Frequently asked questions

A free web app for cameras plugged into your computer: webcams, cheap USB microscopes, endoscopes (borescopes) and InfiRay-type thermal cameras. It shows the live picture, takes photos, records video, applies filters such as black and white or edge detection, and shows temperatures for thermal cameras.

No. Open the page, click Start camera and allow camera access when the browser asks. It works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. No driver or app is needed for cameras that work as a normal USB camera, as most USB microscopes, endoscopes and webcams do.

No. Everything runs in your browser on your computer: the picture, the filters, photos and videos never leave it. There is no account and no tracking. Like any website, the server only delivers the page itself.

Chrome or Edge. They report the camera's USB ID, so cameras are recognised automatically, the compatibility test can tell real resolutions from scaled ones, and photos and videos can be saved straight into a folder. Firefox and Safari work too; there you pick the camera type at the top by hand (the choice is remembered).

Any camera that works as a standard USB video device (UVC): most USB webcams, USB microscopes and endoscopes, including cheap ones from online marketplaces. Cameras with a profile in the app are recognised and opened with settings that suit them; any other camera works with a generic type.

WiFi endoscopes and microscopes that need their own phone app do not work: they are not USB video devices.

• Plug it in through a USB hub, ideally a powered one. Some cheap cameras fail to connect straight to a laptop's port and work fine through a hub (the TOOLTOP T256 thermal camera is one).
• Try another cable or adapter, flip the USB-C plug, or use another port.
• Close other apps or browser tabs that may be using the camera.
• Check that the computer itself sees the camera, e.g. in the system's camera app.

Usually the operating system does not let the browser use the camera. On a Mac, allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera, then reload the page. Also make sure no other app is using the camera. The app tells you when a camera is open but sends no picture.

Cheap microscopes and endoscopes often advertise 2–5 megapixels but deliver less. The Compatibility tab measures which resolutions the camera really delivers and at what frame rate. Many cameras also slow down to a few frames per second at their largest size: pick a smaller resolution in the Camera tab for a smoother picture.

Leave Camera type on Auto first. To check, open the Compatibility tab and click Run test: it lists the camera types in the app and marks the best match. In Firefox and Safari, which do not show USB IDs, pick the type by hand.

Yes, with thermal cameras that send the InfiRay frame format. It was tested with a TOOLTOP T256 in Chrome and Firefox; the Topdon TC001 and InfiRay P2 Pro are said to use the same format but were not tested. You get palettes, an automatic or fixed color range, the hottest and coldest point, the temperature at the center and under the pointer, CSV export and photos with the temperatures and a legend drawn in.

If your thermal camera is not recognised, choose Generic thermal camera (InfiRay format) as the camera type.

Temperatures only come in the camera's tall resolution, which carries the picture over the temperatures: 256×384 for a 256×192 sensor. If the camera runs at another resolution, pick the tall one in the Camera tab. If the camera does not use the InfiRay format at all, or a normal camera has the thermal camera type, the app shows the plain picture instead of made-up numbers.

Right after starting, the TOOLTOP T256 sends black frames for about 4 seconds, and its readings shift by about 5 °C a few seconds later, presumably while it calibrates itself.

With the phone's own cameras, yes. USB cameras plugged into a phone most likely do not: a browser only gets the cameras the phone offers to apps, and most Android phones offer only their own. On a Galaxy S23 the USB cameras were visible to the system but no browser could use them. iPhone does not support USB cameras at all. iPads with USB-C may work but have not been tested.

They appear in the Gallery tab, where you download them. They stay there until you close the page. In Chrome and Edge you can also pick a folder, and new photos and videos go straight into it. Photos are PNG or JPEG; videos are MP4 in Chrome, Edge and Safari and WebM in Firefox.

Space takes a photo, R starts and stops recording, F freezes the picture. The mouse wheel zooms, dragging pans and a double-click resets the view.

Yes. In the Compatibility tab, run the test, say what the camera is and download the report. Give it to an AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex…) with the prompt shown there, or attach it to an issue on GitHub. Each camera type is one small file in the project.

Yes, with no ads and no account. The source code is on GitHub. If it helps you, you can buy me a coffee.