Polecam Rigs Up Miniature HDTV Cameras

Polecam is forging into IBC2008 with advances in mobile HD production equipment.

The company will be demonstrating what it calls the lightest and most versatile HD production system ever offered as a single package, combining a choice of three miniature 1080i cameras with the latest in solid-state HD video storage.

Central to the system is Polecam’s single-operator jib arm, providing versatility in camera height and angle without risk of injuring presenters or bystanders. The Polecam rig itself weighs 35 kg (77 pounds) when packed in transit bags and has a reach of up to 6 meters (21 feet).

The company will show the Polecam rig with miniature HD cams including the Camera Corps HD MiniZoom, the Toshiba IK-HD1E, and the Iconix Studio2K HD camera.

Polecam will also show its Flash XDR, and entirely electronic digital recorder that catches video straight to CompactFlash solid-state memory cards. It weighs just 500 g (1.1 pounds) and can be mounted at the rear of a Polecam unit. It stores up to 164 minutes of 50 Mbps MPEG 4:2:2 1920x1080 HD video on four hot-swappable 16 Gb memory cards. The recorder also supports MPEG-2 4:2:2 at 100 and 160 Mbps as well has HDV over IEEE-1394 and can write direct to MXF file format complete with embedded or external audio and timecode.

Heading underwater, Polecam’s FishFace submersible pan/tilt can be used to a depth of 4 meters (13 feet) on the Polecam or independently down to 10 meters (33 feet). Its carbon fiber support arm incorporates drainage holes which allow the boom to flood and clear quickly.

The company will also show clips of the recently released film “Arctic Tale.”

Polecam will be at Stand 10.C49.