What's the right way to take pictures when taking notes in a conference setting?

I go to conferences and talks often. It's necessary to take photos of the slides in the presentation when taking notes. Currently I do this with a phone. The good about this approach is all the needed functions are there. There are many note taking apps. I can write on the screen. There's a built-in camera and I can easily snap a photo within the app. The bad is the hardware really suck. A phone (even a phablet like the Galaxy Note) is too small for comfortable writing. A typical pinhole camera on a phone, even a high-end model, achieves bare minimum picture quality at best. If I'm seating in the back row or the lighting is bad it simply doesn't work.

Slates (by slate I mean something that looks like an iPad) are better for writing, but their cameras suck even more.

Therefore I'm thinking about replacing my laptop with a tablet (by tablet I mean something like ThinkPad Xt or Yoga) and use an external camera for photo taking. Has anyone done this before? What options do I have if I want a proper digital camera connected to the tablet PC (wireless preferred)? What stylus note taking software on the PC (Windows/Linux) can handle the camera device and allow me to add a picture quickly? The presentation won't wait for me, so taking a photo and then somehow locate the new picture file through some menu digging is not an option. It must work quickly. The fewer clicks the better.

 

There's a few experiments with connected cameras coming out, the newest of which is the Olympus Air. These are basically DSLR level cameras, complete with interchangeable lenses and all, that use your mobile device as the front-end.

Main thing is they're designed for mobile phones, so the apps are iOS or Android only. You could try it with one of the new tablets with styluses, like the Galaxy Note or Zenpad S. A phablet like the note 4 could also work.

There's also a standard tripod mount so you if you have the space you could just mount it somewhere, point it at the screen, and use the slate normally with both hands.

If you have the budget I would say buy one and try it out.

 

Is there any 10"+ Android tablet with proper digitalizers? I'm using a Note 3 already and it still feels too small. Even if there is one, because I can't get all my PC stuff done on an Android device I would have to carry one more machine.

The Olympus Air camera itself does look very interesting though. I'll find more info about it.


Or maybe I'll just give up on on-site photo annotation and use an independent camera.

 

If the Note's digitizer works for you, the series goes all the way up to 12".

The sad state of Windows apps is that no one is really developing for it. You could try an android or iOS emulator, or you could ping Olympus about windows support.

Like I said, if you can spare the $500 (body+lens), I would just buy one and see if you can develop a useable workflow.

 

Thanks.

Didn't realize there was a Note Pro line up. S-Pen check. Camera is weaker than the phablet though. Why do they never put good cameras on slates?

Will look into Olympus Air.