Cam Software for Linux

If you’re reading this post, chances are you already know what “cam software for linux” is. If you’re new to Linux maybe it’s better for me to immediately say that “cam software for linux” is a tiny program that allows you to capture images from your webcam. The list of free cam software for linux includes a lot of programs in a variety of categories. Some of them take screenshots, while others can do a lot more. You will find a great deal in this article if you’re looking for one.

One of the biggest challenges for a user coming across Linux is to find a decent video camera software. A little investment of time and effort, though, and you can get quite a few decent ones without too much trouble. This article provides information about such software.

The camera application of the Linux operating system provides a wide variety of features to handle either still photography or video recording. The range of options for customizing the images that are recorded into the hard drive of your computer or laptop is impressive. A wide range of effects can be applied to your pictures and movies, such as those that create the illusion that you were taking pictures through a transparent surface, or those that quickly change the colors and settings of your pictures like those you would find in a comic book.

1. Kamoso

Kamoso is a straightforward, Qt-based Linux webcam tool for the KDE desktop environment. Take screenshots or record videos from an in-built webcam or any attached webcam. It is an open-source project written in the C++ programming language. It has a user-friendly graphical interface to capture images rapidly.

Desirable features

You get 3 seconds to pose for a picture.
It features various graphical effects for videos and images. Its video settings let users tweak and adjust video hue, brightness, saturation, contrast, and gamma.
The burst mode lets a user take rapid photos in one go. It is helpful when making animated GIFs.
It features an inbuilt image gallery browser that lets users view images and apply special effects.
Add new features to the main application through plugins.
Kamoso allows the publishing of content to web 2.0 services.
It integrates well with social media networks.

2. Cheese

Cheese is a lightweight Linux camera software created in C and Vala programming language. It is an open-source tool and is part of the GNOME desktop environment. It is the default Ubuntu camera tool to capture images and record videos. It features over 35 graphical effects, which you can apply on screen. Users can quickly save, view, or delete images and videos. Cheese is distributed and licensed under GNU general public license.

Desirable features

Take photos in JPEG format.
Capture video and record short movies in the WebM format.
Users can add on-screen effects to pictures and video recordings with relative ease. Its graphical effects are made possible through Gstreamer and Video4Linux.
The countdown facility lets you manage recordings and get into position to take the perfect shot.
The burst mode lets you set the number of photos to take in one go.
The kiosk mode lets users take photos and record videos in full-screen mode.
Cheese features of over 35 graphical effects like dice, hulk, edge, Kung Fu, quark, Che Guevara (my personal favorite), etc.
Adjust the capture resolution of your webcam.
Cheese works with external cameras compatible with V4L2, V4L, or the Gstreamer framework.
Export photos to Fspot and share on Flickr.
Internationalization support.

3. OBS Open Broadcaster

OBS is a high-performance Linux webcam manipulation, audio, and video capture tool. OBS allows users to add additional webcams on top of broadcasts and recordings. You can create scenes from multiple sources, including webcams, window captures, captures, browser windows, etc.

Desirable features

OBS can manage multiple webcams at any given time with relative ease. Users can adjust and tweaks how OBS manipulates and handles each webcam. It comes in handy in creating professional content.
It supports internet streams to services like Twitch, YouTube, etc.
OBS has support for real-time video and audio mixing.
OBS has support for unlimited real-time scenes. The feature allows users to switch between webcams and orient different shots during streams and recordings.
The video game detection capabilities let users record video games with a webcam.
Its configuration tool features a sleek settings panel with many options to tweak your recording and broadcasts.
Create professional content with features such as customizable transitions, scene previews, and multiview.
OBS features a powerful API to extend functionality with plugins and scripts.
Browse the OBS Studio project’s resource section to get new features designed by its vibrant community of developers. You can submit suggestions for new features.

4. Motion

Motion is an open-source webcam and security tool that supports motion detection. It is mainly used to monitor footage for subtle changes and movement. It is a command-line-based motion surveillance tool but also features a minimalist web server. Ubuntu users can conveniently monitor cameras to check on pets, watch birds, and create time-lapse videos.

Desirable features

Motion can process images from several network cameras and Video4Linux webcams.
Take automated snapshots at regular or irregular intervals using corn.
The application supports several streaming formats on devices that can connect to it.
It features highly customizable masks for motion detection.
Motion features a minimalist web browser. Set it up on a Linux server for users on the network to access.
Get total control of your security with highly configurable settings and tweaks.
It features automatic noise and threshold control.
Users can control the tilt/pan of external cameras like Orbit or Logitech Spheres.
Store feeds to a PostgreSQL or MySQL database.

Conclusions

In this article, I am going to be listing out some of the best free cam software available on Linux Operating System. Besides using them as Free Cam Software on Linux, you can also use them to record your desktop screen. So here is the list of best free cam software for Linux, each one has their own unique features, which you can choose according to your needs.