Polecam intros three new products at NAB

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.