Meduza Systems’ new Titan is a lightweight (7.5lbs.), 3-D camera with dual 1080p HD CMOS sensors, designed for all types of 3DTV production.
“The desire of the consumer for an enhanced 3-D television entertainment experience and the pressure on hardware manufacturers and retailers to sell the new 3-D enabled hardware is mandating the broadcaster to deliver,” said Chris Cary, CEO of 3D Visual Enterprises, the UK parent company of Meduza Systems. “There is no doubt that content is king when it comes to driving the television market, and right now there clearly isn’t enough 3-D television content being produced.”
The Titan can capture images in a variety of frame rates — from 24fps to 120fps — using 10-bit processing and includes a fast, motorized inter-axial (the distance between the lenses) and convergence, both essential to high-quality stereoscopic 3-D productions. The company said the camera’s convergence is accurate to 1/1000 of a degree and the inter-axial to 1 micron. Meduza can also provide motors for Iris and focus control. At only 7.5lbs., the Titan features a unique titanium body for lightness and durability.
With all of the control systems integrated inside the camera, the housing is also optimized for shooting in the kind of adverse weather conditions that affect outdoor sports and natural history productions. The Titan affords great mobility and can be controlled from anywhere, either on-board or via tethered or remote controls.
“We had expected theatrical productions to continue being the driving force for the growth in 3-D equipment until late in 2012,” Cary said. “Our plan has always been to release a 1080p-only camera system for television, but it was originally scheduled later in our release cycle. The huge effort being made … to unlock the possibilities with 3-D for broadcasters has shifted the underlying demand to television.”
The company said that the Titan and its big brother — the Meduza MK1 (launched at IBC) — are not intended to replace rig systems but are complementary. In television where time, space, flexibility and above all budgets are tight, the Titan provides a nice alternative.