charge the battery, when data transfer starts the charging will stop. That is odd but it seems that it has been implemented this way. To resolve this, I use a dummy battery and connect it to the PD charger on the wall and use USB-C to connect to the computer for data transfer only.

jaygould · Feb 11, 2023

bhf3737 said:
The short answer is no. In theory it is possible. But you need a USB-C port with power delivery (PD) rating of 30W or so to charge the camera. USB-C 3.1 (gen 1) cannot cut it. On R5 (I guess R6 should be the same) even if the Thunderbolt port of my laptop PC can charge the battery, when data transfer starts the charging will stop. That is odd but it seems that it has been implemented this way. To resolve this, I use a dummy battery and connect it to the PD charger on the wall and use USB-C to connect to the computer for data transfer only.

Thanks. So what you are saying is that it's not possible to use the R6 as a plugged-in webcam? I'm forced to use the battery? Or it would work if I had a USB 3.1 gen 2 port?

I am not able to find the watt delivery of each USB generation online, for some reason.

bhf3737 · Feb 11, 2023

You can use R6 as a plugged in webcam to transfer data, with no problem by just using Canon Webcam utility. But you need to power the camera in a way other than USB.

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USB-C type necessary for webcam use (Canon R6)?

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