The best document cameras are the modern-day equivalent of a device some older lecturers (and their students) may remember: the overhead projector, though they are a more flexible alternative. Most can not only plug directly into a USB socket to display live footage of paper, books, or small objects using the display equipment in your classroom (or conference room) – going a long way to beating PowerPoint fatigue – but most can also capture images or video.
Whether you are presenting for education or commercial purposes, it’s well known that a more active connection with your audience yields better engagement, which is why these cameras are often know as visualizers.
Because the cameras typically connect like webcams, they are recognized by conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet, as well as being useful for live streamers using tools like OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). A live feed of your visuals makes tweaking a presentation on-the-go easier than with presentation software, helping you manage unexpected questions from students or colleagues and avoiding an ill-prepared mess.
If they are high enough resolution, they can also be used as a convenient document scanner potentially a lot more portable than a flatbed scanner. Some are supplied with software which will sequence pages automatically, and the resolution is often good enough for emailing contracts. Archivists will also appreciate the ability to capture uneven documents – handy for running OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on bound books.
When choosing the best system for you, you need to look at where you will be displaying your image. In cases like video conferencing it’s more convenient to use USB, so it appears like a webcam in the software. This is great for software like Zoom which allows for second webcams in video conferences. Some conference and classroom setup are better equipped for connecting using HDMI, which can be plugged straight into a video projector with no logging into computers or admin passwords.
Like any camera, size and resolution play a part. To capture a larger document, the lens typically needs to be higher up, and to get the same detail you’ll need more megapixels. On the flip side, smaller cameras can be more portable, so it’s a decision you’ll need to assess for yourself.
Post time: Mar-17-2022