The HUE HD Pro is a straightforward document camera built to survive and thrive in the classroom environment.

This is a no-nonsense classroom tool that has been built, first and foremost, to help educators – even in classrooms with young children. As such it is uncomplicated in its approach, but the flexible neck has a multitude of uses, and the price is sensible even for cash-strapped schools.

The HUE HD Pro is a document camera – or classroom camera – built to make learning fun and teaching easier.

The lens has a sturdy grip for focusing, which is done manually.

When installing the app, it was impressive how far back HUE’s support extends (and how modest its requirements are); even if your institution is not in a hurry to upgrade your computer you should still find things work.

The sample images show not only how legible the text is with camera, but also the fun which can be had using the depth of field when getting close up to the collage image my son made for school.

It was notable that the automatic exposure seemed to do a good job most of the time, not over-exposing the image or making all the paper 100% white, which made sense for live viewing by a class especially.

Manual focus didn’t seem to present any kind of problem for me. It quickly becomes very natural and can be done on-device, whatever the lighting, without needing to click in an app and hope that the autofocus can manage.

Sure, the resolution isn’t high-end, but it doesn’t need to be. Not that many classrooms are equipped with digital displays above 1080P yet, for one thing!

The fact the camera can quickly be re-positioned to show children, children’s work, tiny insects, or a selfie is impressive.

With over 20 years of expertise as a tech journalist, Adam brings a wealth of knowledge across a vast number of product categories, including timelapse cameras, home security cameras, NVR cameras, photography books, webcams, 3D printers and 3D scanners, borescopes, radar detectors… and, above all, drones.

Image credit: Future