Three cameras, one controller — watch how Oaks Church simplifies multi-camera workflows.
“This new platform from PTZOptics really blew my mind.” Oak Church Media and Tech Director Abner Cruz is talking about the PTZOptics Producer 4K Bundle. As part of a Church Production Road Test User Experience, Cruz and his team in McKinney, Texas, tried out the bundle that includes three Move 4K PTZ Cameras and a SuperJoy Controller.
“My first thoughts when I received the SuperJoy controller was build quality. I saw it was an all-metal build. The controllers, the buttons felt very clicky, but not only that, the great part is that you have an HDMI out in the actual controller, so you can connect any monitor, and you can control any camera that you plug into the SuperJoy.”
Thanks to auto-tracking, I don’t have to worry if a volunteer misses a shot.
Cruz used the three cameras side by side with their old ones to test the differences. “Something that I found out with this bundle is that as soon as you spend time messing with the color profiles, you're able to make these cameras fit any production that you have.” And because the cameras come with multiple resolution options inside the hardware itself, he found set up was very easy. “You don't have to even pull out your computer or set anything else up. If you only have the camera itself, you can set it up to your video system specs. It made me breathe an air of relief because I didn't have to set anything up. It was just there, just a small screwdriver, switch it to our settings and we're up and running.”
And in addition to HDMI and SDI connections, they can be powered via ethernet, making simple cable runs possible. “So instead of having to run A, B, and C cables and Ethernet, you can just use one Ethernet cable and through their Hive System, actually do some cutting. It really allowed me to have flexibility on where to place these cameras, because with just two cables, I'm able to control and also receive a feed into a video system.”
Color profiles and resolutions adjustable on-camera
Cruz found the cameras fit perfectly into little corners and places where they can be hidden from view and still get unique shots. And now that they have the cameras, Cruz says there are fewer staffing concerns. “When sometimes a volunteer calls out and I'm able to just say, ‘Hey, hit auto track on the super joy controller,’ and now I don't have to worry about losing the pastor out of the frame. Thanks to auto tracking, we were able to do that. We just set up auto tracking, and we just hit go.”
Finally, Cruz says PTZOptics' new Hive Platform is really where things all come together. “That's where the full power of the SuperJoy and the PTZOptics system really lies in the fact that I was able to not only control the cameras with a really user-intuitive interface, but also control it remotely,” he explains. “All you needed was just a home-based computer. You're up and running. Yes, you can just use it as a simple controller where you can just switch between cameras, set up your shot, and you're done. But the fact that with their online interface, you can create custom buttons for your volunteers, made it easy for us.”
To see the PTZOptics Producer 4K Bundle in action at Oaks Church, watch this video!
