Vinten introduces external lens drive for robotic camera head system

Vitec Group’s Vinten introduced a new external lens drive this week for its Vantage robotic camera head system. The upgrade allows for a wider assortment of lenses to be used with the system and delivers full servo functionality, including virtual reality (VR) tracking, to manual lenses.

“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. “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.”

In a compact and lightweight form factor, the Vinten Vantage pan/tilt head enables broadcast-quality video and motion control at the same price point as a traditional pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera head.

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.