I am hoping for some guidance. We are getting ready to join the Livestream world. We are a very small church. Looking to do a single camera to take in the whole sanctuary (or at least platform). Probably stream to Youtube. Advice on camera? Thanks!
- When we started live streaming we had similar modest aspirations for just a single camera system. At the time we went for a PTZOptics 30x NDI camera and it's been superb for our needs. At the time, it was the first that I found that allows you to freeze the image while transitioning between presets and this makes a single camera very watcher friendly. We have around 16 presets that cover 99% of the shots we need and we send midi commands from Proclaim to switch to these automatically at relevant parts of the service. We also have a Streamdeck running Bitfocus Companion that gives us full manual control when necessary. The latest versions of the PTZOptics cameras have added automatic tracking which I'm sure we would use sometimes but not enough to budget for a new camera as yet...
- I'd second the Avkans cameras, often 1/2 to 1/3rd the cost of PTZOptics, and I would say, better. We have 5 Avkans and 1 PTZOptics, and I regret the 1. Never looks right. Too much green in the midtones when the whites and blacks are correct. I'd strongly recommend 30x lensing, as the quality is better overall, not just at the long end of the lens. Tech support is similar.
- We used Sweetwater Sound to help us with what was best for our sanctuary. We have a PTZOptics and the most recent purchase is a Marshall. The two cameras don't speak the same language and it is frustrating. I like working with Sweetwater because they help us find a solution when we have issues with the cameras.
