Camera Corps Q-Balls track celebrities in the Australian jungle
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Sony FCB-EX1010 night-vision camera for IR shooting
"We have worked with Gearhouse Broadcast on several of the 'I'm a Celebrity' series," adds Camera Corps' Director of Operations, Matt Frost, "including productions from Australia for ITV in November 2008 and for German television in January 2009. "For the latest series, we fielded a production crew headed by David Sisson, one of our most experienced operators. In addition to one silver-finished and five black-finished Q-Balls, we supplied 18 other remote heads, each holding a Panasonic 800 daylight camera paired with an under-suspended Sony FCB-EX1010 night-vision camera for IR shooting. These were mounted on Minishot remote heads operated via our multi-camera control system which can handle up to 72 cameras of different types. For the Bushtucker trials we supplied three Iconix HD-RH1 HD/SD miniature cameras, set to SD, and four Toshiba TU-63. We also supplied all the control, cables and lenses as well weatherproof covers - a very important detail in this part of Australia which is certainly no desert."
Camera Corps Q-Ball is a complete HD/SD dual-mode colour camera
Housed in a robust 115 mm diameter sphere machined from solid aluminium, the Camera Corps Q-Ball is a complete HD/SD dual-mode colour camera with motorised pan/tilt and zoom. It can be rotated laterally or vertically at any speed from 4 seconds to 20 minutes per revolution through an unlimited number of turns. Integral high-precision low-noise motors allow the camera to be repositioned smoothly during live shooting rather than merely between shots. Designed to allow rapid exterior or interior rigging and de-rigging, the Q-Ball weighs 1.3 kg including mounting shaft and can be operated at any angle. The integral camera incorporates a 1/3 inch 2 megapixel 16:9 CMOS sensor delivering 1080i/720p HD or 625/525 SD, both at 50 or 59.94 Hz and in 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio. Signal-to-noise ratio is >50 dB. Focus can be controlled manually or automatically. The Q-Ball is fully compatible with Camera Corps' range of pan/tilt and CCU controllers. Its interface delivers up to four channels of audio embedded into the SDI feed. It operates from 9 to 18 V DC power supply. The camera heads are available pre-painted to match any required colour scheme, including jungle camouflage.
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Camera Corps specialises in providing high-volume support services for reality television programmes
Gearhouse Broadcast is a leading international broadcast services company. With offices located in the UK, Australia, USA, India, Dubai and Doha, the company provides a comprehensive range of broadcast solutions including equipment sales, equipment rental, project solutions and systems integration. Camera Corps specialises in providing high-volume support services for reality television programmes as well as very large-scale sports events. The company has achieved a pre-eminent reputation for its ability to acquire exciting and unusual television content from exceptionally challenging environments. Its ever-growing arsenal include s high-level cranes, HD and SD motorized tracking cameras, underwater cameras, bullseye-mounted archery target cameras and fire-proofed high-temperature cameras. The Camera Corps team expands during large-scale events from 10 full-time staff based at Shepperton Studios to as many as 200 specialists, including highly-skilled rock climbers able to establish camera positions in almost any location.
Camera Corps were featured on the Discovery Channel