PTZ camera convenience, full-sized camera picture quality
Remote and miniature camera expert Dan Greenway put Sony’s power-packed ILME-FR7 full-frame PTZ camera to the test on a demanding shoot covering the finals of Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory.
Faster, smoother and more controllable than previous generation cameras
Dan Greenway
Two decades of PTZ experience
Dan Greenway has been working with PTZ cameras, minicams and remotely operated cameras for 25 years. His hire company provides equipment and crew for a wide variety of projects that spans high-profile drama and entertainment productions as well as reality TV, commercials, sports and live events. In August 2022 Dan was commissioned by ITV to provide PTZ cameras for the finals of hit entertainment show Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory that was recorded at Manchester Central, a huge exhibition space in the centre of the city.
Full-frame imaging put to the test
The project gave Dan the opportunity to put Sony’s new ILME-FR7 Cinema Line full-frame PTZ camera through its paces, alongside six other cameras that he’d also furnished to cover the show. A particular challenge can often be matching footage captured by smaller, specialist cameras with shots from full-sized studio or OB cameras. For the Ninja Warrior final, Dan was able to compare images captured by the FR7 – fitted with a Sony 28-135mm zoom lens – with footage from a Sony HDC-P50 4K compact POV (Point of View) system camera in an adjacent camera position.
Intuitive remote control via joystick or mobile device
“It performed really well” confirms Dan, who used the FR7’s intuitive Web App to adjust white balance, gain, iris, shutter, PTZ speed and other settings over Wi-Fi using an iPad. The camera’s Pan/Tilt/Zoom mechanism can also be controlled remotely, either via the Web App or using Sony’s RM-IP500 hardware joystick controller.
Over the years I’ve been very familiar with a huge range of specialist cameras from virtually every manufacturer”. “I’ve been using PTZ cameras since 2001, and naturally the technology has moved on enormously in that time, both in terms of image quality and usability.
Dan Greenway
A step up to broadcast quality
“Compared with PTZ cameras from just a few years ago, the FR7 is a big step up” Dan states. “It’s the first time I have been able to satisfy my clients’ requirements for a broadcast quality 4K PTZ camera, with the advantage of interchangeable lenses. And there’s also the large full-frame sensor to achieve those shallow depth of field shots that are popular in this kind of entertainment show – something that hasn’t been available in this form factor.”
Dan also highlights the performance of the camera’s PTZ mechanism that he describes as “faster, smoother and more controllable than previous generation cameras”. What’s more, he compares the FR7 very favourably in terms of value for money compared with full-size studio cameras costing several times the price.
Capturing even more
Since last summer’s Ninja Warrior commission for ITV, Dan has been using the full-frame Cinema Line camera on plenty other projects. In December ’22 he exclusively used three remotely controlled FR7s to capture a Christmas carol service for the Nordoff Robbins music therapy charity in Chelsea, featuring guitarist Nile Rogers. He’s also used four FR7s at a club in Soho to capture a new pay-per-view live jazz streaming service that’s available as a mobile app. Other recent dates include band The 1975 in Manchester – again using four FR7s – and the memorial service for fashion designer Vivienne Westwood at Southwark Cathedral, shot with a pair of FR7s alongside four Sony FX9 cameras.
You can find these and other projects on Dan’s Instagram at dan.greenway.222
