PTZ camera for Live Stream

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

I'm currently using my Lumix FZ2500 for streaming which is an awful waste of a 4K cinema camera with a huge array of features I could better use for corporate shoots where I need the creativity features the camera has so for simple wedding ceremonies I was looking at something simple that I could use on a single camera shoot ..maybe a PTZ camera ??? The easiest would be a USB webcam which means I can plug straight into a laptop, apply graphics etc etc but on odd inside venues I dare not use digital zoom with a $150 web cam. With a PTZ camera I can zoom remotely and also pan too which would be ideal BUT is there a camera that will give me a reasonable image (especially at receptions if I do the odd one) that won't cost an arm and a leg??

I have see PTZ cameras right up to nearly $5000!!! ..I'm sure they are great but I don't want to break the bank .... Is there anything around $1000 or less that will perform much better than a simple webcam??? VDO360 make the VPTZH-02 Compass
Camera for about the right price and Logitech also have a PTZ Pro as well around the same price.

Anyone have any other suggestions??

[Jeff Pulera]

Check out HuddleCamHD.com

Thanks

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Jeff

They look neat I'll check them out!!

[Chris Harding]

Also had a look at the Compass and Beacon cameras from VDO360.com they look quite nice and B7H gave them a good review too ...They are supposed to be a lot better than Logitech's PTZ but a tad more expensive.

I really was looking for something that would be unobtrusive at wedding ceremonies so I can have unmanned cameras controlled remotely ...the Connect system from Logitech is very neat looking and would blend into wedding decor but sadly it's not a PTZ so zoom is digital not optical. I do need something that doesn't attract attention!

[William Hohauser]

PTZ Optics

PTZOptics 3G-SDI PTZ Broadcast & Live Streaming Cameras

Good 12X or 20X HD cameras with HTML/SDI/IP outputs and control plus RS232. I have installed a few of these and they have worked reliably. The 12x are around $1700US.

[Jeff Pulera]

Also a fan and user of PTZ Optics (which is really the same company as HuddleCam) but OP asked for USB connection so I suggested the HuddleCam instead.

I think HuddleCam and PTZ Optics are in cahoots, sister companies or something like that

Thanks

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Guys!

A quick question now ..some of the HuddleCam's mention they send video out as MJPEG and not like modern webcams which tend to encode to H264 ...Is MJPEG easier in the Computer's CPU than H264 or is it the other way around .... I read a post that switching to a MJPEG stream uses less CPU that compressed H264 (but results in bigger files) then Logitech say that MJPEG uses a lot more CPU than H264 cams ... not too sure who to believe now!!

Any suggestions as to which format is more gentle on the CPU??

[Dave Baker]

Hi Chris,

MJPEG is interframe, so it gives a bigger file and is less processor intensive in use.

I recently tried it as an intermediate for editing, yes I know it's "old hat" but I had good reason. There was no obvious change in quality from the h264 camera files, they were just bigger.

[Chris Harding]

Thanks David

We do a lot of wedding ceremonies on beaches and in parks with obviously no power so I have to use a laptop to switch cameras so deciding on which cameras to use ...Logitech PTZ cams are all H264 encoded but others are still MJPEG based so they might be a better bet!

[Dave Baker]

There's one further advantage to MJPEG if you ever need it, as it's simply a stream of JPEGs it should be easy to do a frame grab.

I guess the important thing for you is what format you stream in and whether it takes more or less processing power to convert MJPEG to that format, I mean it would be sort of self-defeating if you stream h264 and had to convert MJPEG to it, wouldn't it?:-)

[Chris Harding]

Hi Dave it doesn't really matter. The cameras come into the laptop switching software and the mixed video is then sent out to the laptop's 2nd monitor which is actually a hardware encoder and that does all the hard work and sends the data out to the CDN ... that way all the computer is doing is mixing the video streams and the hard work is done by the encoder's hardware!!

[Gary Bettan]

we sell both PTZ Optics and Huddlecam. they are both from the same vendor. The huddlecam stuff is aimed at corporate AV while PTZ Optics is more for streaming and video production. We use / see/ bundle PTZ Optics cameras with Newtek TriCasters, WireCast gear and Epiphan Pearl streaming devices. They work great.

PTZOptics Web Conferencing and Live Production Cameras - VideoGuys.com


We also have a ton of blog posts, articles and videos available on our website You searched for ptz optics - Videoguys Blog Videoguys Blog

Gary
Videoguys.com

[Phil Holder]

Have you looked at Marshall PTZ Cameras.

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Phil

Marshall is quite pricey for what I do. Would be well over $3000 here for a basic camera!! At the moment I have not been using the Lumix but a Panasonic AC-8 instead running thru a capture adaptor and into OBS Studio and then out via a Teradek Encoder and so far it's working for adding titles and graphics and doing some multicam mixes. I can also use just the camera with the encoder too if I want a "less fancy" option!!

[Phil Holder]

Think I saw one for about $799 a few months back when I was looking at their site.