Camera Recommendations for my Church?

[Ryan Holmes]

I think you’ll probably need to qualify what “inexpensive” means to you and your organization. Some people on here think $5K is inexpensive, while others think $15K is inexpensive. It depends on your market and what spectrum of the industry you work in.

I’m guessing that since you’re a non-profit even $5K might be expensive. So here’s my $.02:

(1) Research is best done on Google. Sites like Amazon, B&H Photo/Video, Adorama, AbelCine can give you all the specs you need for your purchases. Also reading the blogs of others who are in the industry is a good way to get a feel for what’s out there (time intensive I know).

(2) This is the ultra-cheap way to do your sanctuary (i.e. talking head) setup. Get a cheap camcorder with HDMI out on it (like a Panasonic HC-V700 or similar – https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/839122-REG/Panasonic_HC_V700_V700M_Full_HD_Camcorder.html) and record to inexpensive SD cards. That would run you under $500 while still maintaining an HD image.

Higher up the price ladder you might start to consider JVC’s cameras (the GY-HM150U, GY-HM600, GY-HMQ10U) as an alternative. You’ll need to think about how you plan on running audio to this camera….a feed from your in-house mix? Another wireless receiver attached to the camera? And what type of connection you want the camera to have – mini-jack, XLR’s, etc.

You could also get a cheap camera for the talking head recording and then pickup a DSLR for any more “creative” projects the church asks for. So your DSLR would be for sermon illustrations, advertisement videos, etc. Something like a Canon T3i only sets you back about $600 (less if you get one used).

There’s plenty of options out there you’ll probably need to get a better idea of what your price range is. And don’t forget the other stuff that comes with the territory – cables, tripods, bags, SD/CF cards, etc. All that can really add up quick.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Andy Brennan]

Thanks! Good feedback!

I would consider inexpensive to be less than $500, but am interested in suggestions that are less than $1200. In particular I am looking for actual camera model recommendations. I will definitely look into the models you suggested, Ryan! Thanks!

We definitely need the camera to hook into the church’s sound system, so must have an audio input and headphone jack.

I like your idea about getting a cheap camcorder for the sermon/talking head, and a DSLR for the projects needing more post-production. Good idea!

[Mike Squires]

I would consider adding a Blackmagic ATEM TVS in the mix. It’s a nice HD switcher, and you can stream live out of it.

[Nevin Styre]

This one is new but might be worth a look at Sony NEX-EA50EH

It’s got an SLR size sensor so you will decent low-light performance since you are primary uses will be indoors, and you should be able to get a pleasing shallow depth-of-field look for interviews.
It is one of the first large sensor cameras to ship with a motorized zoom lens.
It has XLR inputs to get your line audio and/or interview mics
HDMI/componen/composite out for hooking into switchers/screens/recorders

If you want to research other cameras with pricing and reviews I suggest browsing bhphoto’s online store, they carry pretty much all popular models and usually have a good amount of reviews for each one.

[Ryan Holmes]

[Mike Squires] “I would consider adding a Blackmagic ATEM TVS in the mix. It’s a nice HD switcher, and you can stream live out of it.”

I second the ATEM TVS switcher ($995). I use one for a weekly podcast program. It takes in 4 HD-SDI signals and audio and pushes out a 1080i signal via HD-SDI or HDMI and a h.264 feed that you can record to a disk as a backup. For the price it’s an amazing little switcher and it’s performed rock solid in my application.
https://blackmagicdesign.com/products/atemtelevisionstudio/

If you like the ATEM I would also recommend looking at a Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 ($330, SSD not included in price) as an inexpensive way to record the HD signal.
https://blackmagicdesign.com/products/hyperdeckshuttle/

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Kyle Pitts]

Hello all. This is a great article. We’re a church as well and looking for new solutions. Right now we have a VERY simple system. 1 Windows 7 custom box. A JVC handicam connected to a pinnacle component to USB converter. And we use ustream to record the sermon video. We use a single out from our soundboard (Peavey RQ4332C ) to the mic of the pc. Sound records pretty good.. video is “ok” but i would love to really really improve this. I NEVER have any real budget but if I can come up with specs then i can get a budget created. Any ideas for under… $1000. The church is small.. under 250 people (thus why I never have a budget). It took me 5 years to get them to upgrade from a 12 year old computer that kept crashing.

[Sam Hones]

Hi, I realise that the original message was written nearly a year ago.
In our church we are using:
dv camcorder (Canon DV-650i)(to be replaced with HD)
Firewire for pc based zoom control,
recording software: Debut
recorded camera output composite (tried s-video had snow)
capture unit: Hauppage 1900 USB 2
sound to “microphone in” on PC from sound desk (separate mix to FOH, LS9 32 mixer. for independant control look at Air fader)
How it runs:
camcorder (no tape in machine, stops it turning off)output (composite) to 4 position CCTV switcher (local price abt £40)ideally 3 cameras connected to allow 15sec rotational switching to see different aspects.
Presentation software output to vga splitter, one output to projector, another to VGA2composite converter and output from there to position 4 on switcher. switcher output connects to PC hauppage for recording, spur goes to Sony VX410 dvd/vcr recorder to record straight to +dvd disk.
The switcher has 4 toggle switches. 1-3 is turned to cycling, 4 is in off position and when projected image wants to be included in recording is flicked to home (this interrupts the cycled flow till returned to off)
if camcorder needs to be recognised as webcam, use DVdriver.

BTW an older camcorder vcr analog type is still usable, maybe for shots of congregation.
if you use DV camera as above you can use for recording: DV, composite, s-video all at the same time (not necessarily to the same unit (PC, dvd recorder, stream to web PC)
hope that’s of some use to someone

[Bruce Young]

I have been recording Church services and other Church activities for some years. Money will only allow a standard definition setup but what we have, works extremely well.
Our main camera is a PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) SD robotic camera which is controlled via Visca RS422 keyboard about 20 meters from the camera. I am able to follow preachers as they wander around while preaching via the joystick on the keyboard.
I have a line from Church projector unit which I can switch to when verses of songs or scriptures are being displayed.
If others want to know more, please don’t hesitate to ask.

[Caleb Foltermann]

Bruce – I have been looking into PTZ cams to record our service and distribute to our nursery. Handheld cameras won’t really work for our setup so I would love to know about your PTZ setup. My mounting location is ~80 feet from the stage but this location is very near AVL desks. My main concern is resolution / quality with the distance we have. Do you mind giving me the details of your system and a guess on the distance you are shooting? Any suggestions or thoughts would be great. Thanks

[Bruce Young]

Caleb,
Thankyou for your post. Fifty meters works alright but I do not know about 80 meters. However, the best PTZ cameras can be purchased from Website: https://en.katocctv.com They are in China but I have made some purchases from them and they are very reliable and reasonably priced.
You will need a PTZ camera and a PTZ keyboard to control it. Also, you will need a visca RS422 cable to connect camera (I use ordinary cat 5 internet cable with the ends removed)and keyboard together.Once connected, the camera is controlled by a joystick and you can also zoom in and out. Some keyboards even allow you to control exposure.
The cheap cameras are standard definition (about $600) and High definition is from $1000 to $2000 depending on the camera.
If you can give me some way to contact you, I will send you some photos of our setup.
Bruce