Document Camera Known Specs Comparisons

Certain possible usage cases (thought experiments)

I will refer to these by number in my discussions below.

Zoom in on figure near the bottom of a 8.5x11 rigid document (like an ICMC proceedings). This requires the ability for the camera lens to be at least 10-11 inches away (horizontally) from the upper edge of the document area (i.e. so that the book/document doesn't run into the camera base/boom). This also requires easily usable zoom/focus features.
Note: for cameras that don't satisfy the requirement, it may be possible to contstruct a camerastand that would allow the document to slide below the camera's base to allow viewing of the bottom of tall documents.
Temporarily view 3D objects too large to fit in document area (i.e. use as a normal camera). This requires the ability to rotate the camera's orientation away from vertical. In some cases, camera stability may be required, so having to handhold the camera could be a drawback.
Use the camera in a dark room. This would be necessary if the video projector is not bright enough. This makes the ability to have a local light source a plus.
If the camera doesn't have the ability built-in, a hack may be possible.
The report I got off the net mentions the placement of the camera controls (zoom/focus/etc) as an important feature in ease-of-use. Some cameras place the controls on the camera rather than on the base, which is a drawback (nearly as bad as having to focus/zoom by grabbing the lens and twisting it).

The Cameras

ELMO DT-50 (at bottom of the page)
- Cost: about $750
- Color
- Detachable Camera
- 410,000 pixel CCD -> 450 lines (good)
- Composite Output
- Built-In Mic.
- Auto Iris w/ Manual Override
- My thoughts:
  - Case 1: Looking at the picture makes me think that this camera may have trouble.
  - Case 2: the camera is detachable, but this means handholding the camera.
  - Case 3: Must be hacked up.
  - Case 4: Everything looks manual (looks like a twist-the-lens kind of camera)
  - Among the low-cost cameras, this one doesn't look as versatile as the VIZCAM or the FlexCam
ELMO DT-100AF
- Cost: about $1500
- Resolution Unknown
- Color
- 10x auto-focus power zoom
- IR remote control
- Two built-in lenses (?)
- built-in microphone
- RS232C (for what?)
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: This one actually looks worse than the DT-50, unless I'm misinterpreting the picture scale, if I am, than this probably is pretty good.
  - Case 2: The camera can swivel up to point at the face, so it may work.
  - Case 3: Must be hacked up.
  - Case 4: Has a hand-held IR remote for zoom, etc (focus?), which is probably pretty good.
  - Other than the ability to point at the face, this looks less versatile than the DT-50, although the remote is a good thing.
ELMO EV-274
- Cost: $1900-$2000
- 270,000 pixel CCD -> 320 lines (pretty bad)
- Color
- 4x manual zoom
- composite output
- no mic
- no video switch
- no remote
- folds up: transportable
- optional transparency light
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: Hard to tell from the picture, might have problems
  - Case 2: Can't tell if camera can swivel
  - Case 3: All EV series have lights
  - Case 4: Manual Everything Apparently (twist-the-lens?)
  - This seems worse than the DT-100, but it costs more.
ELMO EV-368
- Cost: around $2900
- 360,000 pixel CCD -> 400 lines (mid range)
- Color
- SVideo, Composite
- 8x Power Zoom
- Power Focus
- Mic input
- 3-input video switch
- optional lights (LU-100)
- transparency light
- no remote
- auto iris, white balance, genlock
- lens tilts to horizontal
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: If this is the one we used in Mus252, it should handle this case no problem.
  - Case 2: lens tilts to horiz. remains on boom (stable)
  - Case 3: All EV series have lights (optional in EV-368)
  - Case 4: Controls on front of base (good)
  - This is probably the one we used in Mus252, I like this one.
ELMO EV-400AF
- Cost: $3500-$4000
- 410,000 pixel CCD -> 450 lines (high res)
- Color
- SVideo, Composite
- 8x Power Zoom
- Auto Focus
- Mic input
- 3-input video switch
- top lights included
- transparency light
- optional remote
- auto iris, white balance, genlock
- lens tilts to horizontal
- RS232C (for what?)
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: no problem.
  - Case 2: lens tilts to horiz. remains on boom (stable)
  - Case 3: All EV series have lights
  - Case 4: Controls on front of base (good)
  - This one is probably a bit of overkill
ELMO EV-500AF
- Cost: $4000-$4500
- 410,000 pixel CCD -> 450 lines (high res)
- Color
- SVideo, Composite, RGB
- 10x Power Zoom
- Auto Focus
- Mic input
- 3-input video switch
- top lights included
- transparency light
- optional remote
- auto iris, white balance, genlock
- lens tilts to horizontal
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: no problem.
  - Case 2: lens tilts to horiz. remains on boom (stable)
  - Case 3: All EV series have lights
  - Case 4: Controls on front of base (good)
  - a little more zoom than the EV-400, and RGB
  - Overkill
ELMO EV-700AF
- Cost: $13000-$15000
- 410,000x3 pixel CCD -> 650 lines (high res)
- Color
- SVideo, Composite, RGB
- 12x Power Zoom
- Auto Focus
- Mic input
- 3-input video switch
- RS232C (for what?)
- top lights included
- transparency light
- optional remote
- auto iris, white balance, genlock
- lens tilts to horizontal
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: no problem.
  - Case 2: lens tilts to horiz. remains on boom (stable)
  - Case 3: All EV series have lights
  - Case 4: Controls on front of base (good)
  - Way Overkill
Canon VIZCAM 1000
- Cost: about $1000
- 410,000 pixel CCD -> 450 lines (hi res)
- S-video, composite
- color
- transportable, low footprint
- manual override of automatic functions (focus?)
- mic input
- My thoughts
  - zoom is manual (move the camera down), though can get as close as 5/16-inch
  - Case 1: I haven't done the trig from the picture yet. Perry is happy with the camera, so I'd expect that this case isn't too difficult to deal with.
  - Case 2: no problem: swivels all over the place
  - Case 3: must be hacked
  - Case 4: A twist-the-lens system. Zoom is grab-the-camera-and-pull
  - Looks like the best low-cost camera
Canon RE-350
- Cost: $2500-$3000
- 410,000 pixel CCD -> 450 lines (hi res)
- 12x power zoom
- auto focus follows zoom
- S-Video, Composite, RGB output
- RS232C controllable
- genlock
- builtin transparency light
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: no problem. Documents can slide all the way up, even very large documents.
  - Case 2: probably swivels, but I have no data, and hard to tell from pix)
  - Case 3: has lights (builtin?)
  - Case 4: front panel controls (good)
  - better than the EV-368 for similar price.
Canon RE-650 MkII
- Cost: $3000-$3500
- 410,000 pixel CCD -> 450 lines (hi res)
- 12x power zoom
- auto focus follows zoom
- S-Video, Composite, RGB output
- RS232C controllable
- genlock
- builtin transparency light
- foldable
- zoom position memory
- anti flicker
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: no problem. Not as good as RE-350, though
  - Case 2: probably swivels
  - Case 3: has lights (builtin?)
  - Case 4: front panel controls (good)
  - Can't tell much difference from RE-350 in features.
VideoLabs FlexCam Document Pro , more specs
- Cost: about $600 (standard non-document FlexCams go down to below $400, but may be awkward for document work)
- Gooseneck
- Color
- Resolution: 350 lines (lower than all but low-end ELMOs).
- zoom: down to 1/4inch (effectively about 50:1)
- low light
- composite out
- My thoughts
  - Case 1: probably can get down to bottom of 8.5x11 books (given 18-inch neck), zoom must be accomplished by manually moving the camera
  - Case 2: Gooseneck (very good, and stable too)
  - Case 3: must be hacked
  - Case 4: All manual (grab-the-camera-and-pull)
  - definately cheap, but not many features, most everything is manual or must be hacked. Don't know if focus is auto, fixed, or twist-the-lens

Tim's Distillation

If you want cheap, it is either the VIZCAM or the FlexCam (I prefer the VIZCAM, and Perry seems to like his).

If you can handle more cost, than it is either the EV-368 (which I've used and like), or the RE-350, which seems to have better features for a similar cost (except for video switching ability).

Tim Stilson, stilti@ccrma, 1/17/97