How to Zoom In on a Camera in OBS

The short answer

OBS Studio has no single zoom slider for cameras. To zoom in, you crop away the edges of your camera source and then scale the rest up to fill the canvas. The canvas is the frame OBS outputs. You can do this by dragging in the preview, by typing values into the Edit Transform window, or by adding a Crop/Pad filter. Some webcams also offer their own zoom control, which you can reach through the source's properties on certain systems. Whichever method you use, the zoom becomes part of the scene, so it carries through to recordings, streams, and the OBS Virtual Camera.

Make sure you are zooming the right thing. Right-clicking the preview and changing Preview Scaling only changes how large the preview looks on your monitor. It does not change what OBS sends out. If the person on the other end of your call should see a tighter shot, change the camera source itself using one of the methods below.

Digital zoom also has a cost. Cropping and enlarging stretches fewer camera pixels over the same frame, so the image gets softer the further you zoom. No specific quality thresholds were supplied for this guide. Judge the result by eye in the preview and on the receiving end.

Before you start

• OBS Studio is open and your camera appears as a Video Capture Device source in the scene you plan to use.
• The camera shows a live image in the OBS preview. That confirms OBS can access the camera. It does not yet confirm the image reaches your call app or how it will look there.
• Other apps that might be holding the camera, such as a call app using the physical webcam directly, are closed. Otherwise OBS may show a black or frozen source.
• The source is selected in the Sources list, so it shows a red outline in the preview.

Method 1: Crop and resize in the preview

This is the quickest way to zoom, and you can see the result as you go.

• 1. Click the camera source in the Sources list so its red bounding outline appears in the preview.
• 2. Hold Alt (Option on macOS) and drag an edge of the source inward. The edge turns into a crop line, and the part of the image outside it disappears. Crop each side you want to remove.
• 3. Release Alt and drag a corner handle outward to enlarge the cropped image until it fills the canvas. Dragging a corner normally keeps the aspect ratio. Avoid stretching from a side handle unless you want the image distorted.
• 4. To center or fit the result, right-click the source, open Transform, and choose Center to Screen or Fit to Screen.
• 5. If you go too far, right-click the source, open Transform, and choose Reset Transform to start over.

Success check: the preview shows your tighter framing with no black bars at the edges, and your face or subject sits where you want it. If black bars appear, the scaled source no longer covers the canvas. Enlarge it slightly or use Fit to Screen.

Method 2: Use Edit Transform for exact values

Dragging is imprecise. To set exact numbers, or to repeat the same zoom later, use the transform dialog.

• 1. Right-click the camera source and choose Transform, then Edit Transform.
• 2. In the Crop fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom), enter how many pixels to remove from each side. To keep the original shape, crop the left and right sides in the same proportion as the top and bottom.
• 3. Check the Bounding Box Type setting. If a bounding box is set, it controls the final size. If not, use the Size fields to scale the cropped image up to your canvas size.
• 4. Adjust Position to place the zoomed area, then close the dialog.

Success check: the preview matches what you set, and reopening Edit Transform shows the same values. That means the zoom is saved with the source in this scene.

Method 3: Add a Crop/Pad filter

A filter keeps the crop separate from the source's position and size. That makes it easy to switch the zoom off and on without losing your settings.

• 1. Right-click the camera source and choose Filters.
• 2. Under Effect Filters, click the plus button and add Crop/Pad.
• 3. Enter crop values for each side and watch the filter preview update.
• 4. Close the Filters window, then enlarge the source in the main preview, or use Transform and Fit to Screen, so the cropped image fills the canvas.
• 5. To compare the zoomed and unzoomed views, toggle the eye icon next to the filter.

Success check: hiding the filter returns the full camera view, and showing it brings back the tighter view after you scale the source.

Method 4: Use the camera's own zoom control, if it has one

Some webcams expose a zoom setting through their driver. On Windows, open the Video Capture Device properties and click Configure Video. A driver window opens, and if the camera supports it, a camera control tab may include Zoom. On Linux, supported controls may appear directly in the source properties. Many webcams have no zoom control at all, and what they do offer varies by model and driver. No specific camera support information was supplied for this guide.

Success check: moving the zoom control changes the image in the OBS preview. If nothing happens, the camera or driver does not support zoom this way. Use one of the crop methods instead.

Keeping the zoomed image sharp

• Capture at a higher resolution: in the camera source properties, set Resolution/FPS Type to Custom and choose a higher resolution your camera lists. Cropping a larger image leaves more detail after the zoom. Higher resolutions can lower the available frame rate on some cameras, so check that motion still looks smooth.
• Change scale filtering: right-click the source and open Scale Filtering to try other methods, such as Bicubic or Lanczos, and compare the sharpness in the preview.
• Get physically closer: if digital zoom looks too soft, moving the camera closer or changing your seating position usually gives a cleaner image than heavy cropping.

Getting the zoom into a video call through the Virtual Camera

OBS sends your edited scene to other apps as a webcam called OBS Virtual Camera. The zoom you set in the scene goes out with it.

• 1. Make sure the scene that holds your zoomed camera is the one OBS outputs. Depending on your OBS version, the Virtual Camera may also let you choose a specific scene or source in its settings, next to the Start Virtual Camera button.
• 2. Click Start Virtual Camera in the Controls area.
• 3. In your call app's video settings, choose OBS Virtual Camera as the camera instead of your physical webcam.
• 4. Look at your self-view in the call app.

Success check: the call app's self-view shows the same zoomed framing as OBS. If it shows the full uncropped camera, the app is probably still using the physical webcam. Select OBS Virtual Camera again. If the self-view looks mirrored, that is usually the call app flipping your own preview. It is not a change to your OBS zoom.

This check confirms the call app receives the zoomed image. It does not tell you how the image looks to other participants. Their view depends on the call's connection and compression. To check that, ask someone on the call or run a test meeting.

If something isn't working

• Black bars after zooming: the scaled source no longer covers the canvas. Enlarge it or use Fit to Screen.
• The source moves instead of cropping: make sure you are holding Alt (Option on macOS) while dragging an edge.
• The zoom shows in OBS but not in the call: confirm the call app is set to OBS Virtual Camera and that the Virtual Camera is outputting the scene you edited.
• The image is too blurry: raise the capture resolution, try another scale filtering option, or reduce the amount of zoom.
• No zoom option in the camera's driver settings: the camera may not support zoom. The crop methods work with any camera that shows an image in OBS.