diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 54e4487..91d6cbb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ On the new component panel, copy and paste the following attribute template into
   }
 }
 ```
+
+Additionally, make sure to add your configured data manager service to the `depends_on` array of your `video-store` component.
+
 > For more information, see [Configure a Machine](https://docs.viam.com/manage/configuration/).
 
 ### Attributes
@@ -71,9 +74,9 @@ On the new component panel, copy and paste the following attribute template into
 |                 | `bitrate`         | integer | optional  | Throughput of encoder in bits per second. Higher for better quality video, and lower for better storage efficiency. |
 |                 | `preset`          | string  | optional  | Name of codec video preset to use. See [here](https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/H.264#a2.Chooseapresetandtune) for preset options.                                                                |
 | `cam_props`     |                   | object  | required  |                                                                                                   |
-|                 | `width`           | integer | required  | Width of the source camera frames in pixels.                                                      |
-|                 | `height`          | integer | required  | Height of the source camera frames in pixels.                                                     |
-|                 | `framerate`       | integer | required  | Number of frames per second provided by the source camera.                                        |
+|                 | `width`           | integer | optional  | Width of the source camera frames in pixels. If unspecified, will try to autodetect by fetching a frame from the source camera.                                                    |
+|                 | `height`          | integer | optional  | Height of the source camera frames in pixels. If unspecified, will try to autodetect by fetching a frame from the source camera.                                                     |
+|                 | `framerate`       | integer | optional  | Number of frames per second provided by the source camera. Default is 20.                                                                            |
 
 ### Example Configuration
 
diff --git a/cam/cam.go b/cam/cam.go
index a530e8f..a0c0f70 100644
--- a/cam/cam.go
+++ b/cam/cam.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ var Model = resource.ModelNamespace("viam").WithFamily("video").WithModel("stora
 
 const (
 	// Default values for the video storage camera component.
+	defaultFramerate      = 20 // frames per second
 	defaultSegmentSeconds = 30 // seconds
 	defaultStorageSize    = 10 // GB
 	defaultVideoCodec     = codecH264
@@ -36,11 +37,12 @@ const (
 	defaultStoragePath    = ".viam/video-storage"
 	defaultLogLevel       = "error"
 
-	maxGRPCSize     = 1024 * 1024 * 32 // bytes
-	deleterInterval = 10               // minutes
-	retryInterval   = 1                // seconds
-	asyncTimeout    = 60               // seconds
-	tempPath        = "/tmp"
+	maxGRPCSize           = 1024 * 1024 * 32 // bytes
+	deleterInterval       = 10               // minutes
+	retryInterval         = 1                // seconds
+	asyncTimeout          = 60               // seconds
+	numFetchFrameAttempts = 3                // iterations
+	tempPath              = "/tmp"
 )
 
 type videostore struct {
@@ -107,10 +109,6 @@ func (cfg *Config) Validate(path string) ([]string, error) {
 	if cfg.Sync == "" {
 		return nil, utils.NewConfigValidationFieldRequiredError(path, "sync")
 	}
-	// TODO(seanp): Remove once camera properties are returned from camera component.
-	if cfg.Properties == (cameraProperties{}) {
-		return nil, utils.NewConfigValidationFieldRequiredError(path, "cam_props")
-	}
 
 	return []string{cfg.Camera}, nil
 }
@@ -125,7 +123,7 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func newvideostore(
-	_ context.Context,
+	ctx context.Context,
 	deps resource.Dependencies,
 	conf resource.Config,
 	logger logging.Logger,
@@ -166,6 +164,31 @@ func newvideostore(
 	if newConf.Video.Format != "" {
 		format = newConf.Video.Format
 	}
+
+	if newConf.Properties.Width == 0 && newConf.Properties.Height == 0 {
+		vs.logger.Info("received unspecified frame width and height, fetching frame to get dimensions")
+		for range make([]struct{}, numFetchFrameAttempts) {
+			frame, err := camera.DecodeImageFromCamera(ctx, rutils.MimeTypeJPEG, nil, vs.cam)
+			if err != nil {
+				vs.logger.Warn("failed to get and decode frame from camera, retrying. Error: ", err)
+				time.Sleep(retryInterval * time.Second)
+				continue
+			}
+			bounds := frame.Bounds()
+			newConf.Properties.Width = bounds.Dx()
+			newConf.Properties.Height = bounds.Dy()
+			vs.logger.Infof("received frame width and height: %d, %d", newConf.Properties.Width, newConf.Properties.Height)
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if newConf.Properties.Width == 0 && newConf.Properties.Height == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get source camera width and height after %d attempts", numFetchFrameAttempts)
+	}
+
+	if newConf.Properties.Framerate == 0 {
+		newConf.Properties.Framerate = defaultFramerate
+	}
+
 	vs.enc, err = newEncoder(
 		logger,
 		codec,
diff --git a/tests/config_test.go b/tests/config_test.go
index d079e80..faca75b 100644
--- a/tests/config_test.go
+++ b/tests/config_test.go
@@ -483,16 +483,14 @@ func TestModuleConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		test.That(t, err.Error(), test.ShouldContainSubstring, "size_gb")
 	})
 
-	t.Run("Fails Configuration No CamProps", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("No CamProps succeeds with defaults", func(t *testing.T) {
 		timeoutCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Minute)
 		defer cancel()
 		r, err := setupViamServer(timeoutCtx, config5)
 		test.That(t, err, test.ShouldBeNil)
 		defer r.Close(timeoutCtx)
-		cam, err := camera.FromRobot(r, videoStoreComponentName)
-		test.That(t, err, test.ShouldNotBeNil)
-		test.That(t, cam, test.ShouldBeNil)
-		test.That(t, err.Error(), test.ShouldContainSubstring, "cam_props")
+		_, err = camera.FromRobot(r, videoStoreComponentName)
+		test.That(t, err, test.ShouldBeNil)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("Fails Configuration No DataManager", func(t *testing.T) {