Vinten, a Vitec Group brand and a world leader in manual and robotic camera support systems, has introduced the Vantage external lens drive, a new option for the company’s award-winning Vantage robotic camera head.
Vinten’s newest device significantly increases the number of lenses that can be used on Vinten Vantage-mounted cameras, and delivers full servo functionality, including virtual reality (VR) tracking, to manual lenses.
In a compact and lightweight form factor, the Vinten Vantage pan/tilt head enables broadcast-quality video and superior motion control at the same price point as a traditional pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera head. Vantage enables customers to choose the camera and lens that meet their requirements, ensuring that they can match manual camera positions, work over long distances, and manage low-light conditions.
Ideally suited to cine, teleconference, or ENG manual lenses, the new external lens drive can drive up to three axes of any manual lens, giving users the ability to drive zoom, focus, and iris. Encoded motors enable the use of stored shots within Vinten’s μVRC (microVRC) and HD-VRC control software (sold separately), and allow users to adapt lower-cost camera setups lacking encoded digital lenses for use on virtual sets and in other VR applications.
“Our Vinten Vantage pan/tilt head is a compact robotic solution that offers unmatched broadcast-quality control and flexibility — and it’s more versatile than ever with the addition of this new option,” said Neil Gardner, global product manager, Vinten Automation. “Combining Vantage with the new external lens drive ensures users can maximise the price and functionality of their camera combinations to suit their specific applications and ensure superior image quality.”
The Vantage external lens drive assembly kit includes everything required to mount the lens drive to the camera setup, including a single motor to drive one axis, two sizes of drive gear, and a flexi gear ring. Additional motors are available as required to drive up to three axes.
