If you’re ready to start a YouTube channel or produce other video content, a teleprompter is a critical piece of equipment that can elevate the quality of your videos.
Teleprompters come in all shapes and sizes (and price points), and with so much variety, it can be a little overwhelming deciding which direction to go.
That’s where this teleprompter shopping guide comes in…
If you’re unsure of what features to look for in a new teleprompter, the guideline below will help! Since I have extensive experience using Ikan’s teleprompters, I’ll use them as ideal examples of what teleprompters should be.
So, with that, let’s get to it!
Table of Contents
- What is a Teleprompter, and Why Use One?
- Features to Look for in a Teleprompter
- Practice Makes Perfect
What is a Teleprompter, and Why Use One?
The primary reason why you should use a teleprompter is because it results in a much more natural look in your videos. Rather than looking down at a printed copy of what you need to read, you can look directly at the camera so the audience feels like you’re engaging directly with them. This is exactly why professional newscasters use teleprompters.
And don’t be scared that teleprompters are difficult to use or hard to read, either…
A teleprompter is a piece of glass and a monitor that shows the script you need to read. The glass is reflective and is placed above the monitor at an angle so you can read the reflection of the text. As you read iPad teleprompters like this, the text scrolls to reveal the next lines of text, giving you the ability to read at a very natural and engaging pace.
Again, this enables you to maintain eye contact with the camera. You don’t have to memorize what you need to say, either!
Features to Look for in a Teleprompter
Not all teleprompters are made alike, so you’ll need to investigate the features that teleprompters offer you. You can get all kinds of sizes of teleprompters, and they come with a wide range of potential features.
So, if you’re a newbie and want a compact, travel-friendly teleprompter for vlogging, you can find one. Conversely, if you need a professional-grade option for your studio, you can find one of those, too.
But, regardless of what your teleprompter needs might be, there are a few features to prioritize to ensure you get a unit that is the best fit for your situation…
Teleprompter Sizing
As noted earlier, teleprompters come in all shapes and sizes.
And while the size of the teleprompter might not seem like something you need to worry about, it can greatly influence your workflow.
For example, my first Ikan teleprompter was the Elite Pro 2 Universal Tablet Teleprompter (shown above). At 6.5 pounds and 22 x 10.5 x 12 inches, it’s a small, portable teleprompter that takes up very little space in my home studio.
And because it’s so small, it’s easy to transport to other locations. Sometimes I shoot videos in my backyard, my garage, or even in the field, and this teleprompter works great for those applications. If you envision being mobile and needing a teleprompter that you can take with you, a smaller rig like this is a great choice.
Another Ikan teleprompter I have extensive experience with is the Professional 15-Inch High Bright Beam Splitter model shown above. Now, this teleprompter has since been discontinued, but I still want to discuss it in the context of sizing. At 22 pounds, it is significantly heavier than the portable teleprompter I mentioned above. It also has a larger footprint of 25 x 20 x 16 inches (this doesn’t include the space needed for other gear, like a tripod, camera, and lens, of course).
Given its size, this teleprompter is best suited for studio work only. It’s not something I’d want to carry with me to a remote shoot. The same goes for my current Ikan teleprompter, the 15″ SDI Teleprompter w/ SDI Talent Monitor, Tripod & Dolly Turnkey. As you can see below, this is a complete professional setup with everything you need, ranging from a dolly to a monitor to a fluid head (and a lot more!).
Now, obviously, my new rig isn’t something that I’m going to pack up and take on a shoot in the field. But, here at home, where I record a lot of video content in my studio, it’s an ideal setup. Sure, it’s not as compact as some of the other Ikan teleprompter setups I’ve used in the past, but, man, is it a dream to use here in the studio!
Aside from portability, the sizing of your teleprompter is important with regard to the size of the screen from which you read.
My first teleprompter could accommodate tablets up to 9 x 12 inches, which is easy to read from up to about 14 feet away. In teleprompters like that, the tablet simply lies in a tray, and the text on the tablet screen is reflected in the glass and reflected back towards me for easy reading.
Larger teleprompters, like my new Ikan rig, have a 15-inch screen teleprompter screen, which gives me larger text to read and the ability to position myself further away if needed (this teleprompter setup also has a 15-inch talent monitor, so I can see myself on screen as I’m recording). Of course, I use this teleprompter in my home studio, so I can only be about 8-10 feet away from it due to the size restraints of the studio.
Another advantage of using a teleprompter with a larger screen is that by placing it further from you, you have more room to place cameras, lights, and other equipment. This is just something to consider if you have visions of a large and complex video setup.
Teleprompter Glass
The glass a teleprompter uses can make or break your ability to read the text efficiently. When shopping for a new teleprompter, prioritize options with 65/35 reflective glass – this makes the text easier to see because 65 percent of the light projected onto it is reflected and the remaining 35 percent simply passes through.
Furthermore, higher-end models like mine offer beam splitter glass, which allows me to read the text while maintaining direct eye contact with the camera. My teleprompter has 3mm-thick optical-grade glass, too, which has an anti-reflection coating on the rear that prevents ghosting. The result is an ultra-clear, color-neutral image with easy-to-read text.
Now, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get a teleprompter with good glass. A good example of this is Ikan’s Elite Universal Tablet, iPad, and iPad Pro Teleprompter. It comes with 70/30 reflective glass and has beam splitter glass at that, all for less than $850!
Teleprompter Brightness
When shopping for a teleprompter, be sure you think about the brightness level of the screen. When you’re recording at home, like I often do in my studio, you’ll need a much lower screen brightness than you do when you’re out at midday recording in the field.
For fieldwork with a teleprompter, you’ll want a display that has 1000 nits of brightness, at a minimum. My newest Ikan teleprompter offers precisely that. Additionally, I can control various settings that make the teleprompter easier to see, such as tint, sharpness, contrast, backlight, and chroma. I can adjust brightness, too, of course. Heck, I can even change the intensity of each RGB color channel!
The moral of the story is this – when shopping for a teleprompter, look for something with appropriate adjustments so you can really dial in the monitor for easy reading. After all, what’s the point of having a teleprompter if you can’t read it well?!
Teleprompter Controls
Teleprompters come with a variety of control options, including wired and wireless remotes, hand controls, and even foot controls that move the text on the screen for easy reading.
The way you control a teleprompter is a bit of a personal preference. Some people really like foot controls. Others prefer to use a wired remote. Unfortunately, unless you’re able to test these various control methods out ahead of time, there’s really no way of knowing what method you prefer before you buy a teleprompter.
My Ikan Elite Pro 2 Universal Tablet Teleprompter has a wireless remote that’s super easy to use and allows me to start and stop the teleprompter feed with the push of a button. For working out in the field, a wireless remote like this is a perfect means of controlling the text on the teleprompter.
Meanwhile, my old studio teleprompter had a foot pedal. This is ideal for studio work because it’s easy to control the text without having a remote in my hand, which would obviously show on screen. My new Ikan teleprompter also uses a foot pedal, and I utilize Ikan’s proprietary software on my computer, too.
But advancing the text is just one control to think about. For example, high-end teleprompters like the one I use offer a range of controls for the teleprompter, tripod, head, and so forth. It has HDMI, Composite, and VGA inputs for the monitor. I can adjust the aspect ratio to 16:9, 4:3, or full, or it can automatically detect the aspect ratio and adjust itself accordingly.
Other controls include the following:
- A rail that makes balancing the teleprompter setup easy (and without the need for a counterweight!).
- Over 6 inches of sliding range on the fluid head to enable precise counterbalancing. The fluid head also offers eight levels of adjustable counterbalance.
- Pan and tilt functionality (with locks) that ensure stability and eliminate drifting.
- Tripod height adjustment from 18 inches to 63 inches.
Of course, not all teleprompters are high-end models like this. You’ll find varying levels of control depending on the price point.
Compatibility With Other Gear
Of course, you want to ensure that your teleprompter will work with your camera gear…
The foundation of all of this is your tripod and the tripod head. These items need to be able to support the weight of your teleprompter, camera, and lens all at the same time.
For me, a good tripod is worth spending the extra money for the higher payload capacity. I’d rather have something like the ProMediaGear Pro-Stix 4-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod that set me back $1,500 than put my expensive camera, lens, and teleprompter on a cheap tripod in an effort to save money. Now, you don’t have to spend $1,500 on a tripod – there are many excellent options at a lower price point. Just be sure the payload capacity of the tripod and ballhead exceed the weight of all your gear.
Of course, professional-grade teleprompters like mine come with a heavy-duty tripod that’s purpose-built for accommodating big loads. Not only that, but it also comes with a heavy-duty dolly that enables me to move the rig around quickly and easily.
Another component to think about in terms of compatibility is whether your camera and lens will work with a teleprompter. Not only does this depend on your camera and lens, but it also depends on the mounting system that comes with the teleprompter.
For example, my new teleprompter from Ikan came with three different camera mounts to ensure that I have flexibility in the camera and lens combinations that I can use with the teleprompter. Having that flexibility is paramount – it allows you to place the camera and lens at the back of the teleprompter; that way, your eye line is right down the barrel of the lens. As noted earlier, this helps create interactions with the audience that ensure authenticity, even though I’m reading a script.
Practice Makes Perfect
Photo by SeventyFour via Shutterstock
Of course, having all the right gear is going to help you perfect your video productions, but the most important factor is you and your skills and abilities in front of the camera. Learning how to use a teleprompter takes time and practice, so don’t get discouraged if your first few videos using a teleprompter seem a little stiff.
With time, you’ll get comfortable reading scripts off the teleprompter, and that stiffness will go away, and your presentation will be much more engaging and laid back. But to get to that point, you need to invest some time in learning all about the gear you need to make your video productions happen in the first place.
This teleprompter shopping guide is a good place to start. Be sure you investigate cameras, lenses, tripods, and lighting as well, as each of these items will prove beneficial for creating high-quality content.
A quick heads-up: If you snag something through our affiliate links or check out our sponsored content, we might earn a commission at no extra cost to you. But fear not, we’re all about recommending stuff we’re truly stoked about!
Learn More:
- The Best Canon Camera for Video
- Sony a6700: Photography and Videography Features That Make This an Ideal Hybrid Camera
Hero photo by bodnar.photo via Shutterstock
