special report speciality cameras
Camera Corps provides television support
services to major broadcasters and event
organisers throughout the world. The company
has supplied OB cameras and equipment for
many large-scale live sports events including
three Commonwealth Games, two Winter
Olympics, two European Football
Championships, two World Cups, and three
Summer Olympics. Laurie Frost and Jim Daniels
of Camera Corps - managing director and
technical director respectively - report.
Eyes on the ball
A
s well as providing all of 2000 Olympics, our design team was placed on top of the high-jump,
the standard robotic produced a CCU system that would be possibly the first time a camera with
systems, Camera Corps used to control over 90 cameras over an integral zoom has been placed in
specialises in the unusual: long distances. This was later further this position. Other HD Minizooms
high-level cameras, improved with the addition of full pan, were used in various places where a
underwater cameras, tilt, zoom and focus control, remote very small camera was needed.
archery bull's-eye cameras, tracking power switching and many other novel
cameras and so on. The need for full features. The basic system controls up Speciality cameras
HD coverage from Beijing was to five cameras as standard. A later
potentially a tough challenge for every version, specifically designed to handle Appropriately for a company based
production team. A crucial element for a larger number of cameras and in Britain, Camera Corps has a great
us was the availability of miniature HD remote heads, allows two camera deal of experience in handling wet
cameras capable of giving excellent operators control of up to 96 cameras environments, not just fending off rain
pictures to match the quality of the using a single data line. This is now but televising every variety of aquatic
Camera Corps
standard OB truck cameras.
utilised its HD
used routinely on reality TV shows. sports from above and below the
We design and manufacture a lot of MiniZoom to For the most compact pan and tilt water line.
our own kit whenever we find the
capture the high
jump action at the
systems, we used our own-design HD 2009 was our fifth consecutive
traditional suppliers unable to offer
Beijing Olympic
Minizoom camera. In total, 48 of these Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. This
suitable equipment. For the Sydney
Games last year.
were deployed at Beijing 2008 is one of the most popular events in
sporting events where they the British sports calendar. It is rowed
successfully matched the output from by a crew of eight plus cox along a
larger HD cameras. 6.78 km stretch of the Thames. An
The HD Minizooms are miniature estimated 250,000 people watch the
broadcast-quality 720p/1080i cameras race live from the banks of the river
based around a Sony CCD block. HD plus around seven to nine million
Minizooms were used mostly in viewing via television in Britain and an
locations where space was limited overseas audience estimated at
such as high-jump and pole-vault bars around 120 million.
as well as netcams for volleyball and Back in 2005, Tony Cahalane (then
badminton. Miniature HD cameras with 021 Television, now with Omni),
have been available for several years who project-manages 021 Television
but this was the first time remote- & ITV Sport's coverage, asked if we
controllable zoom optics had been could develop the equipment
integrated into a compact lightweight necessary to provide video direct from
HD camera head. An HD Minizoom the boats. We chose Hitachi's KP-D8 as
Continued on Page 38.
36 l ibe l march/april 2009 l www.ibeweb.com
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