Webcam Test

How to test your webcam

1. Press Start camera. Your browser asks for permission to use the camera: choose Allow.
2. Look at the live preview. If you can see yourself, the camera, its driver and the browser are all working.
3. Read the results under the preview: Resolution, Measured frame rate, Reported frame rate, Aspect ratio, Megapixels and Device.
4. If you have several cameras (built-in, USB, virtual), pick one in the Camera list. The preview switches immediately.
5. Try a higher setting in Requested resolution to see the best mode your camera supports.
6. Press Take snapshot to save the current frame as a PNG file, then Stop camera when you are done.

What the results mean

Resolution is the size of the frames the camera is really sending, for example 1280 × 720 (HD) or 1920 × 1080 (Full HD). Many laptop webcams advertised as “HD” deliver 720p only, and some USB cameras stay at 640 × 480 unless an app asks for more. That is why this tool lets you choose a Requested resolution: the browser then asks the camera for the closest mode it supports, and the figure shown is what you actually get.

Measured frame rate counts the frames that reach the page over the last second. Browsers that support requestVideoFrameCallback (Chrome, Edge, Safari) report each new frame precisely; others fall back to the number of decoded video frames. Reported frame rate is the value the camera driver announces. If the measured value is much lower than the reported one, the camera is probably lowering its speed to get more light, or your computer is struggling.

Aspect ratio tells you the shape of the image: 16:9 is widescreen, 4:3 is the older, squarer format. Megapixels is width × height divided by one million, so 1920 × 1080 is about 2.07 MP.

Tips for a better picture

• Frame rate often drops in a dark room: webcams lengthen the exposure to capture more light, which can bring 30 fps down to 15 fps. Turn on a lamp in front of you and watch the measured value go back up.
• USB 2.0 ports and long cables can limit a camera to lower resolutions. Try another port if 1080p is not offered.
• The Mirror image option only changes the preview, like a mirror, which feels natural on screen. Snapshots follow the same setting. Other people on a video call usually see you unmirrored.

Privacy

The video never leaves your device. The stream is displayed in the page and analysed locally; nothing is recorded or uploaded, and snapshots are created and saved by your browser. When you press Stop camera or leave the page, every camera track is stopped, so the camera light turns off.