Ikegami has launched a new Unicam HD Camera that combines broadcast technology with cinematic image quality. The HDK-97ARRI is the latest development in Ikegami’s dockable camera line and was recognised by the IABM (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers) as a winner of the IABM 2013 Awards for Design & Innovation presented at the IBC in September.
The camera adaptor docked on the back of any Unicam HD camera head can be separated from the camera, enabling the exchange of different camera frontends and rear adapters depending on the shooting situation. This allows any of the camera adaptors to be docked with any of the Unicam HD camera heads. Four different models and quality grades are available with 2/3-inch CCD or CMOS sensor prism blocks, in addition to the new HDK-97ARRI.
The centerpiece of the camera is the Super 35mm CMOS sensor of the ARRI Alexa, with ARRI’s De-Bayering electronics. 16-bit signals from the ARRI frontend are transferred to Ikegami’s digital signal processing, and all camera processes and functions are carried out in realtime. The entire signal processing is carried out by FPGA-technology. The high-resolution cinematographic pictures are sub-sampled and scaled into common broadcast formats.
The HDK-97ARRI is the result of a collaboration between Ikegami and ARRI and aims to give the broadcaster and content producer ‘the best of both worlds’. It allows the picture characteristics of digital cinema to be achieved in a multi-camera production, and the cameras can be operated in a conventional broadcast manner with a vision engineer operating multiple cameras. With a dynamic range of about 1000%, the dockable camera is close to the capability of film.
