LiveLab Launch: U50 Remote Camera Control Head for Box Lenses

Designed and manufactured during the lockdown period, the U50 is a heavy-duty remote head that enables camera operators to safely return to work and control the biggest box lenses and heaviest broadcast camera set-ups remotely.

Offering the ultimate for camera remote control and remote production, U50 combats the current challenges and unique requirements in the Covid-19 affected world. Making it possible to operate large box lenses and cameras remotely, U50 achieves the same precision and agility when camera operators are controlling manually and on-site.

With no other remote head capable of smoothly and quickly operating box lenses and with on-site production crews dramatically decreasing, this innovation offers a new solution to tackle current challenges.

Danny Zemanek, Freelance Camera Operator explained, “Previously remote production technology was an additional cost for broadcasters, but now it is essential to ensure camera operators can work safely. The U50 remote head from Mo-Sys represents a new way that operators can control big box lenses with the same precision and agility that we have come to expect.”

Built on the same high-precision backlash free drives in the successful Mo-Sys L40 remote head, the U50 head enables fast acceleration and deceleration of heavy broadcast camera packages with super telephoto lenses of up to 50kg. The unique combination of a U-shape space-frame design and zero backlash drives give U50 enough strength to achieve fast panning shots with no bouncing, even when zoomed in. Whether you are following a puck in an Ice Hockey game or trailing F1 cars on a racetrack, U50 allows you to precisely follow the action.

The U50 is specifically designed to allow remote operation, eliminating the need for operators to manually pan and tilt the camera onsite. Instead they can move the camera remotely from a control room with an intuitive pan bar that translates operator movements 1:1 to the remote head. And with the Mo-Sys TimeCam option soon to be made available, U50 has the potential to be operated anywhere in the world with virtually no delay by using Mo-Sys’ delay compensated global remote-control technique.

Michael Geissler, CEO Mo-Sys Engineering Ltd said, “Our U50 is ideal for sporting events and long-range filming environments. At the core of the U50 are our highly robust pan and tilt motors with zero backlash, providing lag-free operation. Using the power and sturdiness of the Mo-Sys L40 pan and tilt motors, but now with a double space-frame design, the U50 is Mo-Sys’ strongest head to date.”

Extremely strong and backlash-free drive units give operators instant and delay-free control. The precise gear drives enable flawless operation even with the biggest zoom lenses, unlike worm gear drives which can cause judder. The hole through the centre of the gear boxes for cable pass-through removes the need for slip-rings and makes it future-proof for high bandwidth digital video. This also allows for tangle free direct cabling.

Geissler added, “Just like the rest of our broadcast robotics and film remote heads, the U50 can be operated with a variety of input devices such as hand-wheels, pan-bar or joystick. It can be connected through a bus cable, ethernet or fibre for long distances. The button-console interface provides controls for pan/tilt velocity adjustment, input smoothing and direction, user defined position limits with feathering and axes zeroing.

“Whether you’re a freelance cameraman, work in production, broadcast, OBs, rental, virtual events, corporate or sports,” Geissler concluded, “Our U50 simplifies the operation of the head in remote-mode making it ideal for all those operating and involved – be they technical or not.”