Bradley Engineering Launches Cameras with 30x Optical Zoom and a Fast Reacting Stabilised Gimbal

The new lens gives a zoom range of 30:1, equal to 65 degrees – 2.5 degrees, with a horizontal angle of view, MOD 10cm wide with less than 3% distortion, and more than 200 increments to control Iris: F1.6 – 28.

Bradley has added an important feature to help match the image from this little camera perfectly with the others in multi-camera productions. The operator can control the red and blue pedestals and make fine adjustments to the black levels in the picture.

The Cam-Ball 3 replaces Cam-Ball 2, and is a Pan Tilt Zoom camera with 32 pre-set positions that can be memorised and recalled. It is contained inside a lightweight, weather proof carbon fibre housing, but you can still remove the front seal to attach a wide angle lens.

All of the camera functions and movements can be controlled remotely, including the Pan, Tilt, Zoom, Iris, Focus and the activation of infrared mode. The important colour balancing elements, auto white, manual white, preset white, Rgain, Bgain, Detail, Master Pedestal, Red Pedestal and Blue Pedestal, are also remote controlled, all this is done using Bradley’s RCP3.

As with all of Bradley’s products, the Cam-Ball 3 is backwards compatible with Bradley’s other cameras and operate with all of the company’s accessories and RCPs.

This year, Bradley has invited some close associates to join them at the IBC stand, to display a variety of applications which use Bradley’s cameras. These are AirFilms, who supply UAV filming services, Versatile, a supplier of a specialist remote head for crane operations, Blackcam, who supply dollies, rigs and rails for remote controlled camera systems, and CamMate which builds high quality cranes for the film and video industry.

Bradley Engineering’s Gekko, a Fast Reacting Stabilised Gimbal with remote control for professional broadcast and film
Bradley Engineering is to show a new remote-controlled stabilised camera gimbal, named the Gekko, for the increasingly popular art of aerial filming with UAVs. Using the latest high speed digital gyro technology, the Gekko is ideal for cameras on boats and cars as well as aircraft, and has its own battery for use with hand held cameras and cameras on poles.

With long experience in remote camera mounts and gyro stabilisation, Bradley has designed a clever joint that rotates in three axes to stabilise the camera in all three directions, Pan Tilt and Roll, which means you can point the camera in any direction you like without drift.

As the Gekko is designed for professional camera work, there are subtle differences in the engineering and electronic controls that ensure the degree of accuracy, and speed of control required for professional filming. The gimbal compensates for the typical movement and tilting of the aircraft and Bradley’s well known remote control operates fast enough to point the camera at exactly the right moment. 

David Bradley explains how the design and manufacture of this product set it apart from others, “This is the first truly professional camera gimbal for the film and TV industries. It is manufactured entirely from professional components, none of our parts come from the radio-controlled model aeroplane market, and none of the controls are plastic.”

The Gekko’s payload is over 10kg, so it can handle cameras of any size, from a small Go-Pro to a full sized Arri Alexa, even though the unit itself weighs only 1.4 kg. The cameras are fitted to an attachment plate which is 200 mm wide.

As you would expect, Bradley provides full camera control options. There is a built-in CCU and radio-operated remote control for the engineering set-up, gyros, motors and camera controls - paint and racking. All these are via a live radio transmission from the RCP, which makes this ideal for both live and recorded filming, and there is an optional upgrade to Bradley’s larger Gyro controller which offers more ergonomic actions.

This year, Bradley has invited some close associates to join them at the IBC stand, to display a variety of applications which use Bradley’s cameras. These are AirFilms, who supply UAV filming services, Versatile, a supplier of a specialist remote head for crane operations, Blackcam, who supply dollies, rigs and rails for remote controlled camera systems, and CamMate which builds high quality cranes for the film and video industry.

About Bradley Engineering
Former BBC cameraman David Bradley has a long history of designing and manufacturing remote cameras. Since the company started the cameras have improved continually, with new developments based on customer requests. Today the company offers a selection of digital mini camera heads with ultra-smooth movement and remote control. They are designed to be easy to rig and operate the way that camera operators like to work.