When television producers need a unique POV shot in a major live event, the call often goes to Stealth Aerial Cameras, located in Winter Park, FL. The company has established itself over many years in providing flying camera systems for aerial HD broadcast and B-roll footage.
This summer, Stealth introduced the industry's only eight-cable-line, completely redundant aerial camera system. It was first used during pre-season coverage of NFL football (Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cleveland Browns from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia) on August 10. The new system, using Panasonic HC1500G cameras, is also the first to offer switchable 1080i or 720p HD capability.
Stealth's aerial system, when rigged in a football stadium, enables the camera to follow the action on the field from almost any angle, including directly behind the quarterback. By positioning eight pulleys in the four highest corners of a stadium and rigging the lines high up in the air around the stadium, Stealth operators can position the camera to capture the game's most dramatic perspectives.
In addition to its dual-format capability, Panasonic's HC1500G was also chosen for its small size and its low (17-watt) power consumption. This allowed Stealth to use a low-voltage DC source and send power down 1,200 feet of custom fiber, rather than using a high-voltage AC source.
This HD POV system also leverages the camera's variable-frame-rate functionality and cine gamma curve, features that are found only in Panasonic's VariCam HD camcorder.
Other advantages include improved on-chip lenses to achieve a standard sensitivity of F10.0 at 2000 lux and a smear level of less than -130 dB. The CCD accumulation and horizontal/vertical addition create a gain increase of up to +68 dB (with a minimum illumination of 0.015 dB).
Stealth provides the system to producers on a self-contained, turnkey basis at a fixed cost per event.
For more information, visit http://www.stealthaerialcameras.com.