Elmo TT-12 Document Camera

The Elmo TT-12i Interactive Document Camera connects to a projector and allows teachers to project classroom material with constructive features/effects applied. It can also be connected to a TV set and the TV used as a display. It’s USB Video Class compliant (UVC), meaning it can be used as a webcam with services like Skype by USB connection to a Mac or PC. All you’ll have to do is select it as the camera of choice in the webcam service you use. 

The camera functionality captures video and photos in up to 1080p Full HD resolution. The most commonly used function, however, is Live View mode, which allows you to display any document, image, or OBJECT live via a connected projector or TV. The video/photo capture functions typically serve as secondary to Live View mode. For example, you may want to project a live image of an object along with an image of the object’s back side. To do this, you’ll need to take a photo of the back side and then project the photo with a Live View of the front side in a split screen or picture-in-picture setup. 

Most of the controls are available on the main body and on the included remote control. Two of these controls are Zoom and Focus. The camera is capable of enlarging an image or object by up to 96x without any distortion, and the auto-focus button will bring the image/object into crisp focus within a second or two. You’ll be able to zoom in on something as small as a penny and show even its tiniest details clearly. Moreover, the camera is adjustable at the head, arm, and neck so that you can bring it within inches of an object and then zoom by 96x. The head rotates a full 360° so you can point the camera down, up, and anywhere in between; the neck can be swung to the back or front 300° so you can point at the sides, (like out of the window), and it bends downward 45° so that you can close in right overhead an object; and the arm rotates 180° to ACCOMMODATE both left- and right-handed users (as the zoom dial and focus button are at the tip of the camera head). 

Another control is Highlight, which shades out every part of an image except a square portion in the center. This square can be resized and moved around to highlight other parts of the image. Another control is Mask, which is useful for going over tests. It covers your image completely, like covering a test paper with another sheet of paper, and at your command it reveals more and more of the image (the test answers) underneath. Capture controls let you capture video or photos to an optional USB flash drive or SD card, both of which the TT-12i has slots for, and the Play control brings up a library of all your captured media so you can select and play back a clip or image. The Pause control is useful for having the class follow along with a particular text. For example, you can place a textbook under the camera in Live View mode, hit the Pause button, and then remove the textbook. An image of the textbook will remain displayed as if the book is still under the camera eye. You can then read from the book and the class can follow along the paused image. The Mosaic control provides an engaging way for letting students guess. It places a blur over an image and lets you lessen the blur little by little to reveal the image. 

All these controls are also available on an included software called Image Mate, which you can use by connecting the TT-12i to a computer, Mac or PC. Connection to a computer brings up your computer’s desktop on your projection display or TV. If you open Image Mate, a window will come up with a live image of whatever’s under your camera eye, and a toolbox within the window will offer you the abovementioned controls and also additional ones that will let you annotate and image with lines, circles, and other markings. Image Mate also allows you to perform time-lapse photography with your camera with user-defined interval settings. Additional to a remote control and Image Mate, the TT-12i also comes with a USB cable, RGB cable, power supply, and AAA batteries.