The Meduza, a camera that can capture 4K digital stereoscopic 3-D images, has been chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to shoot the final Space Shuttle Launch at Cape Canaveral, FL, in mid-July.
Crews from NASA will use the Meduza camera to shoot the launch in 4K 3-D and high-speed (120fps) 2K. Weighing less than 15lbs, the camera system can support any number of cameras fully synchronized without the use of cabling.
With its modular components, the Meduza can be set up in minutes, has interchangeable lenses, precise remote-controlled variable interaxial (the distance between the lenses) and precise convergence. It is a single camera, with a single set of electronics and a single set of controls that powers two imaging sensors at the same time.
The Meduza not only makes it easier, faster and cheaper to produce 3-D content, but by allowing filmmakers to shoot in the native 4:3 format at beyond 4K, the content is acquired at 4096 x 3072 pixels and can be used for everything from 15/70mm giant screens to general theatrical screens, as well as 3-D TV viewing in the home.
3D Visual Enterprises, the UK-based holding company, was established specifically to service the growing demand within the professional film and television community for a complete and technically advanced 3-D image capturing system. Meduza Systems was created to develop an imaging system that would solve the single camera problem within an architecture that could be constantly upgraded to keep pace with the growth of the industry and advancing technology.
The system had to be versatile, flexible, capable of being upgraded and adapted to match the pace of developing sensor and optical technology and to deliver visual images at the highest resolution possible at all times. The Meduza was designed to fill the void in the market with compatibility in all of the production environments and in any industry, from Giant Screen 15/70, to live events, to handheld natural history productions. Above all, the company’s mission is to create a stereoscopic digital 3-D camera that would never be obsolete and that could constantly strive to meet the growing and changing needs of its customers.
