Elgato is doing a magnificent job of innovation in this 2019, and now we have with us the update of its Elgato Cam Link 4K grabber. A USB device to connect our SLR, sports camera or other compatible camera through HDMI to record at 4K resolution and 30 FPS, thus increasing the benefits compared to the previous Cam Link. In addition, it has taken into account the simplicity of use, where it is only Plug and Produce.

And as always, we must thank Elgato Gaming for giving us their new products to do our analysis.

Elgato Cam Link 4K technical features

Unboxing

Before starting with the external analysis and developing its characteristics, let's take a few seconds to see the Unboxing of this Elgato Cam Link 4K and what it brings us. So, from the start, we have a very small flexible cardboard box that presents this device with a photo, along with the model in question.

On the back we have some information about it and most importantly, the compatibility and the necessary requirements of the system. Now we will see them in more detail ourselves.

So we are going to remove this first box that serves as a wrapper to find a new one, this one of hard cardboard and with a top opening on the lid. Finally, inside we have two small holes made by means of a plastic mold to store the Elgato Cam Link 4K, as well as a USB extender cable and the user manual, oh and a sticker.

The small USB cable that we have in principle is not necessary to use it, unless we want to move the device to another side for space reasons. In your case the cable is USB Type-A with male-female connector.

Exterior design

The exterior design of this Elgato Cam Link 4K is nothing out of the ordinary, and that is very good, since despite its power, we have a simple pencil or pen drive with measurements of 80 mm long, 30 mm wide and 12 mm thick. Come on, it is practically a normal flash drive. At one end it has an HDMI 1.4b port for its 4K @ 30 fps compatibility, and at the other end it has a USB Type-A port (the normal one) to connect it to the motherboard.

This device needs a connection via USB 3.1 gen1 5Gbps or USB 3.1 Gen2 10Gbps for it to work properly. Remember that USB 3.0 is the same as 3.1 Gen1. The outer shell is constructed of hard plastic, and features an extender cable for complicated connections.

Requirements, compatibility and characteristics

Elgato Cam Link 4K is an evolution of the previous Cam Link compact grabber which allowed recording at lower resolutions. We say capture, because this is really its function, to decode the video signal from a camera with an HDMI to USB port so that it is understandable by our PC and the recording software behind it.

It will be important to take into account the minimum requirements so that Elgato Cam Link 4K can work to the maximum of its possibilities:

HDMI interface for the camera USB 3.x interface (3.0 or higher) for our PC 4th generation Intel Quad Core processor, such as Intel Core i5, or similar (also AMD) Nvidia GTX 960 or AMD RX 470 or better graphics card Windows 10 (64- bits) or MacOS Sierra 10.12 or higher

This being the case, the device has internal firmware which can be updated if we install the 4K Captura Utility program. Let's make it clear that it is not necessary to have a normal operation of Elgato Cam Link 4K, since it is Plug and Play.

It is necessary that before buying or using this grabber, we review the compatibility with our camera, since it is worth being sure that we are going to give it the utility it deserves. The most important thing to ensure full or partial compatibility is that our camera has an HDMI type connector. This can be Micro HDMI, Mini HDMI or HDMI, any of them will ensure at least one video signal to our capture program. It is understood then, that we will need an HDMI cable compatible with both ends, whatever the camera.

And if we want to know if a specific camera model is compatible, what we will have to do is visit the official compatibility list offered by the manufacturer. In this way we can review the resolutions that we can record, the type of camera connections, whether it supports autofocus or whether we can record unlimitedly, for example

Regarding the resolution at which it is capable of recording, we have already commented on it in the presentation table. It supports resolutions of up to 4K @ 30 FPS, so we can take advantage of the maximum power of the new generation reflex cameras, video cameras or sports cameras like GoPro. And the truth is that it will be very useful, since Webcams have been a bit stagnant in terms of video quality and a 4K Webcam could cost around 200 euros. However, it may be enough for us to record at 1080p, with the advantage of being able to do it at 60 FPS, we would say that it is even more recommended for streaming videos. And only the 2K or 2160x1440p option has been left on the road, which could be interesting for reviews or recorded videos that are not live.

Connection and configuration for use

The next section that we can develop in a product such as this Elgato Cam Link 4K grabber, is how to use it, how to connect it, put it into operation. And it is that we have to have a few clear things, because it will be transcendental to have a correct configuration in our camera, especially if it is a reflex type. In our case, we are going to use it with the Canon EOS 70D, which eye, is not fully compatible according to the list offered by the manufacturer.

The procedure will in principle be quite simple, connect a cable from the Mini HDMI port of the camera to Elgato Cam Link 4K and then connect it to the USB of the motherboard or chassis. We can use any of the capture programs, OBS, XSplit or Elgato Game Capture HD itself, which is the one we have chosen. The configuration is practically the same as for OBS, which we have also used.

We say that the configuration of the camera is very important because, it is not that we start recording from the camera itself by pressing the button, it does not work like that. Basically, we are going to see on the PC the same thing that we would see on the screen of our camera put in video mode, including the different options that appear, the reticle, the focus frame, etc. In fact, the grabber will lose the signal as soon as the sensor automatically turns off.

So what we should do, in our case, is disable the option for the sensor to turn off, place it in video mode, delete all the information that appears on the screen and finally disable the autofocus to eliminate the focus frame, if is that the camera had this possibility. This way we will have a clean image so that the program begins to capture what the sensor is seeing. In most cases, disabling autofocus will not be very damaging, since we are supposed to be in a static position in front of the camera in the same position.

Another element to take into account is that we will not be able to record the sound from the camera itself, since the port does not send this signal. This implies that we must use an external microphone or sound capture system in our case, of course. Have an extra battery by your side for the camera, or a DSLR power supply system to connect it to the power without interruption. In our Canon we could, if we had such an accessory.

Something that is also important, will be the own capture mode that the camera has, since depending on the model, it is possible that a black frame is created around the video that is being captured. If this is the case, we will have to restructure the video frame or then apply a crop edit to remove these frames.

Game Capture HD and 4K Capure Utility software

Now we come to the point of view of the PC or console. When everything in the camera is as we want, it is time to open the capture program and create a video scene in a normal and ordinary way as if we had a Webcam. So we will go to that configuration and select the video capture source if we are in OBS or it will appear directly on the screen if we are in Game Capture HD. You should know that in what, for ease of use, Game Capture is simpler, but with OBS we have the possibility of selecting input audio source, which in Game Capture is not possible. Keep that in mind.

In the upper right corner we have the Elgato Cam Link 4K device settings and preferences . Note that, in our case, for Canon EOS 70D we can only record at 1080p @ 30 fps, so ultimately, the quality of the output will be that provided by the camera itself. From the program itself we can select some recording preferences, such as resolution, definition conversion, quality or even color and image profiles. If we talk about OBS, it would be directly going into the general settings, and then touching the specific characteristics of the video capture source.

Another interesting software for configuration support is 4K Capture Utility. With it, we will be able to select in a somewhat more complete way the options of the video output to the PC, resolution, adjustment of the color filter, and the recording preferences. We recommend, whenever possible, select our graphics card as the video encoder, since we will lower the latency a lot, and we will improve the image processing at high bitrates.

Another interesting action is the possibility of updating the firmware of the Elgato Cam Link 4K grabber from the software itself. It is up to you to explore all the options available in the capture programs to get the most out of the capture device and your camera. Remember that the quality and image will ultimately be as good as that which your camera can provide.

Final words and conclusion about Elgato Cam Link 4K

So far our analysis on Elgato Cam Link 4K, a device that gives us the possibility of converting our SLR, mirrorless or sports camera into a Webcam to be able to broadcast at a maximum quality of 4K @ 30 FPS without the need to buy specific cameras.

As for the video quality, it will be as we say the one that the camera can provide us, since this capture system supports from 720 × 480 @ 60 FPS up to 3840 × 2160 @ 30 FPS, passing through a resolution of 1920 × 1080 @ 60 FPS . Perhaps the most important aspect is the very low latency with which the signal arrives, at least at 1080p it is practically in real time, so the firmware works perfectly. We recommend configuring the graphics card itself as an encoder.

We recommended our guide to the best Webcams on the market

Camera compatibility is also wide, and basically you just need a photographic equipment with HDMI connector of any kind and a USB 3.0 or higher port for connection. The system is Plug and Play, and we have not had any configuration problems in OBS or Game Capture HD. We just have to keep in mind the need to configure our camera in terms of focus, on-screen information or that the sensor does not turn off.

Another advantage is having a completely neutral video source, as seen by the sensor in real time, without color changes or intermediate filters. This for a content creator is ideal as it works with raw and unprocessed information. Elgato Cam Link 4K is available for a price of approximately 129.95 euros, giving a great leap in quality compared to the previous version and at a fairly competitive price when we consider that a 4K webcam is worth around 200 euros and, not even remotely do we the capacity that a video camera gives us.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ EXTREMELY COMPACT DESIGN	- DOES NOT DELETE THE INFORMATION THAT APPEARS ON THE CAMERA SCREEN
+ GOOD COMPATIBILITY AND PLUG AND PRODUCE	- THE AUTONOMY OF THE CAMERA IS LIMITING
+ PRACTICALLY LATENESS BETWEEN SOURCE AND DESTINATION
+ ABLE TO CAPTURE IN 4K @ 30 FPS
+ COMPATIBLE WITH MOST EDITION PROGRAMS