How to Record Video on Mac with External Camera

Jane Zhou updated on Apr 19, 2024 to Screen Recording Utility

Do you want to record a video about yourself using your MacBook? This post will give you tutorials about how to record videos on mac with an external camera. By the way, you can get to know some of the best recorders that enable you to do so.

Taking a video with the built-in iSight camera is the most convenient way for most Mac users to record the webcam. However, for people whose built-in camera can't be used as normal, recording videos using an external camera is the most efficient alternative. 

How to record video on Mac with external camera? Which is the best webcam recorder on the macOS system? All the questions you may be interested in are included in this post, come and get the answers right now. 

Record Video on Mac with External Camera using EaseUS RecExperts 

EaseUS RecExperts for Mac is a lightweight Webcam recorder that enables you to take videos on Mac with an external and built-in camera. If you are a novice at Webcam recording, this Mac screen recorder might be the most suitable one for you since you can quickly find the tool you need on its simple and elegant interface.

How to use an external camera on Mac? First and foremost, you need to connect it to a MacBook using a cable, then select it as the video source from the list of options in the Photo Booth program. After that, you can launch this screen recorder and start recording a video on Mac with an external webcam. You can freely select the audio source during the recording, which means you can record internal audio on Mac, microphone sound, or both.

EaseUS RecExperts

  • Record webcam and screen simultaneously or separately
  • Capture any area of your screen with simple clicks
  • Schedule recording feature is available
  • One-click to take screenshots on Mac
  • Provide solutions about how to record Zoom meeting

            

How to use Mac External Camera to Record Videos:

Step 1. Open EaseUS RecExperts, and choose the "Webcam" button on the main interface.

Step 2. Then the inbuilt camera will open automatically, and you can see the recording window on the desktop. If you want to record the webcam with audio, click on the "Sound" icon at the bottom left to select the audio source.

Step 3. Click "REC" to start your webcam recording, and you can choose to pause, resume, or end the recording by clicking the two buttons on the left side. At last, the recording will be saved on your Mac.

Use QuickTime to Capture Video with External Webcam on Mac

Another way is to use QuickTime Player, a multimedia application developed by Apple. It can work as a video editor to trim, rotate, split, and merge video clips because of its multifunctionality.

Besides that, you can also use it to record what is happening on your screen and also your external webcam. If you want to upload your recordings to various platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, you only need to click several buttons. 

How to Record External Webcam on Mac with QuickTime Player:

Step 1. Insert your external camera. Launch QuickTime Player, click on the drop-down "File" menu, and choose "New Movie Recording."

Step 2. Click on the red "Record" button to start your recording. 

Step 3. Click on the stop button to end the recording. You can crop your recording into a short one if it's necessary. 

Step 4. Select "Save" from the drop-down "File" menu. Save the video file to wherever you want.

Record Video from External Camera on Mac Online 

If you are not willing to download and install software on Mac, some optional online webcam recording tools can help you. You can open those pages in an Internet browser and utilize them directly.

Record a Webcam with Veed

Veed is a powerful one among all the online webcam recorders, for it supports adding many kinds of elements to your videos. You can add subtitles by uploading subtitle files automatically or entering the words manually. Progress bar, sound wave, Emojis, and shapes are all available when editing the video you recorded. 

The different layouts give you the ability to arrange your videos' content according to your different needs. Moreover, this online tool will not limit the number of videos you can record, although it's free to use. If you plan to upload the video you recorded to social media, you can use Veed to optimize your works.

How to Record Video with external Mac Camera Online: 

Step 1. Open the page and select "Webcam" from the list of layouts. 

Step 2. Click on the red button to start the recording process. If you finish your recording, click that button again.

Step 3. Review the video you recorded, edit it if you need that, and click the "Export" button to get your video file. 

Record a Webcam with Webcam Test

This famous online recorder is also very full-featured. Before you start the recording, you can decide if you want to record only videos or record voice from your microphone, too. It can detect the maximum camera resolution to create videos of the best quality. 

Webcam Test Recorder is a background video recorder that allows you to switch between tabs or minimize your browser during the recording. If you have no idea about how to record video using external webcam on Mac, try to use this online tool to do that.

How to Record Camera Mac Online:

Step 1. Open the page and select the Webcam Recorder Options according to your needs. 

Step 2. Click the "Start recording" button. 

Step 3. Choose "Stop recording" and review your video. You can choose to download it or retake a new video. 

Bonus Tip: How to Record Video With Macbook Built-in Camera 

Whether you are using a Macbook or Macbook Pro, you can always record your webcam video with the built-in camera, without downloading any third-party software. But how to get it done? Just check the following steps:

Step 1. Open Photo Booth, and choose the "Record a movie clip" button from the lower-left corner of the screen.

Step 2. Then your inbuilt camera will open automatically, and you can view yourself on the screen. Next, click the "Record" button in the center of the screen to begin your webcam recording. 

Step 3. Once done, you can click the thumbnail images to preview your recordings.

Conclusion

To help people who are not familiar with recorders, we introduced some practical tools and how to record video on Mac with an external camera using those recorders. There is no doubt that EaseUS RecExperts is the most powerful recorder for Mac users through all those analyses above. Download it and try to record videos on Mac with an external camera.

FAQs About Recording External Webcam on Mac 

If you have more questions about how to record video on Mac, those answers may help you.

1. How to use external camera on Mac?

How to use camera on MacBook? This is not a difficult question. But fewer people know how does Mac record video from an external camera.

First of all, you need to connect the external webcam to your MacBook with a USB cable and wait for several seconds until the Mac recognizes the external camera.

Then, launch the Photo Booth program, choose Camera from the options at the top of the screen, and select the external camera as the options list's video source. Now, you can use the external one instead of the default iSight webcam.

2. How to take videos on Mac with audio?

To record videos on Mac with audio, a powerful recorder is necessary. We take EaseUS RecExperts as an example. First, you need to download and install it on your Mac, then choose the appropriate recording mode, such as screen recording or Webcam recording.

There will be a menu for you to select the audio source. You can choose from system audio, microphone audio, and both of them. Click the Rec button to start recording, and click the stop button after you capture all the contents you need, the recorded video with audio will be saved on your Mac.