Can a basic webcam be used for true long-exposure photography?
Asked 8/9/2012
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I have a simple A4Tech webcam with an exposure setting that already works reasonably well in low light. I'd like to capture much longer exposures than the normal webcam software allows.
Is there any software that can enable true long-exposure shots from a basic webcam, or would this require hardware modification? I also came across software that appears to simulate longer exposures by combining frames, but I'm not sure whether that is the same thing.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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Modifying you webcam for long exposures might be possible, but it really depends on what model you are using.
The modification requires you to disassemble the webcam unit and modify the electronics inside it. You can try to look with f. ex. google "your_camera_make/model long exposure mod". Many astrophotography sites also have a lot of information abt. this kind of modification.
The nimesis software actually stacks a lot of short exposures to one picture which would appear to have long exposure, but it is not the same as a real long exposure.
Originally by user11043. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11043
14y ago
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For a basic webcam, software alone usually will not give you a true long exposure unless the camera hardware and driver already support it.
With many simple webcams, getting real long exposures requires a hardware modification: opening the webcam and altering its electronics so the sensor can integrate light for longer. Whether this is possible depends entirely on the exact model. Searching for your webcam model plus terms like “long exposure mod” may help, and astrophotography communities often document such modifications.
Some software can combine or stack many short webcam frames into one image. That can produce a result that looks similar in some cases, but it is not the same as a true long exposure from the sensor itself.
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