Elgato Cam Link 4K - discontinued, or just out of stock? (want to connect Panasonic FZ1000, likely better than laptop webcam, considering streaming)

PianoPlayer88Key · March 23, 2020

Does anyone know if the Elgato Cam Link 4K is discontinued, or is it just out of stock? I'm thinking I might like to get one soon (like next few days or a week or 2 if possible), but I can't seem to find them in stock anywhere. (Not Micro Center, not Best Buy, not Amazon, not Corsair's site, not B&H, not anywhere else that I've looked. I don't want to get a used one, and I think $129.99 + tax is a reasonable price, considering what I'd be doing with it.)

I've been thinking for a little while about starting streaming, probably on Twitch but I'd also consider Mixer, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, maybe a couple other platforms. (Multiple simultaneously would be nice, although I looked up restream and it looks too restrictive for my taste.) My upload bandwidth might be 10 mbps on a good day, or less during congestion - one evening a few days ago it was struggling to hit 1 mbps upload. (It did, but after several seconds of about 0.03 to 0.05 mbps before it eventually picked up a bit.) Look at my username for a clue as to some of my planned stream content. I think now is as good of a time as any to get started.

I could use my laptop's webcam if I had to, although I'd have to find something to put the laptop on. It would be much better if I could use my Panasonic FZ1000 as a webcam, and it looks like the Cam Link 4K would let me do that. Due to limited upload bandwidth, I'd probably only stream in like 720p or even 540p 30fps, but I do want the option of recording in 4K locally. (The camera doesn't support simultaneous output over HDMI while recording to the internal SD card, but it does have a clean HDMI out.)

I put a couple pics in this spoiler - first one is from the laptop's webcam (don't know how to do a full-screen shot from the webcam, so I just did a screenshot with OBS), second one is from the FZ1000. Both were shot within a few seconds of each other - laptop using snipping tool with 5-second delay, camera had a 10-second delay on its shutter.

Spoiler

Also here's a couple shots, taken with the Pixel 3a, from back some distance in the room, so you can see the laptop and the camera-on-tripod setup in the room. I would like to be able to allow people to go in and out of the pantry, and the tripod being where it is now would make that difficult. (I can crawl under the tripod just fine, but it would be a lot harder for my parents or other people to do that, and if my nephews & niece were here they'd probably end up knocking the tripod over anyway.) I was just thinking, maybe I could put the FZ1000 in the spot where the laptop is, but I'd need to get some kind of small mini-tripod that would support it. I could probably budget about $10 or $20 for something like that, maybe a bit more for a decent quality unit.

Spoiler

For audio, I plan to use a Zoom H2n mounted inside my piano (a 1950s vintage Baldwin Hamilton school-style piano), wired up either to the camera's mic input, or the line input on the laptop. For voice chat (between songs - I don't see myself ever singing), I'm thinking of hooking up another microphone to the Zoom's line input. (The way I'd be using it, both the external mic and the mid-side internal mic would be used, but if I hook the Zoom to the laptop via USB, I could only use one.) The spoiler has a pic of the Zoom mounted inside the piano. (In the pic the lower panel / kick board is removed so you can see it mounted. When I'm actually streaming / recording it would be in place, to hopefully cut down on external noise getting in.

Spoiler

In case it matters, my laptop (Clevo P750DM-G) has an i7-6700K, a GTX 970M 6GB, 64GB (4x16GB DDR4-2133) RAM, and boots off a 250GB SATA M.2 Crucial MX200 SSD. (It also has two 1050TB 2.5" Crucial MX300s and a 1TB 970 Evo M.2 SSD.)

If I get and use a Cam Link, I could probably use my desktop as a streaming PC. (i7-4790K under a Hyper 212 Evo on an ASRock Z97 Extreme6, with 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3-1600 G.Skill RAM, booting from a 256GB Crucial M550 2.5" SATA SSD, plus other various HDDs depending on what I happen to have plugged in. Also have an EVGA SC GTX 1060 3GB but it's not installed right now.)

I also saw the 4K60 S+ from Elgato, but it's a bit more than I want to spend, and I think for what I'd be doing, would be more than I would need. And there were a few other products that came up in my search, but I'm leaning strongly toward the Cam Link 4K as I think it would be the best thing for me - IF I could get one.

Also it would be nice to be able to set up a second camera (like the Pixel 3a) with a top-down view of the keyboard on the piano while I'm playing. I don't know how I'd mount the phone, though.

The spoiler has a pic from the Pixel 3a showing what it would see, followed by a screenshot from the laptop webcam of me holding the camera above the piano, while standing on the piano bench. In the actual streams / recorded videos, I would prefer that the phone, and whatever is holding it, not be visible in the main shot. Also I may crop the pixel to just show the keyboard, or I may take the stuff off the top of the piano and open the lid, making the mechanism inside the piano visible.

Spoiler

Just in case there's anyone here who knows about how some of those Baldwin Hamiltons open up (with the front attached to the lid and it all comes up as one piece, with a propstick swinging down and supporting the assembly on the left side) - this is an older one that opens more like most other pianos (lid lifts up, then the front panel, after undoing a couple clips, comes off separately. This piano was made in 1956, and the swing-up-with-propstick style was mostly from the mid 1960s to sometime in the 1990s I think.)
Here's a few stills pulled from a couple youtube videos showing some examples - first the swing-up cabinet from a couple angles, then one similar to mine.

.....

Also would it be okay if I post (in a spoiler in a reply) links to a few videos I've done in the past on that piano, and on my other piano? (It's the same kind, just 6 years older, in another room in the house. Also I heard there might be something in the rules about certain things, just wanted to check before I went ahead with it. Some are on YouTube, some are on Google drive.)

I have one that was shot with the FZ1000 and H2n on this piano (Don't Stop Believing by Journey), one is with the FZ1000 and H2n on the other piano (You Light Up My Life as performed by LeAnn Rimes), one is on both pianos with the FZ1000 (split screen) and H2n (Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley, could also post an audio-only version from the FZ1000's built-in mic), and one is with the laptop's webcam and built-in mic on the other piano (a medley of a few Sound of Music songs plus a couple gospel songs).

That would give you some basic idea of what it might look and sound like (if I get the okay to post them), although they were recorded last year or before and may not have been set up exactly how I'd do it for a stream.

PianoPlayer88Key · March 26, 2020

So does anyone know the status of the Cam Link 4K, whether it's still in production, or whatever?

Or could anyone suggest another capture device I could use to connect my FZ1000 to my laptop? Budget would be $129.99+tax if it supports 4K 30fps, or probably around $60-80 or so if it maxes out at 1080p 60fps.

Also apparently I'll need to get a "high speed HDMI micro cable" (turns out I don't have one), and for the audio stuff I might need a few 3.5mm extension / patch cables (I may have a couple, but it's possible the wires got flexed inside & broke with use. Also if I hook up a mike I already have, for talking between songs, I'll need a 1/4" mono to 1/8" stereo adapter - I may have one somewhere but idk where it is. The extra cables, etc, would not be included in the budget for the capture device, but I don't want to overspend there either.

Or should I just get started using the laptop's built-in webcam? (There's a comparison shot from the laptop vs the camera in one of the spoilers in the OP.)

Roy.Z · April 15, 2020

If you're still looking..

Due to the CoronaVirus.. They've been been snatched. I guess by streamers and I've also been told that by TV reporters to report from home while not going to their workplace. I bet the manufacturer is working on producing more units and I also speculate that the price will go higher as demand is probably crazy but just a guess. Try looking into Razr Ripsaw HD if you could get one. Although it's not so popluar with cameras it might work, check this out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e0VRxx-52Mc though im not sure about the quality, you'll have to research a bit, I was told it's avermedia guts inside, which doesnt have to be a bad thing as it's only USB 3.0 so it's not the same as the cheap USB 2.0 capture card avermedia has.

Or a pci card as the blackmagic Intensity Pro 4K for a PC.

Good luck (:

PianoPlayer88Key · April 20, 2020

On 4/15/2020 at 4:10 PM, Roy.Z said:

If you're still looking..

Due to the CoronaVirus.. They've been been snatched. I guess by streamers and I've also been told that by TV reporters to report from home while not going to their workplace. I bet the manufacturer is working on producing more units and I also speculate that the price will go higher as demand is probably crazy but just a guess. Try looking into Razr Ripsaw HD if you could get one. Although it's not so popluar with cameras it might work, check this out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e0VRxx-52Mc though im not sure about the quality, you'll have to research a bit, I was told it's avermedia guts inside, which doesnt have to be a bad thing as it's only USB 3.0 so it's not the same as the cheap USB 2.0 capture card avermedia has.

Or a pci card as the blackmagic Intensity Pro 4K for a PC.

Good luck

Ahh. I actually managed to snag one direct from Corsair a couple weeks ago. (Also a PCIe card won't work in a laptop.)

I still need a few other parts though, like a micro USB cable, micro HDMI cable, a couple USB extenders (most likely active), mini tripod (looking at Joby Gorillapod 3K), 1/4" mono to 1/8" stereo audio adapter.

Problem I'm having is I REALLY need those parts THREE WEEKS ago, and I haven't been able to find out what specific parts I should get. Durability is a HUGE requirement for me - I've never had cables last longer than about 4 to 6 months before they broke (usually at one of the ends), and I'd like something that lasts multiple decades at minimum.

Corsair Nick · April 20, 2020

Good to hear you were able to purchase one through our site. CamLink 4k hasn't been discontinued, just high demand with the current situation. For reference to anyone else in your situation, but in a different region, the HD60 S+ would be a good alternative.