Starting from Windows Vista, Microsoft removed the originally built-in camera program from system tools. That is to say, you would never see Windows XP's classic, convenient, and practical camera icon in My Computer/Windows Explorer again. Instead, you had to install some third-party applications to call our camera device that had been driven (such as all kinds of communication tools that support video chat).

WebcamMax is a powerful and interesting special effects adding tool for web cameras. It can add video, scene, image, Flash and a variety of colorful fantastic effects for a webcam, which can be played through all kinds of instant messaging software in real time. Even if your computer does not equip with a camera, you can also use the virtual camera of WebcamMax for video chat.

AMCAP (AKA: USB 2.0 Camera) is a classic but extremely practical universal camera previewing and video/audio recording tiny app (less than 50 kb) developed by Microsoft in 1997. It supports both USB and laptop built-in/integrated cameras.