Personal Videoconferencing – How To Choose The Best Camera For Your Needs
sYou have got your computer; you have got your headphones and your speakers. You found the perfect microphone and you have got your IP connection. Now all you need to videoconference is a camera. What kind of camera should you buy? The kind of camera will depend on the computer system you use and the kind of videoconferencing you want to achieve. First of all, your computer must be multimedia compatible.
Next, you will need to understand that cameras for videoconferencing come in a very wide range of price-performance-feature sets made to accommodate almost any need. There are high-end camera systems (designed for group videoconferencing systems) that sell for $30,000 and more and there are desktop cameras for as little as $30. For personal videoconferencing the focus of this article will be on the options available in desktop cameras and the most common desktop camera is the digital.
Digital cameras send a digital signal back, sometimes already compressed, to the videoconferencing host (usually your IP service) in a number of ways. They can connect to the PC through a small, inexpensive, readily available connector, they can be powered directly from the PC, eliminating the need for an external power pack, they can support software controlled image processing and their cost becomes more and more reasonable.
Nowadays a good Webcam can be purchased for well under a hundred dollars.
Digital cameras are available from numerous vendors like IBM, Logitech, Creative Technology; Philips and they often refer to a digital camera as a PC camera. You can use almost any PC with a USB port, a bi-directional sound card, and speakers for videoconferencing. (PC camera processor requirements usually hover around a 266MHz Pentium processor.) PC cameras usually come with drivers for Windows 2000, Windows Me, and Windows 98 and Windows XP.
If you are using price as a basis for decision when it comes to buying your camera keep this is mind, if it has a CMOS image sensor and a small collection of software that may be all you need and research shows almost every PC camera manufactured today holds Microsoft NetMeeting: Microsoft free conferencing product, which you can also download from Microsoft Web site. Cameras come bundled with a variety of creative applications for video email, snapshots, movie editing, and customized calendars (among other things), whether you need all this or not is your choice.
You can find cameras with a built-in microphone, which gives you more space at your workstation. There are PC cameras that can work serve as videoconferencing cameras then be removed to work as basic digital cameras for snapshot photography. A point in going for the more high-end camera, something in the $100-and-up bracket is the quality of glass lens. Higher-priced cameras usually offer multi-element glass lenses that provide a crisper image than the simpler lenses of a lower priced camera. Decide on how important your image is during personal videoconferencing. If the quality of the image is paramount to you then a higher-end camera is a must.
Consider the bundling options now. Would you like to send a copy of your videoconference to everyone involved? Then select a camera enabled for video mail. This is also a way to preserve a videoconference for both future reference and to present almost as a video presentation to those who could not be present. It is even more effective if your camera is equipped for movie editing. Then you can cut the spam and only preserve a quality videoconference presentation to be emailed to others or shown on a screen.
Your final decision will be if this camera remains hooked up to the computer and used only as a PC camera? Will your videoconferencing be more personal than professional? If so, then look for a Webcam. A Webcam is a usually inexpensive video camera, attached directly to the computer, which takes digital photographs and transmits them over the Internet or another network. Though not known to have the best image transmission amongst the choice of cameras, the technology increases every day, so when it comes to purchasing the camera for your personal videoconferencing check out the good old standby, the Webcam. Connect with the world.
About the Author
For several years now, Jason has been reviewing hundreds of online products and services. Many consider his reviews to be very insightful and reliable. Visit his website 1VideoConference.com
Gone Goodbye – A short film
|
|
Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker $73.95 … |
|
|
Cuisinart CSB-76 SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender The versatile stick design of the Cuisinart Smart stick Hand Blender lets users blend ingredients right in pots, pitchers, bowls, or clear plastic beaker that’s included. A powerful 200-watt motor operates with an easy one-touch control. Blends drinks, purees soup, mixes pancake and crepe batters in seconds! Both stainless steel blending shaft and beaker are dishwasher-safe…. |
|
|
Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System … |
|
|
Awesome, I Shot That $0.99 Madison Square Garden NYC – The Beastie Boys hand out 50 cameras to audience members at their sold-out performance. These 50 different perspectives shot from the point-of-view of the audience take the viewer deep inside the world of a live Beastie Boys show capturing the experience of a live musical performance like no other film.2006 Sundance Film Festival Smash Hit!System Requirements:Running Ti… |
|
|
Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Vol. 1 $41.94 What’s up, Doc? Well, how about a four-disc boxed set packed with 56 of the funniest cartoons in Warner Bros. history? Get ready to laugh yourself silly with salutes to Bugs Bunny (“Baseball Bugs,” “Long-Haired Hare,” “Wabbit Twouble,” “The Rabbit of Seville,” and more); Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (“Duck Amuck,” “Dough for the Do-Do,” “Scaredy Cat,” “Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century,” and more);… |
|
|
Moving Pictures $2.93 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
|
|
The Best of Remember WENN [ Season One: On the Air / Sight Unseen / Hilary Booth, Registered Nurse ] … |
|
|
Live Hot Potatoes [VHS] $3.66 Featuring ALL your favorite songs LIVE! -Hot Potato – The Monkey Dance – Fruit Salad – Where’s Jeff? – Rock-A-Bye Your Bear – Can You (Point Your Fingers And Do The Twist?) – Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car – Hoop Dee Doo – Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles! – Play Your Guitar with Murray – Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep On His Pirate Ship (Quack Quack) – D.O.R.O.T.H.Y. (My Favorite Dinosaur… |
|
|
The Best of Candid Camera Vol. 2 [VHS] $59.98 … |
|
|
Mr Beams MB360 Wireless LED Spotlight with Motion Sensor and Photocell – Weatherproof – Battery Operated – 140 Lumens $16.99 Mr. Beams Intelligent LED Battery-Operated Lights MB360 Spotlightat a Glance: Battery-powered, wireless LED spotlight |