Panasonic intros camera with 180-degree field of view for sports production

A new ultra-wide-angle camera from Panasonic Professional Camera Solutions was introduced at IBC2013, providing a unique 180-degree panoramic video-shooting system that combines four AW-HE120 cameras and is capable of producing panoramic images in HD quality, suiting it to capturing sports games and events.

Panasonic’s Ultra Wide Angle Camera comprises four lightweight AW-HE120 HD integrated remote cameras, assembled into a single compact rig. The camera system stitches the images taken by its four HD cameras (16:9) in real time to produce seamless ultra-wide, 180-degree (64:9) panoramic images. The camera system is great for capturing sports action, such as football games, covering the entire field at once. That makes the moves and formations of all players clearly visible to viewers. The HD resolution is sharp enough to make the shirt numbers of all players legible even when enlarged.

The compact rig of the Ultra Wide Angle Camera allows the system to be easily transported and installed in stadiums or on location. A PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) automatic-adjustment function ensures that the camera system is immediately ready for use after setup, by eliminating the need to synchronise viewing angles among the four cameras. The Ultra Wide Angle Camera is operated and controlled via a standard IP connection.

Each of the four cameras in the system has a 20x zoom lens. The included Panoramic Software for PC communicates directly with the cameras via TCP/IP and supports HD-SDI capture for high picture quality. The camera system has four 1/3-type 2.2-megapixel U.L.T. MOS sensors, enabling Full HD picture quality. Furthermore, the Ultra Wide Angle Camera has four high-performance Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) for fine image rendering.