CamCutter is a
digital video
Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...
camera technology developed by
Ikegami and
Avid Technology
Avid Technology is an American technology and multimedia company based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It specialises in audio and video; specifically, digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, video edi ...
for recording broadcast quality video to
hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
, dubbed a Digital Disk Recorder. First revealed in 1995 at the
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
convention in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, it used a camera mechanism by
Ikegami and a special
FieldPack unit instead of a tape transport unit. The CamCutter outpaced subsequent
tapeless camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swap ...
s introduced by Sony and Panasonic by years. In October 2010, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced the recipients of the 62nd Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards. Ikegami and Avid Technology were announced as a winner for the Development and Production of Portable Tapeless Acquisition. Today's CamCutter technology can be found in Ikegami's
Editcam
Editcam is a professional digital camera system manufactured by Ikegami and first introduced in 1995, available both as professional camcorders and modular dock recorders. It is the first ever tapeless field acquisition device and has evolved into ...
products.
Features
Some of the features of being hard disk based was
in-camera editing
In-camera editing is a technique where, instead of Film editing, editing the shots in a film into sequence after shooting, the Film director, director or cinematographer instead shoots the sequences in strict order. The resulting "edit" is therefor ...
, faster than real time transfer of footage and the
RetroLoop, which used a circular buffer to constantly record footage, and allowed saving a "take" after the action happened. This camera technology provides time lapse capture and animation modes (1 frame per trigger).
Cost
The price of the initial unit was between US$40,000 to $60,000. Ikegami and Avid developed a follow on tapeless acquisition camera, the DNS201 which shipped in the late 1990s. This unit sold for below US$30,000. In 2000, NL Technology spun out of Avid and continued developing two more generations of this technology. The DNS33 priced below US$30,000 and the hi definition Avid DNxHD camera, the HDN-X10, priced in between US$30,000 and $40,000.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Due to its huge cost and prototype look and feel, many photographers did not use the initial hardware. Ikegami and NL Technology developed lower cost and more ergonomic versions that sold much better in the late 1990s and through 2010.
External links
* http://www.nltek.com/broadcast
* https://web.archive.org/web/20200201072312/https://www.avid.com/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20040819234711/http://www.macievideo.com/articles/ikeavidarticle.htm
Audiovisual introductions in 1995
Digital movie cameras
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