Marshall Electronics has announced the CV380-CS compact UHD camera. The CV380-CS can shoot in resolutions up to 3840 x 2160p and has been designed to be small and compact for those applications where larger cameras can’t go.
The CV380-CS uses an 8.5-Megapixel, 1/2.5-inch sensor and has 6G/3G/HD-SDI and HDMI 1.4 outputs. This makes it very suitable for use in live broadcast environments such as sporting events, where it can be placed in hard to reach positions to capture unique angles and perspectives.
The camera offers three resolution modes with the following frame rate settings:
- UHD (3840 x 2160p) at 25, 29.97, and 24 fps
- Progressive HD (1080p and 720p)at50, 59.94, 25, 29.97, and 24 fps
- Interlaced HD (1080i) at 50, 59.94, and 60 fps
The CV380-CS features manual adjustments for settings including white balance, gamma, gain, pedestal and digital zoom. It can also be remotely matched and adjusted using the RS485 (Visca).
As far as lenses go, the CV380-CS has a varifocal or fixed CS/C lens mount with DC Auto-Iris capability and can accept a range of interchangeable lenses depending on your application. If you aren’t familiar with CS/C lens mount, they are commonly found on 16 mm movie cameras, closed-circuit television cameras, machine vision cameras and microscope phototubes. C-mount lenses were originally made for use on 8 mm and 16 mm film cameras and the 1/3″, 1/2″, 2/3″, 1″, and 4/3″ video formats.
The body of the CV380-CSs has been fully redesigned, with special attention given to enhancing durability in the field with the addition of new structural wings that are there to provide greater protection for rear connectors during use.
Marshall has been making small, compact, miniature sized cameras with professional SDI connections like the CV365-CGB and CV505-M for quite some time. The CV380-CS is the companies first UHD camera in this form factor, which is quite surprising considering its 2018.
The CV380-CSs will be available in October this year for a retail price of $1395 USD. Lenses for cameras like this are incredibly cheap. The Marshall Electronics 3MP CS-Mount 5-50mm IR Varifocal Lens, for instance, retails for $169 USD.
Small miniature sized cameras such as the CV380-CSs certainly have their place in live broadcast environments but they now face stiff competition from the growing number of small mirrorless cameras that offer higher frame rates, larger sensors, and more lens options.
