Best document cameras for schools in 2020

Finding the best document camera for your classroom can be a challenge, especially now that classes are increasingly moving online. Sometimes called visualisers, these specialist cameras let teachers provide a different perspect or closer view of practical demonstrations both in the classroom and online.

Most modern computers, like laptops, Surfaces, and iPads come with one or more built-in cameras, but these aren’t always the best if you want to share a page of a textbook or the surface of a globe. Webcams built into laptops, Chromebooks, and iPads are often too low quality to provide the image clarity needed to show written text or are too difficult to position to get the best view possible.

When teaching online, a document camera or visualiser provides a broader window on the lesson for students, and the teacher much more flexibility with practical demonstrations.

Understanding Classroom Document Cameras

A document camera can be one of the most important tools when teaching online. You can spend anything from sixty to several hundred dollars, but in my experience higher-cost doesn’t always provide a better experience in the classroom. Often it’s the basic features which have a greater impact in the online classroom.

Below I’ve outlined all of the things you’ll want to consider when buying a document camera, but if you’re in a hurry…

Take a look at the ClassThink Document Camera Top Pick first!

What is The Best Document Camera For Teachers?

If you’re just after a quick run down of the cameras I’ve tried, take a look below. Alternatively, read on for more information about how to choose the best document camera or visualiser for your classroom.

1. Elmo MX-P Document Camera & Visualiser
2. Hue HD Portable USB Document Camera
3. Elmo Document Cameras
4. Ipevo V4K Ultra High Definition 8MP USB Visualiser
5. JOURIST DC80 Document Camera & Visualiser
6. Plugable Digital Microscope
7. Okiolabs Okiocam T USB Document Camera

This list will be updated as we test out more document cameras.

More features to consider when buying a document camera for your classroom

Is the Image Quality Good Enough?

Image and focus quality is really important, particularly if you’re using your camera to show close up work like written text and images. Image quality for cameras is usually given in megapixels, the higher the number the better quality and the clearer the image. There’s nothing worse than struggling to get a clear image of a passage of text.

The imagery quality is determined by the megapixels, frames per second, digital zoom capabilities, auto focus ability, clear image quality, and additional video and audio features. A built-in microphone assists teachers in including audio and video for a more active display. 

Why Focus is Important in Your Document Camera

Focal length and speed are really important to keep your lessons smooth and image clear to students.

Most document cameras feature auto-focus which automatically adjusts the focus to give you the clearest image possible without having to make manual adjustments. How fast auto-focus adjusts can make all the difference between students seeing a blurred images or a clear image and can make a huge difference to the quality of your lesson.

A few cameras also have a manual focus feature, which means that you can turn off the auto-focus and adjust the image clarity yourself. This is useful if you are doing extremely close up work, possibly showing circuit boards or other intricate objects for which you need an exceptionally tight image. Manual focus is often only found on more expensive document cameras.

The Difference Between Digital and Analog Zoom

Most document cameras and visualisers feature digital zoom with a feature higher-end models also having analog zoom. What is the difference and why is it so important?

Digital zoom is where the camera uses software to zoom into the digital image. While this is perfectly good for most purposes it can given a blurrier image.

Analog zoom is when the camera’s lense is adjusted to give a closer image. This generally gives a much clearer image but the feature is often only found on more expensive cameras.

In most classrooms digital zoom is perfectly sufficient. You’ll only want an analog zoom option if you are doing extremely close-up work.

Lighting

Document cameras with a built-in LED light can provide a lot of flexibility to the locations that you can use your camera in and can also improve the image quality.

If you’re teaching in a well lit classroom, lighting may not be a problem, but if you then need to move to teaching online from your kitchen or bedroom, you may want to consider using a camera with a light.

Portability

Portability of your document camera is essential in the current climate and there are a variety of form factors and models available to best suit your needs.

From a worm-light design, where the camera connects directly to the USB port of your laptop, to a full-sized flat-bed cameras, there are lots of options available.

Do you need a remote control?

A remote control can be useful when the document camera is static at the front of the classroom but the teacher needs to move around the class.

Will a webcam work instead of a document camera?

An external USB webcam can work well as a document cameras in some circumstances. Webcams are generally very portable and are easy to move around and point at specific objects, but there are some downsides but in my experience most webcams struggle to focus on close up objects.

This makes it really difficult to show written text or the page of an exercise book. That’s understandable. Webcams are mainly used to show medium to long range images such as rooms and people and are not designed to show close up images.

If you’re interested in webcams take a look at the ClassThink run down of the best webcams for schools.

How does the Document Camera connect to your classroom kit?

Document cameras have a range of options available to connect to your current classroom hardware and screens. Make sure to choose the best option for your teaching style:

• USB: a USB connection lets you connect your document camera directly to your computer, just like a webcam. Connecting by USB allows you to stream the image from your document camera using apps like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, and Skype.
  
• HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA: These allow you to connect your camera to a projector, interactive whiteboard or other screen without the need to go through a computer. Using HDMI or VGA often provides the simplest setup but means that you need to be in the same room as your students to get the most out of it.
  
• Wireless: Some document cameras — often the most expensive — allow you to wirelessly connect your camera to your computer. This can be great for moving around a classroom showing student work but it often a less reliable technology and can provide a lower quality image.

Other Features to Consider

• Some document cameras have an optional microscope adapter which can be useful to show extremely close-up work in STEM or science classes.
• If you want your document camera to double as a webcam, make sure you get one with a good quality microsoft built-in. Document cameras often come with a poor quality microphone.
• Some higher-end document cameras, often sold as document scanners, come with optical character recognition (OCR) built in. This allows you to pull text from textbooks and printed documents and paste it into documents.

Document cameras can be a teacher’s best friend, as long as you get the right one for your needs. Share which model you’re using in the comments and any teaching techniques you’ve found useful.