I am not with a church. I've had a side gig filming events since 2010. My day job is in IT for local government and in 2020 they leaned heavily on my video knowledge so we could stream meetings and events that the public would normally attend. I started using PTZ cameras for events shortly after the original ATEM mini was released. They are just such a great fit for the type of work I do. Even when just recording and not streaming. It's amazing what you can accomplish with just 2 PTZs. That's all I use most of the time but I have used up to 4 a couple times but it's really overkill. I've found most of the time if I put 1 in the back of the room and 1 at the front, mostly for audience shots it's plenty. A lot of the time I'll put up an extra cam for a static wide shot of the stage or room and I'll cut to that when moving the back PTZ to a different angle. Most positions are pre-set so it's rare I'm moving a camera in the live shot. I really wish BMD would release a mini ISO version with NDI or SRT. As it stands I end up running 2 network cables for my PTZs. One for power and control and one that converts HDMI to ethernet. Personally I'll take ethernet over SDI, it's lighter and easier to manage for a portable rig.
We often don’t have the volunteers needed to run all the tech, so I try to automate as much as possible. Our presentation software can send midi signals that let us do things like control obs, so we only need one person doing presentation and livestream simultaneously. Do you know if any of these are programmable so that I could send commands (e.g. ptz to a specific location on the signal)?
I don't. I know that the PTZ optics controller shown in this video allows you to create certain scenes or looks that you can pre program. So it will auto-pan tilt and zoom to a preset parameter once you set it for that but I'm not sure if you can trigger that via pro presenter or any presentation software. Doesn't mean it's not possible I'm just not aware of it if it is. -David
We've used PTZOptics cameras at our church for over 4 years and while they are convenient for 1 operator to control it all, they are honestly terrible image quality for the money. If you want good image quality stay AWAY from PTZ cameras. Their expensive price is just for the robotic control and not for the optics themselves.
I currently run AVKANS 1080p with 30x zoom. They run about half the price of PTZ Optics and unless you are zoomed all the way in, in low light, and pixel peeping, you can't tell the difference. Fomoko and a few other "budget" brands are in the same ballpark. The thing is, you aren't making a cinematic masterpiece with them. They get you broadcast news room quality though. Good enough for filming weddings, high-school sports and concerts, and TH-cam videos. If I'm truly being honest I've seen low budget B movies on the big screen, shot with less camera quality. Most prosumer and some consumer grade equipment is perfectly adequate for most needs. So good infact, it's been used in a few feature films. A couple have even been shot primarily using iPhone. Sure it would be awesome to use Arri but any cinema cam, even BMD is really over the top for this kind of work. Save on the camera gear and put the savings towards something more charitable.
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Does your church use PTZ cameras for livestreaming?
How important is camera quality in your church's services?
I am not with a church. I've had a side gig filming events since 2010. My day job is in IT for local government and in 2020 they leaned heavily on my video knowledge so we could stream meetings and events that the public would normally attend.
I started using PTZ cameras for events shortly after the original ATEM mini was released. They are just such a great fit for the type of work I do. Even when just recording and not streaming. It's amazing what you can accomplish with just 2 PTZs. That's all I use most of the time but I have used up to 4 a couple times but it's really overkill. I've found most of the time if I put 1 in the back of the room and 1 at the front, mostly for audience shots it's plenty. A lot of the time I'll put up an extra cam for a static wide shot of the stage or room and I'll cut to that when moving the back PTZ to a different angle. Most positions are pre-set so it's rare I'm moving a camera in the live shot.
I really wish BMD would release a mini ISO version with NDI or SRT. As it stands I end up running 2 network cables for my PTZs. One for power and control and one that converts HDMI to ethernet. Personally I'll take ethernet over SDI, it's lighter and easier to manage for a portable rig.
Wow! That was one great story and experience you have. Thanks for sharing it with us. I hope you enjoyed our video resources.
We often don’t have the volunteers needed to run all the tech, so I try to automate as much as possible. Our presentation software can send midi signals that let us do things like control obs, so we only need one person doing presentation and livestream simultaneously. Do you know if any of these are programmable so that I could send commands (e.g. ptz to a specific location on the signal)?
I don't. I know that the PTZ optics controller shown in this video allows you to create certain scenes or looks that you can pre program. So it will auto-pan tilt and zoom to a preset parameter once you set it for that but I'm not sure if you can trigger that via pro presenter or any presentation software. Doesn't mean it's not possible I'm just not aware of it if it is.
-David
We've used PTZOptics cameras at our church for over 4 years and while they are convenient for 1 operator to control it all, they are honestly terrible image quality for the money. If you want good image quality stay AWAY from PTZ cameras. Their expensive price is just for the robotic control and not for the optics themselves.
Interesting. Hasn't been our experience, sorry to hear that.
-David
I currently run AVKANS 1080p with 30x zoom. They run about half the price of PTZ Optics and unless you are zoomed all the way in, in low light, and pixel peeping, you can't tell the difference. Fomoko and a few other "budget" brands are in the same ballpark.
The thing is, you aren't making a cinematic masterpiece with them. They get you broadcast news room quality though. Good enough for filming weddings, high-school sports and concerts, and TH-cam videos. If I'm truly being honest I've seen low budget B movies on the big screen, shot with less camera quality.
Most prosumer and some consumer grade equipment is perfectly adequate for most needs. So good infact, it's been used in a few feature films. A couple have even been shot primarily using iPhone.
Sure it would be awesome to use Arri but any cinema cam, even BMD is really over the top for this kind of work. Save on the camera gear and put the savings towards something more charitable.
You could try AVKANS PTZ Camera, much better price, and quality is good as well.
ohhh cool..we will check it out.
Brown Helen Garcia Sharon Clark Brian
❤
Hall Amy Thompson Eric White Brenda
Thanks for sharing.
you can have great video with a $500 PTZ camera. You just have to know what you are doing.
Agree!
Taylor Dorothy Lee Kevin Harris Linda
It seems like you’ve got a whole squad there! What’s the story behind the names?