The new advanced and evolved video conferencing cameras brought a new era to web meetings, as combined with the new and developed software allowed people to communicate and hold online meetings that had nothing to envy from regular face to face meetings.
Participants do not have to draw on stores of patience anymore, waiting for image and sound to adjust; web conferencing cameras have made web conferences a viable option for online meetings, online learning, tele-seminars, benefiting from the proliferation of broadband connections that also pushed the trend of web meetings, allowing participants to stream rich media to their computer.
Webcams are most frequently used by the large majority of users online, although today, the more developed companies and big corporate groups use digital video cameras as well. Here are some things to consider when choosing the proper video conference camera:
Webcams can be found with very cheap and reasonable prices, for less than 30$, although some more hi tech and advanced ones could go up to 150$. The main difference of the cameras sold in the market for different prices is the quality of the output video and image.
If you want to know what kind of image you will have, you should check the resolution of the camera. The minimum resolution you should opt for is 640 x 480.
You should also check the amount of frames the camera can handle - keep in mind that an ideal level is at 30 frames per second. The sensor of the camera is one of the important denominators of your choice; a good and solid webcam should use CCD technology to connect instead of CMOS. In general though, you will find cameras connecting to PCs with USB connection.
Digital video cameras on the other hand ensure faster, sharper and clearer images; they start as low as 200$ and can cost several thousand dollars depending on their specifications. These video cameras are used to record homemade videos, therefore most of us are somewhat familiar with them. These cameras connect to the PC using firewire or USB connection and they offer advanced settings and video output.
Whether you will be opting for a regular video camera or a webcam, depends on the type of conference you will have; in a professional meeting, quality videos are demanded, but in teleseminars or online learning, image and videos should be as close to perfect, therefore, lower end cameras should be avoided.
Consider your needs and requirements and shop for the best possible video conferencing camera you can afford.
