When you look at the big names in endzone camera systems, the price you pay can vary quite significantly. The big question is; what’s the difference between an endzone camera that costs $5,000 and one that costs less than $3,000? Some manufacturers, like Hi Pod and Sport Scope charge up to $5,000 for some of their endzone video systems. That might make you wonder what you might be missing out on if you bought a cheaper model. The Sky 200GC from Hi Rise Camera, for example. To help you make the right decision for your team, here are the main things to consider when comparing prices of endzone camera systems.
Back to Basics
The first thing to think about is; what is the main purpose of an endzone camera tower? The answer to that is very simple. The purpose of a video camera tower is to provide an elevated view. Every good coach in the world will tell you an elevated view is the best view for shooting sports video. The optimum height for a sports video camera is approximately 20 feet. Much below that and you won’t get the best camera angle. Anything above that brings you very little improvement on the angle.
You Need Pan, Tilt and Zoom
Of course, with your video camera twenty feet in the air, you are going to need a way to pan, tilt, and zoom the camera. That will allow you to follow the action on the field. Some endzone video systems, like some models from Hi Pod and Sport Scope, offer robotic camera heads. Other manufacturers, like Hi Rise Camera, only supply manually operated endzone camera systems. Robotic cameras are, arguably, easier to use. However, motorized heads and wireless controls add to the cost of an endzone camera system. They also operate much slower than manually operated camera heads. That makes it difficult to keep up with the game.
Your Camera Tower Needs to Portable
An endzone camera system is a big investment for any team. Especially for schools and small local teams. To get the best value for money out of an endzone camera, you are likely to want to use it for many different sports. Plus, you will want to take it to away fixtures with you. How easy a camera tower will be to move from one location to the next will depend on several factors. The key factors to consider when it comes to portability are the weight and the size of the unit when it is packed away. Quite simply, the more individual pieces of equipment there are to transport, the heavier and bulkier the endzone camera will be.
Value for Money
When comparing endzone camera systems like Hi Rise Camera, Hi Pod, and Sport Scope, and deciding on how much you are going to spend, the important thing is getting good value for money. If you do decide to spend $5,000, or more, you may well get a robotic camera heads, wireless control and state of the art technology. However, if you could spend less than $3,000 on a manual system from Hi Rise Camera. Then, you will get a lightweight, 20 feet high endzone video system with fast, but manual, pan and a tilt. And, you will have $2,000 left over to spend on sports equipment for the team.