Answers.Body: <p>What you look for is probably a combination of the Bescor / Hague MP360 motorized pan tilt head with the CamRanger controller. CamRanger are selling the combo under their label, you can see some nice video explanations at <a href="http://camranger.com/camranger-pan-tilt/" rel="nofollow">their web site</a>. If you don't need the extra pizzaz then you can look at just the MP360, or even the lower-end <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/64399-REG/Bescor_MP101_MP_101_Motorized_Pan_Head.html" rel="nofollow">MP101</a> which is a great product too.</p>
  
  <p>Note that these heads have a tilt limit of 30deg, so, depending on your setting, you may have to throw in a correction plate.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-26T13:53:29.057Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-05-26T13:53:29.057Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: avnr
Body: <p>Our church wants to install a video camera to record services and sermons, nothing fancy - here's what I'm thinking:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Mount a remote-control pan/tilt head on the wall or railing of the balcony</li>
  <li>During the service, attach a video camera that has remote-control zoom/start/stop control</li>
  <li>Have software that lets the operator hit buttons that say "pan/tilt/zoom so the camera is pointing at the pulpit" or "pan/tilt/zoom so the camera shows the entire altar area".</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>The challenge, of course, is that we don't have $5000 to spend on one of the fancy commercial systems (nor do we need something that sophisticated).</p>
  
  <p>We have a Canon VIXIA HF-R52 that you can control remotely (zoom/start/stop), and I'm considering the Panasonic CTR-1 Remote Pan Tilt Cradle, what I can't tell is whether the controls for either let you say "go to zoom level 8.3, pan 20 degrees from center and 30 degrees down from horizontal" (which is what I would need, in order to give the operator a button for "pan/tilt/zoom to the altar".</p>
  
  <p>BTW, I don't want the system that follows motion, or requires everyone to carry a special tag that the PT head detects and follows.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a low-cost solution that gives me what I need?</p>
  
  <p>I saw this question: <a href="https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/9835/remote-pan-tilt-zoom-cameras-that-arent-expensive">Remote pan/tilt/zoom cameras that aren't expensive</a> which is similar, but didn't go far enough.  As far as I can tell, the low-end pan/tilt heads let you say "pan to the left" but they don't let you say "pan to 30 degrees left" which is what I am looking for.</p>
  
Tags: <video>
Title: Is there a low-cost automated pan/tilt/zoom system?
UserDisplayName: Betty Crokker
ThreadText: # Is there a low-cost automated pan/tilt/zoom system?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-24)
  
  Our church wants to install a video camera to record services and sermons, nothing fancy - here's what I'm thinking:
  
  1. Mount a remote-control pan/tilt head on the wall or railing of the balcony
  2. During the service, attach a video camera that has remote-control zoom/start/stop control
  3. Have software that lets the operator hit buttons that say "pan/tilt/zoom so the camera is pointing at the pulpit" or "pan/tilt/zoom so the camera shows the entire altar area".
  
  The challenge, of course, is that we don't have $5000 to spend on one of the fancy commercial systems (nor do we need something that sophisticated).
  
  We have a Canon VIXIA HF-R52 that you can control remotely (zoom/start/stop), and I'm considering the Panasonic CTR-1 Remote Pan Tilt Cradle, what I can't tell is whether the controls for either let you say "go to zoom level 8.3, pan 20 degrees from center and 30 degrees down from horizontal" (which is what I would need, in order to give the operator a button for "pan/tilt/zoom to the altar".
  
  BTW, I don't want the system that follows motion, or requires everyone to carry a special tag that the PT head detects and follows.
  
  Is there a low-cost solution that gives me what I need?
  
  I saw this question: [Remote pan/tilt/zoom cameras that aren't expensive](https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/9835/remote-pan-tilt-zoom-cameras-that-arent-expensive) which is similar, but didn't go far enough. As far as I can tell, the low-end pan/tilt heads let you say "pan to the left" but they don't let you say "pan to 30 degrees left" which is what I am looking for.
  
  **Tags:** video
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2015-05-26. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
  
  What you look for is probably a combination of the Bescor / Hague MP360 motorized pan tilt head with the CamRanger controller. CamRanger are selling the combo under their label, you can see some nice video explanations at [their web site](http://camranger.com/camranger-pan-tilt/). If you don't need the extra pizzaz then you can look at just the MP360, or even the lower-end [MP101](http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/64399-REG/Bescor_MP101_MP_101_Motorized_Pan_Head.html) which is a great product too.
  
  Note that these heads have a tilt limit of 30deg, so, depending on your setting, you may have to throw in a correction plate.
  
  
  ---
  
  