Polecam announces a major new addition to its product range. Incorporating GoalCam and StadiumCam, it allows highly efficient outside broadcast coverage of stadium sports such as rugby, soccer and hockey.
“The Toshiba cameras we provided to Camera Corps for coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa caused a sensation during the England team’s defeat by Germany at Bloemfontein when 26 million viewers saw Frank Lampard’s goal disallowed because the referee and his assistant had their attention elsewhere.” comments Polecam Sales & Marketing Manager Jeremy Curtis. “The referee expressed due astonishment during video replay at half-time but still didn’t grant the goal!”
A key element of the Goalcam/Stadiumcam system is that it can be brought to site, installed and dismantled much more easily than traditional heavyweight kit. It is also ideal for use in combination with one or more Polecam portable rigs.
The system consists of two Goalcams and one StadiumCam. Each camera incorporates a 1/3 inch CMOS HD-SDI imager allowing the use of ultra-wide-angle lenses with high corner resolution. Both GoalCams are fitted with 125 degree low-distortion lenses giving images of the entire goal mouth without the barrel distortion commonly experienced at such wide angles.
StadiumCam is equipped with a 170 degree fisheye lens and, like the GoalCams, can deliver 1080i line resolution at 50/59.94Hz. An optional downconverter is available to provide SD-SDI output where required.
All three cameras plus two auxiliary cameras can be controlled from a single Polecam RCP remote control panel. The GoalCams and StadiumCam incorporate individual data receivers allowing full control of camera functions, including motorised iris adjustment. The data signal can be sent along standard audio cable, over optical fibre or via a radio microphone link. Control data can also be embedded into, or extracted from, an HD-SDI stream.
Each GoalCam is supplied with a fully adjustable bracket equipped with a weather housing, available in white or carbon fibre effect. The bracket allows the camera to be positioned in the corner of a goal and will re-stabilise quickly if the net is struck by a ball. Suspended from a single point, the mount is also designed to prevent injury by flexing if a player collides with it. The 125 degree lens allows the entire goal mouth to be seen even when the output video is cropped from 16:9 to 4:3. This gives commentators the ability to report accurately that a ball has indeed crossed the line.
Weighing less than 500 grammes, StadiumCam can be positioned overhead, at a halfway line or at a corner of the pitch. With 5 megapixels equivalent optical resolution, its 170 degree lens allows the entire crowd and stadium to be encompassed in a single view. The size and weight of this system provides health and safety with far less headaches than traditional sized cameras.
Polecam’s three-camera system will be introduced to the UK market at BVE 2011 in London, 15-17 February.
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