Test Drive: Camfire DCi Whiteboard camera system

SMART Technologies, 11th Avenue SW, Suite 600, Calgary, AB, Canada 1-866-518-6791, www.smarttech.com $2999.00

The Camfire DCi Whiteboard Camera System captures high-resolution images of whiteboard notes, allowing users to print them as JPEG files or post them to the Web. It's ideal for absent students or those who simply lack good note-taking skills.

The Camfire DCi system is the latest addition to an existing array of whiteboard products by SMART Technologies. The system comes with software and two main hardware components: a fixed camera boom and a control unit. The camera, which must be mounted above an existing whiteboard, captures high-resolution images as large as 4' by 8,' and the control unit acts like a small computer, with its own processor and a variety of ports that enable users to connect to their network, printer, or portable hard drive. JPEG files are saved to the control unit, and Camfire DCi also allows users to save notes to a computer or network folder.

The Camfire DCi whiteboard camera doesn't require a computer to capture images; however, you will need a PC to view images or post them online. If you have a computer in your room, you may want to consider the Camfire PC model, which has a camera boom that connects to your computer with a 6-pin IEEE 1394 port and allows you to capture, save, and send images through your PC.

Once set up, the Camfire DCi is simple to operate. It takes slightly more than one hour for the initial installation, excluding the time it takes to permanently anchor the camera boom and control box to the wall. To capture a whiteboard image, simply press the "save" button, and the image is saved to the control unit and can be accessed by any computer with a Web browser. Images saved on the control unit can also be transferred to a portable hard drive, a PC, or a network server.

With prices starting at $2,999 for a DCi system or $1,599 for the PC System, installing Camfire units in multiple classrooms would be expensive. But it does offer students the opportunity to increase class participation rather than focus on notetaking.

If capturing and sharing the contents of your whiteboard excites you, consider the Camfire DCi system. You also might want to consider the portability and flexibility of other whiteboard products like SMARTBoard or mimio, reviewed in the April and May 2002 "Test Drive" columns.