A document camera can be made from an ordinary digital camera and a tripod.
Document cameras are used to project images of documents onto a viewing screen, or for live demonstration of such techniques as geometric construction, steps in an experiment, etc. Make an inexpensive document camera using an ordinary digital camera, a tripod and a cable to connect the digital camera with a viewing device.
Instructions
1. Mount the camera on a tripod, at an appropriate distance so the camera can be focused on the surface where the documents will be placed. This surface will most often be directly below the tripod. The camera should be focused without using the zoom feature, so there will be room later to zoom in on the documents if necessary.
2. Connect the camera and the viewing device with a cable. The viewing device will most often be either a digital projector of the type used to project images of a computer screen on a wall, or an ordinary television. The type of cable will depend on the camera and the viewing device. A 1/8-inch jack to RCA cable will work with many combinations of camera and viewing device.
3. Turn on the camera and viewing device and check the image. There may be extraneous information on the screen, meant to assist a photographer in taking pictures. Eliminate this information by cycling through the camera's screen displays until a clean display is reached.
Tags: viewing device, camera viewing, camera viewing device, camera tripod, digital camera