Feature Requests
 

By now, you should have seen what we have running and operating in the camera, so far. What would you like next?

I have one thought, I'll send it to you and Jason through private e-mail within 30 minutes.

Ari - how about using this camera in the field for sports or news. If I were developing a field model, I'd dump the 7" LCD and instead attach a good viewfinder with a an eyecup to keep out bright sunlight. To keep the weight down, the lens / sensor / viewfinder should be one unit, attachable to a tripod or monopod, with cables to the rest of the unit (hard drive, etc). This would also probably reduce the power drain on the battery. Are you contemplating such a model ?

Mark,

What is the reason for the remote unit in this type of application? why not just record locally?

We are working on a plan for an optional Electronic Viewfinder to augment the LCD.

Is there a backup system if the recording hard drive fails?

Could you mirror RAID 2 drives?

It would be good to be able to switch to solid state recording in a few years once the prices drop.

RAID & Flash Storage Options
 

1.) Internal RAID-1 Option on USB HDD cartridge is planned.
2.) Attach a USB RAID device to a USB port
3.) Record to a NAS device via GigE
4.) Plug in a Flash Thumb Drive (8/16GB) for 15-20MIN
5.) We will also offer a FLASH Drive up to 70GB in the Removable USB drive cartridge system too.
6.) Record with Desktop/RAID in a POV/Head-on-wire configuration

Isn't an open architecture wonderful with a FULL SPECTRUM of options?

In a word, yes.

Sounds great Ari, my concerns seem to be covered.

Ari - I may have overstated the "remote" aspect. I was thinking that the recording portion could be kept in a travel bag at my feet to reduce the weight and size of the camera on the tripod or monopod. For sporting events, a small "footprint" is less distracting to others and is easier to handle. I will be considering a purchase around November of this year, and will definitely stay in touch. I have family in the San Jose, CA area and I thought that Silicon Optics had offices in that area. Would it be possible to see the camera and its options later in the year at that location ?

I don't know if this is really in your ball park, but a 35mm shallow depth of field would be nice. There are a lot of bright people on this forum who are making (and even marketing) their own adapters, so maybe you guys could work something out with them.

Glenn,

If you are talking about ground glass converters. Any of them can be utilized as is.


Mark,

How small a footprint would you want (give me an example of an existing camera model which would be ideal)? What is we offered a more compact version of camera. You can always use our remote camera head on a stick or jib with a PC/Laptop by your feet (would that work)? Sure, Oct/Nov we can schedule a visit.

Ari - I would hope that it would not be much larger than the HVX-200, which at the current time would be the other camera which I might purchase. Anything larger than that would be a bit cumbersome for me. I really like the approach that your company has taken to this camera, and if possible I will go with your unit.

Mark,

What optics would you be using?

Are you going to be using traditional Cinema gear (follow-focus, etc...)?

Do you already have a 180 degree flip for the LCD screen?

180 degree flip??

Actually, the Video card can already do that, we don't have to-do anything of that nature.

But if you did that, then the controls would be up-side down.

So the better thing we'll do is add a mode that just flips the preview screen in the middle, that way using the GG adapter is transparent to the end-user.

180-degree flip
 

Sounds interesting. What is the reason for the flip?

Where do you plan on putting the camera?

Why not mount the Silicon Mini upside down?