Polecam will introduce three major additions to its range of mobile camera equipment at the 2008 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 14-17. A complete HD capture system comprising a miniature HD zoom camera, a solid-state HD field recorder and Polecam's unique single-operator broadcast-quality camera crane will be shown and demonstrated. A production version of Polecam's Fishface submersible camera head will also be introduced.

The latest-generation HD MiniZoom camera from Camera Corps is a miniature broadcast-quality 720p/1080i 50/59.94 Hz HD camera with integral remotely controllable zoom lens. Measuring just 96 x 49 x 45 mm, the camera incorporates a 1/3 inch 2 megapixel CMOS sensor with 10 x zoom lens (5.1 to 51 mm) in a weatherproofed aluminium housing. Total weight is just 285 g. The HD MiniZoom has very low power consumption (3.8 W at 6 to 12 V DC) and can be used in full auto mode with the lens at wide angle. An auxiliary interface provides all the necessary data decoding to allow full manual control of iris, zoom and focus via a small LANC controller. An optional remote CCU panel allows manual control of paint and detail. The HD MiniZoom delivers >50 dB signal-to-noise ratio (12 lux minimum illumination at F1.5). The two-piece aluminium housing is protected to IP65 standard, allowing safe operation in heavy rain or high levels of windblown dust.

Attendees will also have a chance to see the world's first Compact Flash-based ultra-portable high-definition recorder, the Flash XDR adds full high-definition digital video and audio storage facilities to the Polecam system. Measuring just 178 x 127 x 44 mm and weighing only 500 g, the recorder requires no internal fan and is completely silent in operation, rugged and extremely power-efficient. It is housed in a rugged aluminium chassis with a rubberised protective jacket and can easily be mounted to Polecam in tripod-based or harness-based configuration. The Flash XDR recorder stores up to 164 minutes of 50 Mbit/s MPEG 4:2:2 1920 x 1080 pixel HD video, embedded or external audio plus timecode in MXF file format, on four hot-swappable 16 Gbyte CompactFlash cards. 32 Gbyte cards are now available at less than $180 with 64 Gbyte cards due very soon. The recorder also supports MPEG2 4:2:2 at 100 and 160 Mbit/s as well has HDV over IEEE 1394. Operating features include a pre-record buffer, audio/video adjustment, 1080i 60 to 1080p 24 conversion, user-selectable RAID 1 redundancy, XML-based metadata handling and six programmable function keys. Being solid-state, the recorder is far more robust than disc-based and tape-based mechanisms. It can also be switch to I-frame-based timelapse mode for wild-life applications.

In addition Polecam's Fishface has now been ruggedized and is available for purchase. FishFace can be used to a depth of 4 metres (13 feet) on the Polecam or independently down to 10 metres (33 feet). Polecam's carbon fibre support arm incorporates drainage holes which allow the boom to flood and clear quickly. FishFace has 360 degree pan capability and the same fully unrestricted movement as a standard Polecam dry head. A prototype FishFace was used to televise diving at the Athens Olympics. Newly-added features on the production version include a split O-ring cable gland which can be used to seal cables without having to break existing connections. A new domed port allows parallax errors at the air/water junction to be corrected. Also new is a fully sealed one-piece pan/tilt gearbox. The only maintenance procedure needed to keep Fishface in optimum condition is to wash off salt water if operated in a saline environment.

Lastly, making its first US market appearance, the combination of Toshiba's IK-HD1E three-CCD camera fixed-focal-length camera and a Polecam rig allows outstandingly high quality 1080i 50/60 Hz coverage of live events while retaining full versatility of camera movement and shooting angle. The IK-HD1E incorporates 1/3 inch interlaced sensors and accepts standard C-mount lenses. Sensitivity is 2,000 lux at F7.4 (>54 dB SNR) increasing to 13 lux at F2.2 with +18 dB gain. Features include five scene file memories, manual or automatic white balance (including auto-white tracing), manual and automatic sensitivity control, and RS-232C control interface. Head dimensions are 33 x 39 x 41 mm, 65 g. The camera controller delivers HD-SDI, analogue RGB or Y/Pb/Pr and consumes 10.3W at 12V DC. Controller dimensions are 110 x 186 x 40 mm, 730 g. Head and controller can be operated at temperatures of 0 to 40 C and up to 90% ambient humidity.