The frame rate or frames per second (FPS) of your webcam determines how smooth and clear the video quality is. A higher frame rate allows your webcam to capture more frames every second, resulting in smoother motion and video. Most modern webcams support frame rates from 15 FPS up to 60 FPS or higher. Adjusting your webcam’s FPS can optimize performance for different use cases. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about changing webcam frame rate settings on both Windows and Mac.
Table of Contents
Checking Your Webcam’s Default and Supported FPS Ranges
Before changing any settings, it’s good to check what frame rates your webcam already supports out of the box. Here’s how:
Windows
Step 1: Open the Camera app that comes built-in with Windows 10 and 11.
Step 2: Click on the settings icon in the top right and go to “Frame rate”. Here you can see the default FPS your webcam captures at.
Step 3: The listed FPS range shows what your webcam is capable of supporting. For example, a range of 15-30 FPS means your webcam can do 15, 30 and any rate in between like 20, 25, etc.
Mac
Step 1: Open Photo Booth app on your Mac.
Step 2: Go to Preferences > Camera and look at the “Capture frame rate” section. This shows your webcam’s default FPS.
Step 3: Click on the drop-down menu to see all FPS options your webcam supports.
Now that you know the capabilities of your webcam, let’s move on to actually changing the frame rate.
Increasing Webcam FPS in Windows Camera App
The Windows Camera app has an easy control to change FPS. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Launch the Camera app and click on Settings (the gear icon)
Step 2: Go to Frame rate and use the slider control to increase FPS up to what your webcam supports. For example, 30, 50, 60 FPS.
Step 3: Hit X to close settings and start recording video to apply the new frame rate. Your video quality should now be smoother and clearer.
Tip: For gaming and fast motion capture, use the maximum FPS your webcam allows. For bandwidth savings, use 15 FPS.
Changing Webcam Frame Rate on Mac
Here is how to change the FPS captured by your webcam using the Photo Booth app on Mac:
Step 1: Launch Photo Booth app and click on Preferences > Camera
Step 2: In the “Capture frame rate” section, click the drop-down menu and select your desired FPS rate. Most Mac webcams support 60 FPS.
Step 3: Close Preferences window and record video in Photo Booth. You should immediately notice a difference in motion smoothness based on the FPS selected.
Tip: Use 60 FPS for gaming streams and video calls. Use 30 FPS for casual video clips to save space.
Adjusting FPS for Third-Party Apps on Windows and Mac
Many third party apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, OBS Studio etc allow specifying custom webcam FPS while using the camera feed in them. Here’s how to change webcam frame rate in a few popular apps:
Microsoft Teams
Step 1: Open Teams > Click on your profile picture > Settings > Devices
Step 2: Choose your webcam and click Camera settings
Step 3: Adjust Frames per second slider to your desired FPS
Zoom Desktop App
Step 1: Launch Zoom app > Click your profile picture > Settings
Step 2: Go to Video > Camera settings section
Step 3: Change the FPS using the drop-down menu
OBS Studio
Step 1: Add your webcam as a Video Capture Device source
Step 2: Right-click the webcam source > Properties
Step 3: Go to Configure Video and choose FPS from the dropdown
Step 4: Hit OK and start streaming/recording to apply FPS
The same concept applies to other apps like Skype, Google Meet etc. They give you camera controls to customize resolution, FPS, color and more.
Achieving Higher FPS on Older Webcams
If your older webcam has a lower max FPS compared to modern webcams, there are a few tricks to try and increase the frame rate:
- Lower video resolution like 640x480p in app settings. Processing lower res frames allows capturing more FPS.
- Enable hardware acceleration in apps like Zoom and OBS Studio to utilize GPU for encoding. This lifts burden off the CPU.
- Adjust visual settings like disabling automatic low light compensation. Simple visuals allow achieving faster FPS.
- Overclock your webcam sensor using third-party software like webcam 7 app, Splitcam, Manycam etc if they support your model.
Troubleshooting Issues with Webcam Frame Rate
Here are some common issues faced with webcam FPS settings and how to troubleshoot them:
Problem: Max FPS supported by my webcam is lower than expected.
Fix: Update your webcam drivers from Device Manager in Windows or Manufacturer website. Outdated drivers can limit performance.
Problem: Webcam frame rate keeps fluctuating in apps.
Fix: This usually happens when resources are constrained on your PC. Close CPU/RAM heavy background apps. Also disable graphics intensive Windows visual effects.
Problem: Applied higher FPS but video quality is still choppy.
Fix: Frame rate determines potential smoothness. Make sure lighting conditions are good. Also use lower video resolution if your PC hardware is older and can’t encode high FPS video fast enough.
