There isn't an easy answer to the question, "Can't I just use my own digital camera to take my employee photos for our ID cards?" A better question would be "How much work do you want to do with the camera?"
The main reason it comes down to how much work you want to do is because an ID camera will feed a live image directly into your ID card software, and a regular digital camera will not. This functionality is referred to as TWAIN. This allows you to see your subject on your computer screen in real time – like a video feed.
Then, you simply press the space bar on your keyboard, it takes the picture and "plops” it directly into your ID card software. Some ID cameras will even recognize your subject’s face in the photo and automatically crop and center it! Yes, ID cameras are very cool.
On the other hand, if you use a regular digital camera which doesn’t have TWAIN functionality, you would need to do the following:
- Take your subject’s photo.
- Find the USB cable that came with your camera and plug your camera into your PC.
- In your ID card software, use the "Insert Photo” tool and browse through the pictures on your camera until you find the photo you want. Insert the photo into your card template.
- Manually crop the photo and size it to fit on your template the way you want it.
- Repeat for everyone who needs a photo ID card.
Everyone wants an ID camera. It’s quick, it’s easy, and the TWAIN camera control from your computer is really neat. It just boils down to cost. We have four ID camera bundles on our website which range from $895 to $1895.
Want a recommendation? I would go with the CanonIDBundle2 (see image at right). This includes the Canon Rebel XS camera (very nice SLR camera with flash) and InPhotoSLR TWAIN driver software with Face Finding functionality. Set up is easy, it feeds a 10.1MP photo directly into your ID card software, and it automatically crops and centers the face in the photo.