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A Creative COW "Real World" Product Review
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Walter Biscardi
d' Arte Media Creations, Buford, Georgia USA
© 2003, Walter Biscardi and CreativeCOW.net. All rights reserved. |
Article Focus:
In this article, Creative Cow's Walter Biscardi gives Cow members a "first look" field report of Laird Telemedia's new LTM-LCAM series of cameras. In a recent shoot featuring a specially modified Lamborghini designed by SuperCars and running at Road Atlanta, he used the new LTM-LCAM tiny lipstick case-sized digital cameras mounted just above the windshield to videotape laps to cut into the final piece. As mentioned in the article below, the camera can be mounted and cushioned to reduce vibration for a rock-solid image. Walter concluded that: "These things ROCK! -- and at major cost savings. They are much more than a helmet cam and I love this thing and will be getting a second one shortly!" Read the review to see what else he says about it.
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First off, this unit is much more than a helmet cam, although that was the original intent. Designed to be used on boats, cars and motorcycles, Laird introduces a new set of cameras that are incredibly versatile far beyond motor-sports. With a reasonable price tag starting under $300, this camera can be used for a myriad of projects, including cases where a “disposable” camera is necessary. I had the opportunity to try out the LTM-LCAM 480 on a recent field production.
The Project
Our need was a camera that could be mounted on a Lamborghini Diablo Race Car while it went for hot laps on a road course. The camera had to be easy to mount yet offer broadcast quality at a very reasonable price and be able to hold on at speeds up to 180 mph and more. After researching various options for a few weeks I came across an ad for a “helmet cam” from Laird Telemedia. After some conversations with Paku Misra at Laird, we were able to arrange delivery of our unit just 4 days before we headed to the race track.
Lamborghini Diablo SE-30 race car from SuperCars runs at Road Atlanta. The 841hp
monster machine has the camera mounted center just above the windshield.
The LTM-LCAM
The Laird LTM-LCAM 480 and LTM-LCAM 380 come in a sturdy travel case
which holds all the components. (Helmet not included)
The LTM-LCAM arrives in a sturdy travel case which holds all the components securely within foam padding. The camera package contains the following:
- A 380 or 480 line lipstick style camera with 4’ of Composite video cable.
- Camera Housing (Laird Shock Tube) made of aircraft aluminum
- 12 volt Battery pack
- Battery Charger
- Miniature Microphone with clip mount
- RCA – BNC adapter
- Heavy duty Velcro mounting strips
- Camera Base plate
The camera itself is a steel tube lipstick style camera with a Sony precision CCD image pickup device. You can order either a 380 or 480 line resolution version of the camera and 4 feet of composite cable is included. The camera housing (aka: Laird Shock Tube) is made of rugged aircraft aluminum with an indestructible optical grade protective front plate. The optical plate is angled upward to prevent sun glare and to help unwanted pests to bounce upwards. The 4’ video cable also has the power cable bundled within so there’s only one cable coming out of the back of the camera.
The kit includes a very heavy duty Velcro set to actually mount the camera to the car or whatever you’re mounting it to. There’s also a small camera plate which can be mounted to an object and the camera simply screws right onto the plate. This would be great for time-lapse or mounting situations where vibration isn’t a concern.
Camera mounted just above the windshield on the roof.
Rear view of the camera mounted in the camera housing on
the car.
Front view of the camera housing mounted on the car.
Our Lamborghini Technician, Robert Ball, owner of SuperCars International added one thing to the entire assembly; a set of two “O-rings” to the outside of the camera itself. This held the camera completely snug in place prior to tightening the set screws. They also offered even more shock protection giving us a completely rock solid image with no rattle.
The microphone features a watch-type battery with on/off switch and about 10 feet of cable which was plenty for us to clip the mic to the driver’s side visor. The battery pack charges in just 4 hours and connects right alongside the video BNC connector. Robert mounted the battery pack in the front of the engine compartment which is in the rear of the car. This provided a perfect location within the 4 foot run of video/power cable.
12 volt battery mounted in the engine compartment. Note the blue
BNC cable to the left which was connected to the record device.
Robert also came up with an ingenious camera mount for the record device. The LTM-LCAM units do not have a record device so you must run the video and audio feeds to a recorder or camera. As you can imagine, there is VERY little room inside of a Diablo to mount a record device. So we opted to use the client’s own Sony VX-2000 which was mounted behind the driver’s seat. Robert bolted a steel tube to the floor of the car and welded the top of a camera tripod to the top. So the camera was snapped securely in place for the ride.
Now it was off to the race track. The camera performed beautifully. After three laps we brought the car in for a tape check and were very pleased with the image quality. The wide angle lens allowed us to easily see at least 1/4 mile or more down the track as it went around the 2+ mile Road Atlanta race course. It also afforded us a great look down at the reflections off the windshield of the car as it went around the track.
View from the LTM-LCAM 480 on the track. Note the windshield wiper
at the lower third of the screen. The road is reflecting back up on the
windshield.
View from the LTM-LCAM 480, you're looking approx. 1/4 – 1/2 mile
down the “esses” on the track.
The Verdict
While developed primarily for motor-sports, this camera could be used for hundreds of projects. Hidden camera, time-lapse, sports, extreme sports, concerts, POV perspective, science, etc. The cameras list at $299 for the LTM-LCAM 380 and $399 for the LTM-LCAM 480. At those prices, they make the lipstick, high performance camera available to anyone. You can also use them as a “disposable camera” in a situation where you know the camera may not survive.
The picture quality was outstanding and held very solid, even over the rub rails and the turns. Overall, I found the camera well worth the investment and will definitely find a lot of uses for this in our future productions. If you’re looking for a lipstick camera for motor-sports or just about anything else you can think of, this camera will suit you well.
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For more information, please see specs below or contact:
Paku Misra <paku@towerpower.com>,
Laird Telemedia (800) 898-0759
Here are the complete specs on the camera, courtesy of Laird Telemedia’s website.
| Standard LTM-LCAM 380 |
High Resolution LTM-LCAM 480 |
IMAGE SENSOR: High Resolution 1/3" DSP Color CCD (Sony)
EFFECTIVE PIXELS 290,000
HORIZONTAL RESOLUTION 380 Lines
MIN. ILLUMINATION 0.2Lux at 2.0
SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEM Internal Crystal
SCANNING SYSTEM 2:1 Interlaced
VIDEO OUTPUT 1.0V p-p Composite. 75 Ohms
S/N RATIO More Than 50 dB (AGC Off)
BLC Automatic
SHUTTER SPEED NTSC 1/60~1/100.000 SEC
GAMMA CORRECTION R=0.45 - 1.0
WHITE BALANCE 2800o K ~ 8200o K Auto
GAIN CONTROL 4 dB ~ 30 dB Auto
SMEAR EFFECT 0.005%
MTBF 80,000 Hrs.
POWER SOURCE 12V DC (Tolerance 8V ~ 15V)
OPERATING CURRENT 130 mA with Regulated Power Input
LENS STANDARD 3.6mm
OPERATING TEMPERATURE 14oF ~ 122oF ( -10oC ~ +50oC )
HUMIDITY Within 90% RH
OUTPUT TERMINAL 4’ Cable with BNC Female Video
DIMENSIONS 21mm Diameter x 77mm L (Camera Element Only)
WEIGHT Approx. 210g
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IMAGE SENSOR High Resolution 1/3" DSP Color CCD (Sony)
EFFECTIVE PIXELS 380,000
HORIZONTAL RESOLUTION 480 Lines
MIN. ILLUMINATION 0.1Lux at 2.0
SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEM Internal Crystal
SCANNING SYSTEM 2:1 Interlaced
VIDEO OUTPUT 1.0V p-p Composite. 75 Ohms
S/N RATIO More Than 50 dB (AGC Off)
BLC Automatic
SHUTTER SPEED NTSC 1/60~1/100.000 SEC
GAMMA CORRECTION R=0.45
WHITE BALANCE 2100o K ~ 8200o K Auto
GAIN CONTROL 4 dB ~ 30 dB Auto
SMEAR EFFECT 0.005%
MTBF 80,000 Hrs.
POWER SOURCE 12V DC (Tolerance 8V ~ 15V)
OPERATING CURRENT 130 mA with Regulated Power Input
LENS STANDARD 3.6mm
OPERATING TEMPERATURE 14oF ~ 122oF ( -10oC ~ +50oC )
HUMIDITY Within 90% RH
OUTPUT TERMINAL 4’ Cable with BNC Female Video
DIMENSIONS 21mm Diameter x 77mm L (Camera Element Only)
WEIGHT Approx. 220g
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Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Director
d’Arte media creations
Creative Cow Final Cut Pro, CinéWave and Atlanta FCPUG Forum Host
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