Inertia Unlimited Rolls Out Latest High-Speed Phantom Cam

April is a busy month for Inertia Unlimited, with Major League Baseball throwing out the first pitch on the 2012 season and the NHL ramping up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With that in mind, the specialty-camera provider will incorporate Vision Research’s newly released Phantom v642 high-speed digital camera in its X-Mo system for all its MLB clients and for CBC Sports’ Hockey Night in Canada and plans to roll out the state-of-the-art camera to all its clients by the end of the month.

“We are rolling out our cameras for MLB and NHL playoffs this week,” says Inertia Unlimited President Jeff Silverman. “We expect to complete updating our entire fleet of cameras worldwide to the v642 within the next two weeks, at which point it will be the only camera we offer for high speed.”

The Phantom v642 camera, which was officially unveiled last month, retains the ability to simultaneously record and play back ultra-slow-motion footage. This latest incarnation of the high-speed camera is also capable of accurately color-matching regular-speed broadcast cameras using Vision Research’s Multi-Matrix Color Correction Technology.

Inertia Unlimited’s X-Mo high-speed camera system, which previously used the Phantom v641, can be deployed as a live switched camera and offers normal controls, returns, and tallies for the camera operator. It also features a Sybil relay controller, eliminating the need for a complicated EVS setup or additional software. In addition, X-Mo boasts a repurposed Sony remote-control panel and a Telecast Copperhead fiber transmission system.

The X-Mo has been used by major sports broadcasters for several high-profile events in recent years, including the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all four tennis Grand Slams, and the Daytona 500 (Inertia has been testing the v642 during Fox’s NASCAR coverage each week since the Daytona in February), among others.

The v642 is supported by an ultra-sensitive 4-megapixel 2K sensor that can record full resolution at 1,450 frames per second and can be leveraged to support pan and zoom applications. The camera supports typical broadcast resolutions as well as 1080p at 2,560 fps.

With shutter speeds down to 1 microsecond and a global electronic shutter, the v642 can deliver sharp images with little or no image blur or motion artifacts, according to Vision Research.  Extremely high frame rates at HD resolutions enable playback speeds as much as 90 times the speed of live action.

The added Multi-Matrix Color Correction Technology allows accurate color-matching to normal–frame-rate cameras, leveraging independent adjustment of saturation and hue of each of the 16 axes. Working with video matrix, hue, gamma, and chroma adjustments enables the Phantom v642 to color-match with normal-speed broadcast supporting live sports events.