In our tests, the 4K S worked flawlessly right out of the box. Marketed primarily for 4K/60 fps game capture, it also handles a wide range of other tasks effortlessly — from using a DSLR as a webcam to recording presentations or desktop tutorials. The image quality is impressive, and the stream can be easily integrated into a multi-camera setup via OBS or similar software.

While many cheaper cards support 4K passthrough but record only in Full HD, the 4K S can actually record in 4K at 60 fps — justifying its higher price tag. The even pricier 4K X model offers HDMI 2.1 instead of 2.0, enabling even higher refresh rates (up to 4K/144 Hz).

The 4K S is compact and very light weight, built into a black plastic shell. Ports include HDMI-in, HDMI-out, USB-C (for the recording PC), and a 3.5 mm audio-in jack for adding a separate sound source.

You get the capture card itself, a high-quality HDMI 2.0 cable, and a USB-C-to-C cable — so you’re ready to go immediately.

What’s missing, though, is a proper manual. The box only includes quick setup icons and a download link (no QR code). Luckily, setup is intuitive.

The software isn’t essential — the 4K S works perfectly fine with OBS or other recording tools.

On first launch, Elgato Studio offers a firmware update, which is useful, but recording options are limited, you can’t change any quality settings. Bitrates vary between 38–49 Mb/s in our 4K tests, with frame rates hovering around 55–56 fps. A six-minute 4K file took up roughly 1.18 GB.

We tested the 4K S in several real-world situations:

1. Using a DSLR as a webcam: We connected our old DSLR Canon EOS 550D to the 4K S via HDMI to use it as a webcam. 
2. PC gaming capture: We connected an XMG Pro 16 gaming laptop to the 4K S and recorded gameplay from Cyberpunk 2077 in 4K. A second laptop was connected to the capture card via USB-C, responsible for recording in the Elgato app or OBS. We also looked at the latency.

While the camera itself caused some overlay issues (no clean HDMI output, Magic Lantern helps) the capture card worked flawlessly.

Game capture worked flawlessly as well, whether we recorded through Elgato Studio or OBS. In our test with Cyberpunk 2077 running in 4K, we didn’t notice any delay or frame drops when passing the signal through to an external display — gameplay felt completely smooth and responsive.

There was a slight delay in the stream preview on the recording PC, with the captured feed lagging a few frames behind the live gameplay. However, this is perfectly normal for most capture setups and doesn’t affect the quality or accuracy of the recorded footage.

The video below shows several captured 4K gameplay scenes from Cyberpunk 2077. After editing, the footage was converted to H.264, shrinking the file size from around 2 GB to just 185 MB — so the original recording actually looks even sharper and cleaner than what you see here.

The Elgato 4K S is a straightforward, reliable, and flexible capture card that delivers smooth 4K recording without burdening your main PC.

Transparency

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

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A C64 marked my entry into the world of PCs. I spent my student internship in the repair department of a computer shop and at the end of the day I was allowed to assemble my own 486 PC from “workshop remnants”. As a result of this, I later studied computer science at the Humboldt University in Berlin, with psychology also being added to my studies. After my first job as a research assistant at the university, I went to London for a year and worked for Sega in computer game translation quality assurance. This included working on games such as Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Company of Heroes. I have been writing for Notebookcheck since 2017.