Low light. High performance.
“You need to work with the lighting that’s already set for the concert by the lighting engineer. We don’t have the luxury of choosing our optimal lighting conditions. Our previous PTZs were not up to that challenge,” explains Harmen van 't Loo, Founder of MotionDezign, who decided to upgrade his gear in the name of better performance. Based on his specific needs, local dealer Vocas proposed the Canon CR-N500 PTZ camera.
“I was blown away by the sharpness and speed of the Dual Pixel CMOS Auto Focus. It was unbelievable how spot on and accurate it was straight out of the box,” Harmen says. “No other brand has the same focus and performance of these cameras – and I’ve owned lots of PTZs. The face-tracking is also excellent!”
Harmen’s team described the picture as “excellent”, “crisp” and “sharp” – even in low light. At a typical concert, they set up at least five PTZs, one left and right pair towards the back of the hall, another pair at either edge of the stage, plus one nestled within the orchestral players – mostly close to the percussion. “If the soloist is a pianist, then we make a top-down shot of the keys,” adds Harmen, bringing unique perspectives to the experience.
Control is key for switching camera views and picking out soloists in the orchestra. These days the team uses a Skaarhoj PTZ Extreme to precisely control the CR-N500s with a single operator. The result is a more intimate, multi-layered spectacle, closing the distance between the musicians and the audience.