Live from the Ryder Cup: Aerial Camera Systems intros robotic head for 100x lens

The Golf Channel is making use of an industry first at the Ryder Cup this weekend: the SMARThead 3 from Aerial Camera Systems in a configuration that allows it to operate a 100x lens attached to a box HD camera and deliver unmanned shots from the driving range.

The SMARThead 3 from ACS is in control of a 100x lens at the Ryder Cup driving range.

“It’s designed for heavier payloads and eventually we want to be able to use it for an Alexa or Sony F55 camera,” says Dudley James, ACS systems engineer and camera operator. “But it is really working so sweetly with the 100x camera and is a joy to operate. There is no stuttering and it offers really detailed work just like if you were on the camera sticks yourself.”

Set up on a standard Vinten tripod the head allows not only up close shots of players anywhere on the practice range but also nicely framed scenics of the surrounding Scottish countryside.

“You can also control the two-times extender remotely as well as the stabilizer,” adds James.

The system features a larger and newer motor than the SMARThead 2. Two of the SMARThead 2 systems are also in use for The Golf Channel studio operations located at the Gleneagles Hotel.