For capturing clear document images, a good document camera is a must. These cameras are widely prevalent in school, colleges, and business sector. Though there are a number of document cameras, it is hard to find the accurate one. To help you with your search, we tested the top 40 models for good 72 hours. After testing, we found that Elmo TT 12ID Document Optical is the best and Epson DC 21 HD Camera is the second best document camera in the market.
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Top 6 Document Camera
1. Elmo TT 12ID – Best Option With HDMI Support
The ELMO TT-12ID is the next generation document camera for the classroom and offices. By far it is the best as it incorporates 21st technology features. These document camera for teachers can enhance learning, creativity, engaging interaction, and the academic performance of the students.
The other good things include the zoom dial, One Push AF Button, audio input and output, and a few user friendly presentation tools. To carry out all these interactive functions single handedly it comes with a remote. Lastly, it comes with HDMI inputs for flexible connectivity.
Features
- Camera 3.2MP
- HDMI inputs
- Zoom dial
- Audio input and output
- Comes with remote
- Easy to use and handle
- Captures sharp clear pictures
- Adjustable angle
- White balance is good
- User-friendly support tools
- We didn’t find any
Bottom Line
It is one of the top document camera for the teachers and other officials who want to present their ideas and learning in the most creative way.
2. Epson DC 21 HD – Best For Presentations
This wireless document camera has everything that you need for an engaging interactive session in classroom or in office. It is one of the top Epson brand line document cameras known for its user-friendly features and compact designing.
The most unique feature that we liked the most is the inclusion of microscope adapter. You can attach any standard microscope to it to capture your experiment results. This make it very handy document camera for art and science teachers. Lastly, it also has SD card slot to save the captured images.
Features
- Camera 2MP
- HDMI connectivity
- Microscope adaptor
- Works on 2AA batteries
- Comes with remote control and a carrying case
- Supports SD card
- Uses latest technology
- Excellent image color display
- Comes with a remote
- Can be used for projecting images/documents
- Comes with advances connectivity
- Comes without a memory card
Bottom Line
A good document camera for offices and colleges where presentations and in depth explanation is needed. Comes with very convenient features so is surely a good buy.
3. CZUR – Best For Mac/iPad
This one is another excellent professional camera for capturing pages/documents from book. CZUR is a good choice for anyone who uses Mac/ipad/chromebook for viewing the captured images.
As it is a professional make the device comes with a life free powerful optical character recognition software. With this you can edit the scanned materials. Our testing suggest you can crop, adjust sharpness, contrast, thickness, etc. of the scanned document. Last but not the least, the device comes with supplementary lighting. So, no matter how glossy your book is or how low the lighting is in your area, this device will give a clear flattened picture all the time.
Features
- Camera 3MP
- Free OCR software
- 2 supplementary lighting
- Patented flattened curving technology
- Extremely fast
- Best compatible document camera for chromebook/Mac/iPad
- Captures a flat picture
- Can scan as well
- A bit expensive
Bottom Line
This is one the best choice for any who is looking for a professional document camera plus scanner or for someone who has to deal with a lot of books that need to be photocopied.
4. IPevo VZ X – Best Wireless Option
IPEVO VZ X is an hot selling document camera for smart boards and different class room structures. What impressed us the most was its high quality camera and its reasonable pricing.
We also tested its battery life and were satisfied to see it lasts for good 9 hours. On the whole, a good device to engage and capture images from anywhere in the room.
Features
- Camera 8MP
- Connectivity: HDMI, USB, Wi-fi
- 9 hours battery life
- Flexible connectivity
- Adjustable height and angle
- Image quality is decent
- Good battery life
- Built-in battery
- Images lack clarity
Bottom Line
A decent device for smart board presentations in office or during a lecture. Further, it comes with all the standard features needed for capturing the documents and transferring them.
5. iCODIS – Best For Budget Conscious User
iCODIS is a budget-friendly document camera cum scanner in the market. The qaulity of this camera is far beyond its pricing and that is why it has found a place in our document cameras review.
In addition to all this, you can video record the books/documents or opt for real-time projection. Anyway its easy with its flexible connectivity. Lastly, we also love the fact that this document scanner is quiet portable and collapsible. You can carry it to your work or to a meeting when required.
Features
- Camera 8MP
- Comes with OCR software
- Auto adjustment technology
- Collapsible
- Works best for flat books/documents
- Flexible connectivity
- Sturdy still base
- Light in weight
- Video recording and real time projection possible
- Not compatible with Mac
- Compatible with windows 8 or above
Bottom Line
A decently priced scanner cum document camera in the market for capturing a thick document / page instantly.
6. IPEVO V4K – Best Option With USB Support
IPEVO is a basic level document camera for live presentation, scanning books, OR codes, or for clicking random photo of the notes.
Lastly, the device is portable and light in weight to carry anywhere and everywhere. Buy it if you are looking for a very basic document cum scanner camera for your teaching classes or for your occasional presentations.
Features
- Camera 8MP
- USB connectivity
- Low light adjustability
- Basic functioning
- Adjustable height and angle
- Can capture in low lighting as well
- Not good for professionals
- No HDMI port
Bottom Line
The best drawing projector in the market for people who owns a small business and need to do some kind of art work on a daily basis.
Buying Guide – Things To Consider
For a class to be happy and educative, the right technique and the process of teaching is very crucial. You can not achieve this without installing the document cameras in the classrooms. Not only for classrooms, for offices it is also important to give interactive presentations and to keep the ideas in the best possible way. They work to ease up the work on both sides.
However, today not all the cameras sold in the market are worth buying. They let to keep all the necessary information work perfectly for years. It’s always a good decision to buy a quality document camera as a low quality will not meet your expectations. Down below, a deep detailed discussions on the specifications and other technologies of the document camera. In addition you should also check for the compatibilities and other factors too that match your need. So, let’s start with it.
A. Camera Specifications
The technology used in the camera is most important as it aids to capture the clearest and sharpest picture and eventually defines the functionality and effectiveness. In a camera you should check for the following factors:
1. Megapixels
Different cameras have different pixels and they tend to work differently. The megapixel count determines the resolution of the document camera. The thumb of rule is the higher the better. With higher pixels you can crop easily, zoom up, and print in different sections without the photos getting blurred up. A document camera that has 3 to 8MP is best. Make sure it not only says but also works the same. For example, Elmo TT 12ID Document Optical is one such device that has 3MP camera but it works like a 10MP camera because of its cutting edge technology and camera. The other cameras with good pictures are IPevo VZ X Camera and iCODIS Document Recognition. Further, these cameras have an adjustable resolution settings. This way you can settle out your desired resolution.
2. Image Quality
This is another requisite of any camera.This will signify how sharp and clear the image is. For this, the best devices should have large sensors and lenses. Our team recommends for a wide large lens. It helps to give you great images in spite of poor lighting. Furthermore, also make sure that the shutter lag is good. Never go for a camera with slow start up time as it fails to capture the best shot.
3. Design
Design signifies the weight, the size, and the shape of the camera. A slim collapsible light weight camera is always best to use. They are automate in functioning and can be carried to any place for meetings and events.
4. Zoom Lens And Image Stabilization
Zoom lens is important when you need to focus on the inside picture or the intrinsic details of part during your lecture. Powerful zoom lenses helps to focus 15time the actual size of the image without blurring up. For a high-quality service, the zoom lens should have a wide angle for clear and crisp image display.
5. Check The Raw Mode
With this mode, the data shot is clear without zooming or compressing the image. Therefore, letting you have all the details without editing. It is a user-friendly feature to avoid after work. The only disadvantage you need to have special software which is always an added cost to access these data.
6. Manual Focus
A manual focus is highly preferred and offers greater support when it comes to focus on the image. With this, you have control over camera. Therefore, you can always set your own focus settings apart from the automatic camera focus settings.
B. Size Of The Document Camera
This is again important. A portable compact size camera is a must. Anything that is too heavy or big in size is not desired. You will be taking the document camera to your office, classroom, or to different meetings so its size will definitely matter. All the cameras in our list have a decent size and they all come in a small carry case for easy transportation.
C.OCR
The OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. A scanner cum document camera with this ability is very important. It converts the handwritten, printed, or typed code in to an electronic or mechanical image and make it machine readable. It is crucial as it is the technology to enter information from the printed documents. In other words, it decodes word to use and easily view them in machines. The advanced OCR technologies produces high accurate fonts so as to duplicate the closest to the original page including the non-textual components such as rows and columns.
D. Compatibility
The students and class teachers or in offices the projects are presented during this document camera. It will be a vital part for classrooms and offices. It is important for these devices to be compatible with the different items for higher output services. The top document cameras would be compatible with the following devices:
1. Mobile Phones
The smart phones are the most handy dandy device. They can do anything to everything related to technology. You can connect them to your document camera for on spot representation of a real-life photo clicked by you. Often to give a real-life example its better to relate them and mobile phones make it much more easy. whenever you find a real life example click it from your phone and display it in your classroom using your phone. Further, these devices guarantee perfect image viewing. Not only teachers but also students can find it pretty convenient.
2. Computers
Computers and most certainly laptops are the most widely used reading devices. These camera for classroom comes with the USB ports to easily connect it to the PC/laptop and deliver the necessary documents when required. You can make use of your computer to the maximum level by connecting them to the digital cameras. Further, it makes the entire process so convenient as you don’t have to juggle with wires and different connectivity methods to show other what is in your laptop.
3. White Boards
Apart from computers, there are lot many ways to connect these small digital cameras and one such is white board. Almost all the products in our list can be connected to a smart board, Promethean board, or the white board in the class room. These devices easily connect to each other and deliver high-quality picture of the textual or non-textual components.
4. Projectors
The projectors are the most common learning devices used in classrooms. They are also used in offices to explain the projects, products, and plan execution technique. They are convenient and are always a better way to connect to the audience and make the entire learning process more engaging. These digital cameras can easily zoom the necessary images and projects for a better understanding. The projectors along with the digital cameras makes sure that the small texts are enlarged without a single blur or blind spots. They are good for classroom and office presentations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How Are Document Cameras Better Than The Projectors?
A projectors limits in various aspects like you have to for sure use a computer/laptop. You cannot simply take out your mobile phone and project the images using the projector. Further, for other features like zoom and clarity you need to be dependent on your computer or in many cases you can’t even do that. For few projectors, you need a transparent OPH sheet. What’s more you need a darkened room for a projector making the small intrinsic details more difficult to see.
But with a document camera all these specifications come to an end. A document camera has flexible connectivity. You can connect your smart phone, tablet, laptop, a A3or A4 size paper, or even your book. You can get an enlarge picture of anything to everything on spot without any connections. You just need to place your desired document device in front of the camera and you are good to go. Buy it know the innumerable benefits and the user-friendly features.
Q. How Can I Get Clearer Images With The Document Camera?
Its common for a image to blur up when enlarged or zoomed to double or triple its original size. But this is not the case with document camera. A image from this camera won’t blurry up if you move the lens a bit farther away from the surface of the document. It is because they have a focus ring and close-up lens attachments that are made to give you clear image no matter how tiny the document is. So make sure to get a clear picture you place the document to an appropriate height from the lens. This will make sure that the text appears clear and sharp. Lastly, also remember to clean the lens before putting any document for display.
How Did We Select?
A document camera can be useful in many departments of life and can be of major significance. Whether it is for educational purpose or a professional, a document camera has to be perfect in many ways and for many reasons. We knew this but this was not enough. We tried to understand and learn all the important aspects involved in a document camera and features that you just can not do without. While considering the options of document cameras, we took into account the picture quality, pixels, clarity, zoom and angle adjustment and various other features that are very critical.
We started referring various websites, reviews, and feedbacks to understand the customer’s perspective and expectations. We then started focusing on factors that were critical for the best document camera.
In our research, we consulted many people and sources. We tried to gain knowledge from [1] and [2]
which helped our team gain a better idea and understanding that helped us select around 40 document cameras for the testing.
Why Should You Trust Us?
We, at Beonhome, are very particular and focused about our goal to bring the best available options in the market to the customers by sharing the details and information of the products on our website. We spend hours and days on rigorous and extensive research and testing procedures.
We follow strict mechanisms and we have a dedicated team for research as well as testing process that covers all the critical aspects involved in finding the best product in the market.
We go into depth of the process, while gathering information for short-listing the product. It is a tedious task but we do not compromise on quality and accuracy. We cover and include all features that are critical and required to present the results .
Beonhome is indeed a trustworthy platform which has conducted tests for innumerable products so that the customers are able to choose their favourite product easily as per their choice and requirement. We always recommend after research, comparisons , and thorough testing.
How Did We Test?
There were around 40 models of document cameras to test and multiple important features. To choose the best document camera, we considered various factors and parameters like adjustable angle, speed, budget, clarity, White balance, flexible connectivity of the camera, Design of the camera, megapixels, compatibility with mobiles/laptops/projectors/ white boards, ease of use of the camera, and so much more. We spent 3 days of in-depth testing to check
- Whether the camera can be used for video recording
- Is real-time projection possible?
- If it works for flat books/documents
- Does it have a sturdy base
- Whether it is compatible with Mac or Windows 8?
- If it is light in weight.
- If it comes with the latest technology.
- If it is user friendly
- If it has HDMI Support
- If it has a premium CMOS sensor
- If it is suitable for presentations
- If it has a memory card/SD card
- Whether it comes with remote control and a carrying case.
- We checked for the sharpness and contrast in the pictures.
- Battery life of the camera.
- The image quality of the camera
- If it comes with an in-built battery.
- Whether it offers USB support.
- Which document camera is perfect for a professional person?
- Other camera specifications like connectivity and wifi support
- Whether the camera to be tested can be used as a scanner or not.
- The adjustable height and angle of the document camera to be tested.
- Whether the camera comes with auto adjustment technology and OCR software or not.
- Whether the document camera has low light adjustability or not.
We tested all these features and more in a couple of days for all the selected models of document cameras. It was after this, that we were able to choose the top ones.
Below is a sample result of the tests conducted on the cameras:-
| Product Name | Quality | Ease of use | User -friendly | Overall | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmo TT 12ID | 95 | 96.5 | 97 | 96.1 | Check Price |
| Epson DC 21 HD | 96 | 96 | 95.6 | 95.8 | Check Price |
| CZUR | 95.8 | 95.5 | 95.5 | 95.6 | Check Price |
| IPevo VZ X | 95.5 | 95.5 | 95.4 | 95.4 | Check Price |
| iCODIS | 95 | 95.5 | 95 | 95.1 | Check Price |
| IPEVO V4K | 95 | 95 | 94.5 | 94.8 | Check Price |
Final Talk
It is quiet clear by now that a document camera is a necessity especially if you want your lectures, presentations, or the general discussions to be more engaging and fruitful to the audience. They are the best tools for every classroom or a meeting room. Nevertheless, only the best document cameras are meant to work as per your requirements. Anything that gives a hazy picture or fails to zoom up when required is not competent or useful enough. So, be cautious with your purchase choose only the ones that fits your need and requirement. For the same, feel free to go to our buying guide and product list we are sure you will be pleased after reading them.
Elmo TT 12ID- Editor's Choice
Summary
The ELMO TT-12ID is the next generation document camera for the classroom and offices. By far it is the best as it incorporates 21st technology features.
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