Visual Impact Rentals is the first company in South Africa to offer the Canon XU 81
hothead cameras for hire. These cameras offer clients a cost-effective, turnkey,
remotely-controllable Pan-Tilt-Zoom HD camera system.
The XU-81 is a versatile indoor or outdoor single-CMOS camera system, featuring a
high waterproof and dustproof design which, when combined with its compact size,
makes it ideal for the following applications: reality TV, outdoor event broadcasting,
weather POV, traffic POV, outdoor monitoring, indoor event broadcasting, houses of
worship, education and video conferencing.
The system does not require many people to set up and a single operator and
assistant can do a multi-camera set-ups really fast.
The HD-SDI outputs allow up to 100m cable runs, but Visual Impact offers a fibre
workflow, where distance is not an issue. Visual Impact has used the Canon XU 81
over long periods of time in some of the harshest jungle conditions available and
often at distances exceeding 1.1 kilometers.
Up to seven cameras can be controlled from a single controller by one individual
resulting in considerable cost savings.
The key features of the camera include:
• High Quality HDTV/SDTV Video Images from a single 1/3-inch CMOS imaging
sensor with 2.1 Megapixels. Utilising a Canon 20x HD Zoom Lens.
• By pressing a single pre-set button on the operation panel (provided optionally),
the camera head pans and tilts very smoothly while simultaneously zooming,
allowing for on-air movements similar to manually-operated cameras.
• Waterproof and dustproof for indoor or outdoor applications for challenging
locations and is not affected by environmental conditions.
• Fast, quiet, and precise pan and tilt movements
• The XU-81 can be mounted upright or inverted (ceiling mount). In either position,
the picture image will automatically flip when the tilt angle reaches 90°.
• The XU-81 includes a handle for convenient portability, and weighs only 14.5
lbs/6.6 kg, making setup almost effortless.
• Users have the ability to select either the 1080i or 720p HD output to match their
existing systems. Additionally, control can be toggled between RS-232 and RS-422,
making the XU-81 extremely adaptable to new and existing multi-camera
environments.
• When shooting under low-light conditions, the XU-81 can increase exposure by
using the slow-shutter function (frame accumulation). The black and white mode
without the IR cut filter will also support shooting in near darkness.
