FLOVEL Company Japan, a company in partnership with FOR-A Corporation, introduced its new FZ-B1 high-sensitivity HD camera at FOR-A's booth during the 2012 IBC Show held last month in Amsterdam. FOR-A is the exclusive distributor of FLOVEL brand cameras in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Africa, and sections of Asia. The new camera—designed for government and high-end security applications—will be available through FOR-A's worldwide sales offices beginning next month.
As the latest addition to FLOVEL's extensive line of high-end HD specialty cameras, the new FZ-B1 has at its core a 2/3-inch CMOS 1.3 megapixel color image sensor. The compact camera records in 1080/59.94i, 1080/50i, 720p/60p and 720/50p formats and has an unprecedented low-light sensitivity of only 0.01 lux.
Superior HD color imagery combined with low-light sensitivity makes this camera ideal for demanding high-resolution applications, including day/night nature video production, surveillance, microscopy, and day/night policing and traffic control. To make the camera smaller and less obtrusive, customers may just use the sensor module without the camera housing.
"This new HD camera employs state of the art imaging technology. No other camera on the market offers such high-quality HD color video reproduction at such low-light levels as mere moonlight," said Mr. Susumu Hotta, General Manager, FLOVEL. "We're pleased to offer this breakthrough technology to customers with demanding, rigorous HD imaging applications throughout the world."
The FZ-B1 works with any C Mount lens and has a suggested starting price of $30,000.
The FLOVEL FZ-B1 high-sensitivity HD camera joins an extensive product line that includes FLOVEL's EM-120 ultra-high-sensitivity cameras for day and night observation. Based on FLOVEL's 2/3-inch (1.3 megapixel) EM-CCD sensor, the EM-120 is a powerful, singular camera with a wide range of wavelength sensitivity from daylight to infrared, and the capability of infrared color mixing at moonlight luminance. With its 1330(H) x 980(V) 1080/59.94i HD resolution, the camera has been used for many critical applications, including round-the-clock observation of Fukushima nuclear power plant—from roughly 30 kilometers away.
Dedicated to an on-going R&D effort, FLOVEL is currently developing a new 8K camera for research and large-screen applications.
