GEAR. PTZ s
and it seems more like a welcome new option than something that will disrupt the field. Like many PTZ cameras, the fundamental imaging block is borrowed from a pre-existing camcorder (rumour has it the Canon CR-N700 has the optical block of an XF405). In this case, Sony has taken the slab of silicon from an FX6. It’s worth being specific about the gulf that exists here. The 1/2.5in sensors common in PTZ cameras are around 5.8x4.3mm, while the one-inch variety might be around 13x9mm. The sizes, incidentally, are traditionally related to the diameter of a vacuum picture tube, which would have created a sensitive area of a given size. The sensor in an FR7 is nearly 36x24mm. Anyone still sucking air through teeth at the prospect of remotely pulling focus on that sensor will be comforted to know that Sony’s widely respected autofocus is retained from the FX6 – as is just about everything else. The FR7 keeps all of the recording facilities and outputs of its cousin, down to the ability to make Raw recordings to an Atomos device. Given all that, it’s no great surprise that people fall over themselves to compliment the
integration with its own lens design. While the N500 is limited to 30fps UHD over its HDMI and IP outputs (and HD over SDI), the recently released CR-N700 adds 12G-SDI for 4K at 60fps. Just a fraction cheaper than an AW-UE150, the CR-N700 matches much of its specification blow for blow, but adds a few things besides. The technology Canon calls EOS iTR AF X is, we’re told, an approach to autofocus based on deep learning. The initialism ‘AI’ is much abused, and exactly how this works remains proprietary, but it’s certainly turning a lot of heads in a field where automation is more or less the raison d’être. The value of Canon’s virtuoso autofocus compared to Panasonic’s highly competent optional subject tracking might depend on the application in question. Where focus certainly counts is on larger chips, requiring longer focal lengths for equivalent framing, and thus shorter depth-of-field. We’ve already discussed the low-light performance offset between larger and smaller sensors. Although, because of traditional notational oddities, both 1.0 and 1/2.5 sensors are fairly small compared to those found in cinema cameras. FULL-FRAME FOCUS The full-frame elephant in the room is Sony’s mighty ILME-FR7. It certainly isn’t small and represents something of a sea change in PTZ cameras. Those shifts make it a horse for a very specific course,
I SPY BirdDog’s selection of PTZs
Travelling without moving
(above) cover a range of needs – from indoor and outdoor to high-res
It’s perhaps no surprise to find Marshall brandishing a range of PTZ cameras, given the company’s long expertise in building tiny cameras that might potentially be lost down the back of the sofa. The company’s CV730 (£4284) offers an unusually capable 30:1 zoom, with optional NDI support and 12G-SDI. One neat innovation is the brand’s ePTZ camera, which leverages a 4K sensor and wide-angle lens to create an HD-output device with electronically simulated pan-and-tilt control, completely avoiding the need for mechanics. It inevitably sacrifices image quality to an extent, but this is an approach we might find more often.
SENSITIVE SUBJECT There is a divide in the world of PTZs, with those over 30fps representing the elite
“Sony’s FR7 seems more like a welcome new option than something that will disrupt”
52. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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