BirdDog Eyes P200 1080p Full NDI PTZ Camera (Black)

We decided to jump in, take a chance, and experiment with PTZ after using more traditional broadcast cameras. We installed and have used a Birddog P200 for several weeks in a house of worship. The P200 has several things going for it, and a few things we wish we knew going into the purchase. Latency We tested the latency of the P200 NDI compared to other cameras on hand which we ran through Magewell Pro NDI encoders--no genlock anywhere. The cameras varied, but latency was generally close. A Canon XA11 (used often in high schools here) was spot on with the P200. PTZ speed, accuracy Good! White Balance This was one of our bigger gripes with the P200. Although it offers one touch white balance, it doesn't then show you the industry standard Kelvin number or the blue/red values. The one touch setting is not retained when powered off--if we're understanding the manual correctly--so that's a problem. Although you can manually adjust blue/red, this isn't intuitive. Despite the pain, we decided to set blue/red settings by eye since this will be retained in memory. However the WB still isn't quite right. Even inexpensive cams have manual Kelvin WB; a camera for broadcast at this price point should offer it. Exposure We immediately reacted to the variable aperture zoom lens. Oh no, maybe this purchase was a mistake. The exposure is wildly different zoomed out than zoomed in. In manual mode, wide shots are way too bright, and close shots are too dark. By comparison, the Birddog P400 has a less variable aperture. The flagship P4K's zoom is constant at F2.0, though the spec sheet states 16 steps which I don't understand. The way we worked around wildly different exposures was to essentially shade every camera position differently, in this case using Vmix. That's a pain when you're creating 16 different input positions, and impossible if you don't know what you're doing. We kept the camera gain at 10.7 with a wide open iris. There was no variability in Birddog software between a gain of 10.7 and 14ish. Why? 10.7 wasn't quite bright enough, and we didn't want the noise of 14, so we used Vmix's Colour Correction to bump the brightness a little (on every virtual input/camera position). Focus The manual wasn't clear how to put the camera into manual focus, other than with the remote which we don't want to use for several reasons. Fortunately in Vmix, once the Focus box is ticked, the P200 seems to respond properly and saves focus settings; the camera isn't attempting to use auto focus. Our feedback for Birddog is that it would be helpful 1) to have punch in (instant magnification) for setting manual focus and 2) to see focus numbers. One of the benefits of NDI and digital would seem to be, well, numbers. I don't know if the NDI protocol allows communication of focus numbers, but having that info accessible on the network and by applications like Vmix would be lovely. I'm hoping people besides us have dreamed of this bright future! Will we keep the P200? Yes. The full NDI is a must-have. One cable is awesome. The PTZ advantages for small facilities are clear. Although the sensor is small, it's an acceptable compromise for smaller operations given the PTZ advantages. Do you need two of them? Well, you may have better cameras for your main shots. If you're a budget operation, you need a second shot to cut to while you're making PTZ changes on the P200. You could get a less expensive wide shot camera, even a mirrorless that will have good picture quality. But yes, two PTZ's would be nice for you. Would we buy a P4k? No, unless the white balance and exposure options are improved, with a few other tweaks. Focus numbers and punch in--well, that might be a dream but we would prioritize whatever manufacturer can make that happen. At the P4k's price, customers can buy a great traditional camera. Still, if you've gotta have PTZ, well, you have to have it!