How is the focus? Would it be able to film a lecture from the back of a 35' classroom?
1461799
i haven't tried filming anything other than right in front of the camera. i suggest you call Creative & see what they say.
1461800
I have the auto focus HD 780p, I only use it stationary on one of my side monitors and it has great focus, however I have noticed how well it picks up the background for twenty-three feet. Have never tried it in a larger room. I was quite impressed considering the small size of the cam. I have been using it for about 6mts now and no complaints. Hope it helps you.
497823
Yes but care must be taken not to place on hard surface where everytime your neighbor drops a pencil it's like the fall of a giant redwood-- positioning and aiming the mics will be important. If you are too far from the lecturer to get his / her voice loud and clear, pick an unobtrusive place within a few feet of the lectern... no reason you can't give your recorder a better seat than you. Of course you may have to get creative if you don't want the recorder to be seen. Tape your lecturer at slow speed and play it back fast and you'll finish listening in half the time the recording took. (For conference taping when you and others sit with speaker around a big table, there is a special kind of mic you buy). But for a typical college lecture in a large lecture hall just get the recorder close enough, suitably camouflaged as needed. You need to be a bit of a techie to understand all the features, but you won't need all the features. Good luck!
1919377
Not sure what your distance is but I use mine several times a week for 2 hour lectures in a large college lecture hall. It works flawlessly. I plug it in about half way to the back of the lecture hall - which would be maybe 30-40 feet from the front of the room where I lecture - and always extend the antenna. I use the hand-held mic, if that makes a difference.
213935
It is best for viewing 35mm slides. I've never tried it to view negatives. This device illustrates the old adage "you get what you pay for".
1456580
yes, but the screen size depends on the distance of projection. The classroom can not be too bright.
2107308
Yes. It is sensitive enoigh to pick up people talking and should work fine. The background noise it reads at is around 35. A classroom that's quiet would be around 45. 75 and they are talking too much.
56736
Yes it will focus fine at 2 feet or even a little closer if need be. The field of view is appx 2-3 feet at that range.
1579293
I use it to record music classes. It is outstanding. Parameters need to be turned on so sound isn't too faint nor too saturated. Outside lectures can be difficult for any device but this will do it about as well as anything. Upon getting this I would suggest recording a TV show in your home, radio blasting from your stereo and talking. Learn how to optimize the recorder for various environments and it will pay off on your trip with flawless recordings. If that sounds too complex then get TASCAM DR-40 which can be set to record everything twice. One is called a "safety track" at a lower level so you're sure to have something. Buy a bunch of SD cards and an external hard drive to back up your work.
2152303
yes with just a little focusing ... video is a tad fuzzy but pics are great.. just make sure you have a good screen
1135654
Get a viewsonic if it's on a school budget. They have educator discount codes available.
2091240
I have not used this device in a classroom, however, I used in the church and worked fine as well as in a small group meeting less than 10 people. Either occasions, I had not had any issues with recording and playing as long as there is no noise. It will pick up and sound as it should. Hope this helps to make you decision. Thanks.
1351523
yes you could record that long because I have mine setup for security purposes and it works fine. and I have co-workers that record long class seminars and I haven't heard any complaints from them
1841196
I've used this camera to make videos of myself teaching (for grad classes, not for fun). It captures my voice from across the room and students' voices even if their backs are turned. Of course, my students are on their best behavior, so there's not any background noise. I don't know if that would make a difference. Hope this helps.
2198005
I have not used this lens extensively with video, I'm a stills guy myself, but I will mention that it is very noisy when it focuses. If you're doing video work you likely have an external mic in which case this may not be an issue, although even with that it might pick up lens noise if the mic is mounted on the camera. When I used it for video the image was fine but occasionally it was slow to focus and the sound from focusing was picked up from the built in mic as I mentioned.
263093
Larry, I'm looking at this for recording our church services and possibly our worship service as well. We recently purchased a Q8-Zoom because of the audio recording capabilities and audio interface between our soundboard and computer. We need to record from about 40 feet away from the stage. Does this Panasonic do a good job in low light and focusing at this distance? So far, the Q8-Zoom doesn't seem to capture video much better than our old webcam at this distance. It definitely is more clear, but not the quality I was really hoping for.
1908795
I wish I could help, but so far I've only used it for dictation. On the other hand, Sony's description says it can be used to record lectures, which would imply considerable distance.
611819
It will take beautiful video. You may be better off with a less expensive camera if you are just learning. iMovie or Final Cut works like magic.