We love monitor light bars with passion. They take up zero desk space, produce no screen glare, and give you light exactly where you need it. We talk about more light bar benefits here.
There is one disadvantage though. They sit at the center of your monitor, usually where a webcam would go. You might see this as a problem if you rely on a webcam to video conference.
In this article, we’re going to talk about different ways you can mount your webcam in conjunction with your monitor light bar.
Key Takeaways
Yes, you can use your webcam with a monitor light bar.
Methods include placing your webcam on top of the light bar, to the side, using a dedicated webcam stand, using BenQ’s webcam accessory, and more.
Using A Webcam With A Monitor Light Bar
There are a bunch of ways you can make a monitor light bar work with a webcam. Here are 5 ways you should consider if you use your webcam often.
Simply Stack Your Webcam
Just because we have a light bar on our monitor doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try stacking them. This worked just fine for my BenQ IdeaCam on top of my BenQ ScreenBar Halo.
Review of BenQ IdeaCam
Review of BenQ ScreenBar Halo
Users have had success with this method and have not needed to buy any accessories at all! Check out this Reddit thread.
It might not be the most robust solution, but unless you have a habit of bumping into your monitor, it will work just fine.
If your monitor light bar has controls on the light bar itself, instability could be an issue for you. Whenever you tap the controls, your monitor light bar moves a tiny bit. A super unstable webcam stack would suffer in that situation.
I would consider this method if your webcam has a weighted monitor clamp. The weight will keep in place relatively well.
Consider a Light Bar Webcam Adapter
BenQ released a webcam adapter specifically for their Screenbar Halo. It uses a magnetic plate that sticks onto the flat top surface of your light bar clamp.
This webcam mount is adjustable and can be moved back and forth to fit your needs. It's compatible with different types of webcams and comes with a magnetic adapter designed for ScreenBar Halo usage.
Once that’s installed, the paired magnetic tower serves as a webcam mount. The magnetic connection is nice because you can dial in the perfect webcam position.
I noticed that most monitor light bars also have a flat top surface so this could work for your light bar as well! The only challenge is that you need a right-angle adapter for the USB power port.
The right-angle connection ensures the magnetic webcam mount does not interfere with the power cable connection. Here’s an example of a right-angle USB-C adapter:
This low-profile USB C right-angle adapter is perfect for tight spaces. It has a 40Gbps data transfer rate, 100W SuperSpeed charging, and supports two 4K displays or one 8K display. It's an all-in-one solution for your USB Type-C devices.
Use A Threaded Webcam Post
Many webcams these days come with a threaded tripod attachment underneath. Check underneath your webcam to see if you have one!
If your camera has this threaded insert, you can use a dedicated webcam stand like one of the items below.
This one has a stand-alone mount that can sit anywhere on your desk.
This InnoGear webcam stand has a compact, weighted all-metal base and adjustable angle and height for better live streaming. It's compatible with standard 1/4” screw-hole webcams and other devices with 1/4” screw mounting points.
- Can be placed anywhere on desk
- Large Height Range
This one has a table clamp so you can attach it to your desk or desk shelf.
This multifunctional desktop stand has a 1/4" ball head and a ring light adapter, making it compatible with ring lights, DSLR cameras, and webcams. It's height adjustable and designed with 3-section poles, with an adjustable angle for 360° panoramic rotation. It is suitable for tables with a thickness of up to 2 inches.
If you have any camera accessories, you might already have something that could work here to hold your webcam. These mounting methods will be a bit more robust than the others.
Place Webcam Next To Light Bar
If you don’t mind an off-center webcam, you can just place your webcam right next to your light bar.
This actually works really well if you have a curved ultrawide monitor. You get enough space to add a webcam to the side and it is closer to facing you with your monitor’s curve.
This is also a good solution for those with dual monitor setups. We talk about the different light bar configurations for dual monitors here.
If both of your monitors are facing you, you can have one monitor with a light bar and another monitor with a webcam.
This method works even better if your webcam has the ability to swivel. That way if it is off-center, you simply rotate the camera to focus back on you.
Use Fancy Light Bar With Integrated Webcam
Did you know there are actually light bars out there with integrated webcams? They took the placement pain point and just created a whole new product entirely!
Check out this webcam/light bar combo on Amazon!
This monitor light bar has a 1080p webcam and mounts directly onto your computer screen. This saves space and removes the classic webcam and light bar mounting issues. The light has adjustable brightness and color temperature. It's designed to reduce screen glare and focus lighting onto your desk only.
I would not expect the best camera quality on a combo device like this, which is why this option is at the bottom of the list.
Before you go, check out our article on the best eye-level webcams for natural-looking video calls!
