The 7 Best Live Stream Cameras For Churches In 2023

When it comes to live stream cameras for churches, there are a ton of great options. We talk to churches all the time that are agonizing over making the right choice. They always ask, “what’s the best camera for live streaming?”

The true answer is always the same: “it depends!”

The question we always ask in response is, “what kind of experience do you want for the viewer?” This is important because all tech purchase decisions should be made with that in mind. If a certain camera will not deliver the experience your viewer wants, it’s a waste of money regardless of what kind of features that camera has.

So, in this article, we’re going to talk about some of the best live-streaming camera options that are available to churches going into 2023. But we’re also going to give the use cases for each camera so you can decide if they match your production goals or not.

Reviewing the 7 Best Live Stream Cameras for Churches

There are basically three categories of cameras churches are using for live streaming in 2023:

1. PTZ Cameras
2. Handheld Cameras
3. Camcorders

I numbered them in that order on purpose as that seems to be the order in popularity. So, we’ll target the best cameras in these three categories.

The Best PTZ Cameras for Church  Live Streaming

PTZ stands for Pan, Tilt, Zoom – it’s the remotely controlled cameras that mount to the ceiling or wall. Churches love these because they make the cameras basically disappear. You’ve probably seen the churches that use large camcorder systems with giant tripods sitting on raised platforms in the middle of the congregation. A lot of churches don’t like that experience, and cameras can often make people uncomfortable.

PTZ cameras are small and mounted either to the wall or ceiling in most cases. And, while they can move around and zoom in and out, they don’t need a camera operator to touch them. They are fixed with motors so they can be controlled remotely.

While these cameras are often more expensive than handhelds, the ability to control multiple cameras with a single joystick controller, with quick presets means a single person can operate a ton of cameras at once without breaking a sweat.

PTZOptics PTZ Cameras

These PTZ cameras are by far our most popular. We sell a ton of live-streaming kits with the PTZOptics line. They are the cheapest name-brand PTZ cameras, are based in the United States and have amazing customer support and a 5-year manufacturer warranty.

We use these cameras in our church and have been perfectly happy with their performance – though they struggle a little bit in low light.

They come in two configurations (NDI and Non-NDI), and each configuration has the same zoom length:

1. 30X Zoom
2. 20X Zoom
3. 12X Zoom

The NDI versions start at $1899, and the non-NDI versions start at $1699.

You can see our PTZOptics kits here.

BirdDog PTZ Cameras

The BirdDog cameras are amazing, broadcast-quality cameras. While their price tag is a little higher than PTZOptics cameras, they are outfitted with Sony CMOS sensors and are used in a variety of professional broadcast environments. Professional sports and performance companies use these cameras all the time – and they are always sharing use cases on their Instagram feed.

The BirdDog cameras are amazing in low light, which most churches will appreciate.

BirdDog doesn’t have any non-NDI cameras, they are all-in on the NDI train. While NDI is a great technology, most churches we’ve worked with don’t have the bandwidth or network infrastructure to make NDI a reliable possibility. So, unless you have production-level networking, we still recommend using the HDMI or SDI connections on the cameras to hardwire them.

BirdDog has both 1080 and 4K PTZ Cameras, and also different zoom lengths:

1080 PTZ Cameras:

1. 40X Zoom
2. 30X Zoom
3. 20X Zoom
4. 10X Zoom

4K PTZ Cameras:

1. 20X Zoom
2. 12X Zoom

See our BirdDog Streaming Kits Here.

The Best Handheld Cameras for Church  Live Streaming

In reality, most of the handheld variety of cameras today are actually mirrorless cameras. Some will still call these cameras “DSLR” but that is technically inaccurate. But, they look very similar – like traditional photography cameras. But today, these cameras are the most popular “film” cameras, even for larger budgets.

There are a ton of these and a lot of brands, but we will stick with the most popular: Sony, Panasonic, Blackmagic Design

Sony Live Streaming Cameras

Sony battles Canon for the best autofocus in the industry. To us, Sony wins that battle by a small margin.

For churches that want to mount these stationary cameras to a tripod and leave them alone, autofocus is essential. We see a lot of people using these cameras when they choose a one-camera live streaming kit.

We use the Sony a6400 in our church for one of our static shots. We don’t leave an operator on the camera – it’s actually mounted to a wall. The view from that camera never changes, but it gives us a static view and the image quality is outstanding. Superior autofocus means the subject is always in focus.

The Best Choices:

• The a6100
• The a6400
• The a6600

Note: all of these are virtually the same camera, and it will be almost impossible to tell the difference between the image quality. The a6100 is older and has fewer bells and whistles – which most live-streaming applications won’t use anyway. The a6400 is a great middle-of-the-road choice.

The a6600 is the newest, and it’s the most expensive. However, it has both lens stabilization and in-body stabilization (often called IBIS). While it’s not the best in the industry, it helps keep the image smooth if you have a lot of vibration or you’re using the camera handheld in a wireless, roaming setup.

Here are some of our kits based on the Sony line.

Panasonic Live Streaming Cameras

The Panasonic line is great, and the image quality is amazing. The autofocus kind of stinks, so keep that in mind if you’re going to leave the cameras without an operator.

The Panasonic G85 is a great camera without a huge price tag.

The Panasonic GH5 is also another great choice. However, the real benefits of the GH5 make it a good choice if you’re doing video work outside of just live streaming. If you’re live streaming only, I would go with the G85, as the image will be almost the same to the viewer.

We use the G85 and its older brother, the G7, in our Budget Streaming Kits.

Blackmagic Design Live Streaming Cameras

These are cinema-quality, professional 4K (and 6K) cameras. There are benefits to using them for live streaming though, especially if you’re using the ATEM Mini line of switchers.

The downside is that they don’t have a lot of the “point and shoot” shortcuts that other mirrorless cameras have – such as no continuous autofocus. And, often the color is flatter because of their codec shooting for maximum dynamic range. This means color correction is a necessity, when a lot of the other brands have camera settings to give creative color choices in a setting.

With that said, image quality cannot be outdone. They are amazing cameras, especially for the price.

These cameras are virtually the same to the viewer, but the operation is different.

The Pocket Cinema Cameras

This version is meant for wireless shooting – so handheld. Think of shooting a film for the cinema where the camera is up in the action. That’s what this is designed to mimic.

There is no in-body stabilization though – except for some digital help, which crops the image. So, if handheld, using a gimbal is a good idea unless you have some really steady hands. And, if you’re thinking of just mounting them to a tripod, the Studio version may be a better choice.

The Studio Cameras

These are very similar to pocket cinema cameras, but in a different kind of body meant for tripod life in a recording studio. These make amazing cameras for churches that have a camera operator on hand.

The Double-Benefit with ATEM Software

A cool thing about the Blackmagic cameras is that you can control almost all aspects of the camera remotely through the ATEM software. So, if you have them connected to an ATEM Mini Pro, Extreme, etc… you can control the exposure and focus remotely. And, if your lens is motorized, you can even control the zoom – which means you have a PTZ camera without the panning and tilting… so a Z camera? (corny joke)

Here are our Blackmagic Design kits.  (Note, we can switch out the Pocket Cinema cameras for Studio cameras if desired – their pricing is almost identical)

Camcorders for Live Streaming

Here’s where we end because personally, I think camcorders are going out of style. Few churches use them as their functionality just can’t keep up with the mirrorless handheld cameras. One big drawback is the inability to change the lens, which you can on the mirrorless cameras. So you’re stuck with the stock lens on the camera, and this limits your ability to dial in your shallow depth-of-field, get a higher aperture for low light, etc.

There are some benefits for camcorders – most have in-body stabilization for example. But as cinema-quality cameras get more and more affordable, most are going with those handheld versions over the camcorder. We don’t sell camcorders at ChurchSetup because they just don’t deliver value for the money.

So, if you were looking for camcorder reviews here, I’m sorry to disappoint. Our review is, you can get better for less with a mirrorless.

Live Streaming Equipment in 2023

As we’re ending 2022 and looking forward to the next year, a lot of these brands will be releasing new updates and new products. In fact, I’m about to jump on a webinar with PTZOptics and get a preview of their new line of cameras coming next year. But, its doubtful that large leaps in functionality will change this list. It’ll most likely be like iPhone updates – the same, just a little better than the previous.

If there’s a huge development, we will update this post as necessary.

But here’s a question for you in the meantime: did we miss your favorite cameras? Which ones do you love, and why?

Let us know!