5 Best Cameras For A Church Live Stream in 2024

Social media is a great way to connect religion to audiences all around the world. Through live church services, whether through YouTube Live, Facebook Live, or any other live streaming platform, individuals have the ability to tune in to sermons from the comfort of their homes and never miss a beat. 

For a church to be able to provide this virtual service, it is necessary that you have the top-of-the-line equipment to get the job done. Shopping for church streaming equipment is kind of fun. There’s something enjoyable about reading online reviews, flipping through catalogs, and weighing all the features and options. It’s not until you have to actually make a decision that it gets tough. Which video camera will be best for your church live stream?

You want to make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth, and that this new live streaming equipment is going to stand the test of time. With the glut of tech options (and more coming every day), it can be difficult to make a final decision.

But if you’re looking for a new camera that excels at church live streaming, we’ve got you covered. We’ve pulled together five solid choices for live broadcasting your sermon, baptisms, testimonies, and whatever else you want to share with the world.

We start with the lower-budget options and move toward the more high-level gear for churches with a bigger budget and are looking for something a little more professional.

Check out this video to see how ACF Church is using Resi, a premium church livestreaming solution, to connect with their congregation!

LEARN MORE ABOUT LIVESTREAMING WITH RESI

1. Church Live Stream Cameras – Canon VIXIA HF R700

If you’re trying to get into livestreaming on a budget, the Vixia HF R700 is a good place to start. While this camera might not be ideal if you need to set up and livestream an entire church service, it’s a great option for livestreaming classrooms, meetings, and staff updates.

This is definitely an entry-level camera, but it’s a huge step up from trying to livestream events with your phone. It’s going to give you some good recording options and better video than you’d get with your iPhone or Android, and help you learn the basics about live broadcasting when you’re ready to step into a more expensive camera.
Specs:

• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Microphone: Built in and 3.5 mm input
• Weight: 235 g / 8.3 ounces
• Estimated battery life: N/A
• Warranty: 1 year
• Cost: $299.99

More and more churches are offering online services for those wanting to watch from home and it’s becoming difficult to track attendance and engagement. How do you keep your online guests coming back and make sure no one falls through the cracks? See what other churches are doing in the State of Church Tech Report.

2. Church Live Stream Cameras – Mevo Start 

Right off the bat, you can see that Mevo has a unique offering. It doesn’t look anything like a camera. It’s a small cylindrical object that’s three inches tall. What’s great about this design is that it’s inconspicuous and will help people forget that they’re even being recorded.

Early in 2020, Mevo rolled out a new all-in-one live streaming camera. This newly designed camera includes live editing, face tracking, and autopilot capabilities as well as better low-light performance, a bigger built-in battery, and a better overall connectivity.

This smart camera detects people and tracks movement so you don’t have to worry about missing the action. The phone or tablet app allows you to customize shots while you’re filming, giving you the ability to zoom, cut, and pan from anywhere in the room. 

Specs:

• Video: 1080p encoding in HEVC or H.264
• Lens: 3.6 mm lens with low distortion, 83.7 degree field of view
• Audio: 3 MEMS mics with spatial processing, 3.5mm aux input, USB-C auto input, or from a mobile device via the free Mevo Mic App.
• Connectivity: 802.11ac to a local wifi network, via host device’s 4G LTE signal, or wired ethernet connection (via optional adapter)
• Supported Streaming Platforms: Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, LinkedIn, or custom RTMP destinations.
• Recording: Saves a copy of live streams to microSD or can record-only without live streaming.
• Dimensions: 3×1.3×3.4 in, 8.2oz
• Estimated Battery Life: Up to 6 hours
• Warranty: 1 year
• Cost: $399

3. Church Live Stream Cameras – Canon Vixia G40

If you’re looking for a higher quality camera capable of live video streaming, the Canon Vixia G40 is a great place to start. It’s going to give you great shots in low light, and for the price, you can’t beat the 1080p HD picture. It’s rugged and comfortable, and the intelligent Optical Image Stabilization will help your tech team shoot steady video, whether it’s in a service or on site at a youth event.

For livestreaming your services, you’ll be happy with how easy it is to get set up right out of the box. And you’ll be more than satisfied with the quality of your livestreamed video.

Specs:

• Resolution: HD 1080
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Microphone: Built in and 3.5 mm input
• Wifi:  2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
• Weight: 765 g / 1.68 pounds
• Estimated battery life: About 2 hours
• Warranty: 1 year
• Cost: $1099.99

4. Church Live Stream Cameras – Sony PXWX70

With a higher resolution than any other camcorder in its price range, the Sony PXWX70 is going to deliver professional-level video to your website and social platforms. The single one-inch, 20 megapixel sensor offers awesome low-light images and a shallower depth of field.

Unlike a lot of other cameras in this range, the PXWX70 also offers dual XLR audio inputs, dual recording slots, 3 ND filters, a full-size HDMI output, #G HD-SDI output and NFC, and wireless LAN control. It’s quite a bargain at this price point.  

Specs:

• Resolution: HD 1080
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Microphone: Omni-directional stereo electret condenser microphone
• Wifi:  2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
• Weight: 879 g / 1.93 pounds
• Estimated battery life: About 2.5 hours
• Warranty: 1 year
• Cost: $1,799

We hope these options help you select a camera for live streaming church. If you’re looking for even more tools and resources to improve your overall online experience, download our free ebook – The Ultimate Guide to Church Engagement.

5. Church Live Stream Cameras – Canon FX-105

If you secure a couple of the Canon FX-105 for your team, you’ll be streaming pro-level video in no time. It’s packed with professional features and produces footage that blows more expensive cameras away.

It’s compact enough that you can take it anywhere, but robust enough to fit most church needs. It supports the highest HD quality with full 1920 x 1080 resolution, and up to a 50Mbps bit rate. At 4:2:2 color sampling, it provides ultra-fine transitions in tone and color which is going to give you great live video, and provide you with a quality template for post production and editing.

Specs:

• Resolution: HD 1920 x 1080
• Aspect ratio: 16:9, 4:3
• Microphone: Stereo electret condenser microphone
• Weight: 1070 g / 2.4 pounds
• Estimated battery life: Depending on the bit rate, 100–165 min.
• Warranty: 1 year
• Cost: $2,499

A NOTE ON CANON CAMERAS

If you have a Canon mirrorless, DSLR, or PowerShot camera, there’s a good chance you can now also use it as a webcam for livestreaming. The company recently released a beta of “EOS Webcam Utility” for Windows 10 that lets you plug in supported cameras over USB. One thing to note is that the software is for use in the US and currently not supported elsewhere.

Improve Your Overall Online Experience

As you begin to improve your online church services for your congregation, it’s also a great time to enhance your giving and overall online experience. With the creation of many new apps for churches, you are now able to grow the way your following interacts with the church. While your people are watching your services at home, what do you think would be their preferred way to engage and practice generosity? So many people have smartphones and check them regularly. A church texting service is a great example of a way to connect with your members. By providing a church app and a text-to-give option, you’ll make it extremely easy for your people to engage from their couch or from the pew. Fortunately, there are some great platforms to help you get started.

One option is ChurchStaq. ChurchStaq is an all-in-one solution that helps you encourage giving, nurture community, and share your message. The platform includes:

• A complete suite of giving and donor development tools
• A powerful church management software
• A full-feature mobile church app

Click here to schedule a demo and learn more about ChurchStaq.