Hue HD Webcam as a document camera

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Permalink Reply by Kate O'Keeffe on April 7, 2009 at 9:00am

Hi Derwin,

My name's Kate and I am currently looking at getting the Hue HD webcam into schools as cheap alternative to a 'document camera'. Did you opt for the Hue camera in the end? If so how is it going?

I'd be really interested in any feedback you could give me.

Thanks,
Kate

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Permalink Reply by Derwin Kitch on April 7, 2009 at 9:15am

Hi Kate,

How's it going?

The school pushed the document camera proposal to next year so I haven't tried any yet. We're going to demo one AverMedia document camera per grade level next school year. The feedback I've gotten is that AverMedia is the better buy.

The Hue HD looks like a great alternative but since we are lucky enough to have the budget, we thought we'd go this way.

Sorry I'm no help on the Hue.

Have a good one,
D

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Permalink Reply by Elena on April 7, 2009 at 6:36pm

Hi Derwin,
I am the tech person on my campus. We bought the Aver document cameras for all classrooms on my campus. It has been working well. We use the USB connection that works well. It runs through the computer itself and not through the projector. This seems to be the best use for it as it allows you to use both the computer and the camera Vs oen or the other when directly put into the projector as it only has one serial port. The software that ocmes with it is really good and has proved advantageous. My teachers love it and have raved about it. If you buy in bulk we got a good deal from a dealer that was under the 500.00 mark. If you want the dealer I can let you know who they are not that that guarantees you the discount . Good luck with the vengture next year.

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Permalink Reply by Derwin Kitch on April 8, 2009 at 7:53am

Hi Elena,

Thanks for the info. It's reassuring to hear of a positive experience. We have a lot of teachers on campus who have used document cameras before in other schools but it was still a hard sell to the admin even though everyone is raving about how useful they are.

We're in South America so I'm not sure if we can use the same dealer but thanks for the offer.

Take care,
D

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Permalink Reply by Kev on April 8, 2009 at 9:37am

I ordered a HueHD yesterday after seeing this thread and doing some research. For $20 I figure I haven't got much to lose. I'll let you know how it works whenever it arrives.

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Permalink Reply by Kev on April 14, 2009 at 6:17pm

Just got it today.

I'm quite happy with the resolution and the frame rate seems better in fact than the doc cameras we have at school. Definitely worth the $20 it cost on Amazon. This thread just saved me about $400 as this will easily cover my doc cam needs in my room.

Only negative so far is the typical webcam negative and that is a need to heavy outside lighting. A simple desklamp however seems to do the job just fine.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Cottrell on April 14, 2009 at 7:39pm

Wesley Fryer had a related blog post.

I made a comment on his post and he said he might look into a “document camera on a shoestring solution." I don't know if he made any progress. I bet he would also be interested in knowing if the "Hue HD Webcam" would function as a document camera. I probably learned about Classroom 2.0 through Fryer's blog, so maybe he will see or hear about this post.

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/10/23/step-up-and-help-classr...
In the comments of this post I wrote:
2 On October 23rd, 2008, Jim Cottrell said:
I see a lot of people seeking document cameras. A DIY solution might be made with a tripod and a good webcam. Has anyone heard about anyone trying to use a two or three megapixel webcam for this purpose. Mounting a webcam under a tripod might also work to hold the webcam. (For an adjustable base, one could use a flexible microscope light stand to hold the webcam if they found a tall one.) Some digital cameras also have a “webcam” function. These might also work if the megapixels of the webcam feature is high enough.
Wesley Responded:
On October 23rd, 2008, Wesley Fryer said:
I would like to construct that type of “document camera on a shoestring” solution to use in workshops, Jim– I have needed to show my iPhone screen during presentations and wanted a document camera when one was not available at times… I forgot that some digital cameras have a webcam function and could be used in this way. You’ve got me thinking…. I certainly think it’s worth exploring… One of the problems with buying a document camera is that it might tend to be used exclusively by the teacher– a camera in the hands of students could be used more creatively (hopefully in good ways)– I’m going to do some experimenting on this and will report back.

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Permalink Reply by Jodie on April 15, 2009 at 12:56pm

Ordered mine today. I am so excited about this possiblity. If I can make this work I will be a HERO to my teachers. They all want document cameras but I can't get the district to drop $500 per teacher. This sounds so do-able.
YEA!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Evan Worthington on July 7, 2009 at 10:12am

I've been trying to figure out an affordabel way to get a document camera for my 4th grade classroom here in Tucson, AZ. The Hue looks promising, but I was wondering about the zoom and focus.

Without an auto-focus do you find yourself needing to re-focus it often? And how do you zoom in -- it doesn't have a zoom button, does it? Does that mean that you have to go thru the software program on the computer to zoom? Is that a pain?

Any input you have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Evan

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Permalink Reply by Kev on July 7, 2009 at 4:48pm

The only zoom on it is digital zoom. Now, that said, the thing is on a flexible arm so physically zooming it closer to the source isn't hard at all. That, of course, requires you to refocus though.

For what I use it for which is simply to show student work to the whole class it works fine. I don't know what else a docucam would even be needed for so I can't really say if it is a pain compared to the "real" ones.

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Permalink Reply by Evan Worthington on July 7, 2009 at 5:18pm

But the image is good, though? The kids can all read a full page put under it?

Evan

Permalink Reply by Jim Cottrell on September 16, 2009 at 5:31pm

I agree. I played around with the Hue I found on Amazon for $17. I used the software that came with it on a PC. I installed the software and it worked fine. Focusing it by hand didn't seem a bother and bending the flexible arm to focus or zoom works just fine. Having a desk lamp to illuminate really "zoomed" items is helpful. I would say the camera is well worth the price to get papers or items on a big screen.

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