PTZ s GEAR.
D eployments of remotely institutions and courts of law faced a need to work remotely. With product development usually taking more than a year, especially during a global emergency, it’s unlikely that any of those cameras were somehow rushed out to meet demand. The world seems content to assume that improvement in tech won’t end with the pandemic. Popularity is one thing, but operated cameras exploded during 2020 and 2021, as corporations, educational performance is another – and PTZ cameras have historically been limited by the need to cram their optical components inside a compact and affordable mechanism. Advances in sensor and lens technology have allowed manufacturers to really push the envelope in more or less every direction, though, breaking some of those long-established moulds.
Making connections One common point of differentiation between models is connectivity, with anything above 30fps UHD proving something of a dividing line. It is a concomitant of the modern world that Ethernet chips are used in huge numbers, keeping costs down. Systems like NDI, including its slimmed-down HX variant, allow cameras to give us UHD images without the need for an SDI port. The consequence is a degree of compression and some inevitable latency, but the capability is hard to argue with. BirdDog was an early adopter of this approach. Its current line-up tops out with the P4K, using a one-inch Sony sensor to create UHD pictures that offer 6G-SDI. Anyone looking for a thoroughly network-orientated HD option can choose the £1500 P100. STATE OF THE ART Opening the financial throttle a little, perhaps the ultimate offering in late 2022 is Panasonic’s AW-UE150 series, which just about breaks five figures. For that money, we get UHD video at 50 (or, regionally, 60) frames, with uncompressed output via
Datavideo’s PTZ range is particularly comprehensive, with various combinations of resolution and connectivity options. Top of the range is the PTC-300, a UHD camera with 20:1 zoom, offering 60p images via IP network. There’s also a 3G-SDI connector for HD pictures. Costs are held low, with the PTC-300 listing for £3096 at CVP. It’s an attractive deal for something that may lack 12G-SDI, but still finds a way to get 60fps UHD images on-screen. At the same time, the PTC-140NDI goes for a mere £1731 and, as the name suggests, targets NDI connectivity for its HD pictures.
BROWSE THE RANGE For a leisurely choice of PTZs, Datavideo is a one-stop shop
“Popularity is one thing, but performance is another – PTZs have historically been limited”
49. NOVEMBER 2022
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