WARNING Webcam Utility DOES NOT WORK with Mac M1 running Big Sur versions past 11.0

[reeceguida]

I want to save others the trouble: Webcam Utility will ONLY work for Mac M1 (AKA the 2020 models that don't have the Intel Chips) running Big Sur 11.0. Stop searching for a fix because there isn't one.

Canon: is adding support for this on your Webcam Utility roadmap? Can you PLEASE post a fix to your software? My only option is to revert back to Big Sur 11.0, and I can't do that because I don't have a backup.

I was so excited to use this beautiful camera for work/streaming and now I feel like I just put money in a paper shredder. I will glady return it for another if there's no promise of a fix.

[tokris]

Three of us! I bought Cascable Pro Webcam as well; they have turned a profit from the three of us.

[Waddizzle]

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@EdMartin wrote:

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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Your understanding of software development on the Apple platform seems incomplete and inaccurate.  

MS Windows has an "open architecture" while the Apple platform does not.  Software developers for the Apple platform must pay a licensing fee just to use the software development tools.  Apple controls the entire software development process, so don't be so quick to blame third parties.  

Canon is hardly alone when it comes to their software breaking following an Apple update.  Every company goes through this same cycle with Apple over and over, and over and over again.  Every major OS update from Apple usually means paying Apple new licensing fees to for the new software libraries to update your software.  

This business practice was behind the "Big Blue" lawsuit against IBM some 50 years ago.  Google it.  IBM lost, and rightfully so.

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I'm sorry to veer off the helpful content of this thread by going in the "whose fault is this?" direction, but @Waddizzle, your clear bias against Apple is just too much.  Enough so that I registered for an account so I could reply. 

Fine... you don't like closed systems.  Enjoy Windows, Linux and Android.  That's great!  But just because Apple prefers a closed system doesn't make it wrong. It's just not your preference.  Many people (deveopers & consumers) like Apple. You essentially cutting & pasting the same anti-closed-system rant is counter productive to the question(s) and helpful answers. We heard you the first time.

Before you go off on me with "Your understanding of software development on the Apple platform seems incomplete and inaccurate", I've spent the last 30+ years developing on many platforms through engineering, production and ultimately management and ownership of development studios.  Windows, Mac, iOS, Android... you name it. [Oh, and I even worked for IBM many years ago.]

As a developer, I can say that this is NOT Apple's fault.  This is Canon.  As pointed out by several people, Apple developers have early access to new OS versions months before public release.  In fact, the new macOS, Monterey, is available to developers right now... and it won't be released in final form until this fall. 

All Canon has to do is pay their annual developer fee (as low as $99... but to Canon the enterprise cost would be a whopping $299) and they have access to the code, libraries and support resources.  Canon has made the decsion to delay on this.  Big Sur has been out publically since last fall (and to developers since last spring).  Dev kits for M1 Macs have been around since last summer. And M1 Mac hardware has been publically released since late fall/early winter.

I'm sure that Canon looks at their install-base of users and make decisions based on priority.  But I still find it ridiculous that they continue to push off on M1 Mac and Big Sur support at this point.  We're talking about hardware that has been public for more than 6 months and an OS that has been available to them for a year.  Good God... Adobe has Photoshop and Creative Cloud running on M1's and Microsoft has all of Office running on M1's.  Canon can't get a simle camera pass-through app to work?  Yikes.

P.S. Huge thanks to @sogrady for mentioning Cascable Pro Webcam. I downloaded it on my M1 MacBook Air and it recognized my R6 immediately.  Now THAT is a great example of a productive reply to a question! [And betwwen the 2 of us, our purchases have pretty much paid Cascable's Apple Developer fee for the year!]

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I am a software developer, too.  I make no pretense of my dislike for Apple's business practices.  Their current business practices were once banned under federal law as a result of the "Big Blue" lawsuit decades.ago.  

Their licensing arrangement is not quite as simple as you make it out to be.  Every update requires a new license, and every product they sell requires a separate license.

[bbjacob]

ANY FIXES CANON TEAM?!!!

Bought the Camera just for webcam and now it does not work!!!??

What is going on?! When will this be fixed?!

[tokris]

I think we have to wait a few more years before they bother looking after their customers...

[ecachucho]

Orgs do not have to pay for separate licensing for each element. An Apple developer account or enterprise is all that is needed, licensing for unlimited apps, extensions etc are done through the developer portal even on a normal developer account (ie not taking account of enterprise accounts)

It's absurd that anti-apple users use this as an excuse for Canon basically taking 3-5years minimum to support Mac devices (I'd say this even goes for Windows devices, as even when I had those, Canon software was always >insert poop emoji<.

Cascable is a good case in point they have been able to deliver a service many multiples better than what Canon could ever support, and they have not done so with boatloads of money or corporate clout.

If Canon wanted to do so they could have, I'm sure Apple would jump on the opportunity to show how well their devices work with the camera hardware. There clearly is just no imperative from Canon, and that lies SOLELY on them as a company.

[nussi]

Hey Guys

Since i Switched from Windows HP Device to MAC M1 Silicon with Big Sur 11.4 i cannot use my 6D with the ESO Webcam Utility anymore.

Can i subscribe somehow to get notified once this is availlable?

Thanks,

Tim

[Waddizzle]

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@nussi wrote:

Hey Guys

Since i Switched from Windows HP Device to MAC M1 Silicon with Big Sur 11.4 i cannot use my 6D with the ESO Webcam Utility anymore.

Can i subscribe somehow to get notified once this is availlable?

Thanks,

Tim

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I say keep checking back.  Canon, and other manufacturers; stay up-to-date with MS Windows, but not with Apple for some reason.  Despite previous rants, the issue of trying to keep up with Apple is not unique to Canaon.

[Waddizzle]

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@ecachucho wrote:

Orgs do not have to pay for separate licensing for each element. An Apple developer account or enterprise is all that is needed, licensing for unlimited apps, extensions etc are done through the developer portal even on a normal developer account (ie not taking account of enterprise accounts)

It's absurd that anti-apple users use this as an excuse for Canon basically taking 3-5years minimum to support Mac devices (I'd say this even goes for Windows devices, as even when I had those, Canon software was always >insert poop emoji<.

Cascable is a good case in point they have been able to deliver a service many multiples better than what Canon could ever support, and they have not done so with boatloads of money or corporate clout.

If Canon wanted to do so they could have, I'm sure Apple would jump on the opportunity to show how well their devices work with the camera hardware. There clearly is just no imperative from Canon, and that lies SOLELY on them as a company.

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Development is just one facet of it.  Distribution is done through Apple, which is another fee.  Canon is not unique to this problem.  All camera manufacturers suffer this same issue with Apple.  It is not in Apple's best self interests for it to work.

The biggest selling point on a new iPhone is what?  The camera.  Everything else has pretty much remained the same in an iPHone for years.  Apple would much rather you buy a camera from them, than a camera from another manufacturer to use with their iPhones and iPads.  This also holds true for the Mac personal computers

[robtain]

My friend, this is way off topic and certainly not relevant in answering the original question. Certainly it may be more difficult for small developers to keep multiple platforms up to date, but Canon is a huge corporation and many creative people use Macs. To not update drivers and software in a timely manner is a disservice to customers.

[Waddizzle]

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@robtain wrote:
My friend, this is way off topic and certainly not relevant in answering the original question. Certainly it may be more difficult for small developers to keep multiple platforms up to date, but Canon is a huge corporation and many creative people use Macs. To not update drivers and software in a timely manner is a disservice to customers.

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Look around. Every other camera manufacturer is in the same boat.  An Apple update not only broke their software, but now you need to develop for an entirely new hardware platform.  Now your development team needs to go to Apple school to get trained and certified on the new platform.

Breaking the existing codebase is a major no-no.  But, Apple does it routinely.