What is the PlayStation 5 HD camera used for?

Want free Samsung credits? Here's $50 worth to get you started.

Reserve your interest in Samsung's new Galaxy lineup with your email—no purchase required. Enjoy up to $1,250 savings and a chance to win $5K in Samsung credit.

Reserve Now

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Sony’s latest console is out, the PlayStation 5, and like many things released during the pandemic, it’s been in short supply. What has been in stock is most of the PlayStation 5 accessories, with controllers, games, and the new PlayStation 5 HD camera having fairly plentiful stock.

But, do you really need the PlayStation 5 HD camera? I mean, you need the PlayStation 4 camera with an adapter to use any PSVR headset you may have. Does the PlayStation 5 camera do any new tricks that make it a must-have, rather than a might-get?

So, what can you do with the PlayStation 5 HD camera?

Short answer: It’s a fancy $59.99 webcam

See, while the PS4 camera-enabled controller is needed for tracking with the PSVR headset, the PS5 camera is pretty much there so you can stream your face on game streaming sites like Twitch or YouTube. It records in 1080p, from a pair of wide-angle lenses. You can mount it above your TV, or below, and can be tweaked to get you framed nicely.

The coolest thing about the PS5 camera is that it does background removal, so you can replace your boring living room with anything you can dream up. You probably don’t need this though, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to do video conferencing on your PS5 (even if you wanted to).

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Can you gameshare on PlayStation 5?
• You can now use the PlayStation 5 controller when playing on Steam
• Is Sony working on a wireless PSVR headset?
• Sony sold a whopping 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles in 2020

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.