Q-Ball Debuts In US Series Of I'm A Celebrity

Camera Corps' recently-introduced Q-Ball HD/SD robotic camera made its broadcast debut in the latest series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here, set in the Costa Rican jungle.
ITV Studios awarded the contract for the US series to broadcast solutions company Gearhouse Broadcast, part of Gravity Media Group. Camera Corps provided point-of-view cameras, remote pan/tilt heads and camera controllers. The show is being transmitted in the USA by NBC and in the UK by ITV2.
Kevin Moorhouse, Chief Operating Officer of Gravity Media Group, said: "Camera Corps has worked with us on many successful projects including the I'm a Celebrity programmes in 2008 for the UK and Germany. Their cameras and robotic heads have performed well in the high temperatures and high humidity and have been able to handle everything the jungle climates have thrown at them."
Laurie Frost, Camera Corps' Managing Director, added: "Our new Q-Ball is designed for exactly this kind of environment. It consists of a camera, lens and robotics integrated in a fully weatherproof sphere machined from solid aluminium. We supplied a total of six Q-Balls for the latest I'm a Celebrity series, four infra-red HD MiniZooms cameras, eight Hitachi HV-HD30 and one Iconix, plus 10 Egripment Minishot remote pan/tilt mounts and one Microshot."
Introduced at the 2009 NAB convention in April, the Q-Ball consists of a full dual mode colour camera, high-precision pan and tilt system, 10:1 zoom optics and infra-red night-vision capability, all under full remote control. Pan and tilt can be operated at any speed from 4 seconds to 20 minutes per 360 degree rotation through an unlimited number of turns with no visible stepping. Integral low-noise motors allow the camera to be repositioned smoothly during live shooting rather than merely between shots.
Designed for fast exterior or interior rigging and de-rigging, the Q-Ball measures just 115 mm in diameter and weighs 1.3 kg including mounting shaft. It can be operated at any angle. The camera incoporates 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 4L3 or 16:9 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.
Further information is available at: www.cameracorps.co.uk.
Visit Camera Corps on Polecam Stand 10.C49 at IBC2009 in Amsterdam.
(KMcA/BMcC)