A new company is launching a micro camera that aims to offer a solution to optical distortion in miniature cameras.
Alpha Image is aiming its Alpha Eye camera at sports, natural history and reality TV production companies. According to the company the camera straightens up the distortion that can occur when using a small camera. It can also correct for other issues such as positioning, including zoom, rotation and planar tilt.
Each miniature camera to be corrected is associated with an Alpha Eye unit. It is set up using a Mac or PC app, then left to run unattended for the duration of the production. The feed to the unit is over SDI, fibre or HDMI so the device can be mounted anywhere convenient: physically it is a compact box measuring 155mm x 120mm x 30mm.
“Sports fans have had to put up with severe optical distortion for the sake of the insight that a stump cam or goalmouth cam brings,” said Alpha Image CEO MC Patel. “The Alpha Eye completely eliminates the problem. Because it is a hardware corrector it operates in real time with negligible latency so fits into productions without an issue. It is a simple, affordable, set and forget solution.”
The company and product will both have their official launch at IBC.
