NAB Show: Grass Valley Unveils LDX C135 Compact Camera

Grass Valley, a provider of solutions for live production, announces the launch of its LDX C135 compact camera for easy positioning and remote operation.

Louis Hernandez Jr., Grass Valley CEO, said: “Grass Valley remains one of the strongest brands in the media and entertainment industry with a proven track record in delivering best-in-class cameras for live production. With our continued investment in our camera portfolio, our newly announced C135 compact camera with NativeIP integrates seamlessly with the entire GV Media Universe (GVMU) to unlock new possibilities especially for sports, gimball and wirecam applications.”

At NAB Show (April 16-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center) in Booth C2408, Grass Valley said it is showcasing the LDX C135, “a camera with all the award-winning features of the UHD HDR native LDX 135 camera — high sensitivity Global Shutter imagers, Native HDR in PQ, HLG, and S-Log — in a compact head that is easy to position anywhere. Its size and mounting options make it ideal for automated studio applications as well as typical sports applications, wirecam, gimball (helicopter) and unmanned applications. Because it shares the same technology, it is easy to match the look of this camera with all other LDX cameras.”

“We are seeing widespread implementation of IP networks for studios, venues, and production trucks,” said Paul de Bresser, Grass Valley product manager. “With its NativeIP capability, the LDX C135 fits perfectly in this environment. Not only is it simple to deploy in minutes, you can easily connect and operate cameras from anywhere you like — providing a lot of flexibility in today’s REMI productions.”

This camera shares the unique ability of the LDX 100 series to operate in an SDI configuration or in multiple IP configurations. With the NativeIP option, the camera becomes a fully SMPTE ST 2110 enabled camera straight from the camera with no external conversion. For fast setup, NMOS support makes the camera immediately recognizable when plugged into a network. Because the LDX C135 does not require a separate base station it is even easier to integrate with camera robotics.

To provide unique viewpoints that bring the audience closer to the action, it’s often desirable to position cameras in areas that are hard to reach or would be dangerous for an operator to stand. The LDX C135 offers the option for in-camera compression, starting with the HQ-Low latency JPEG XS compression eliminating the need for extra equipment to adapt to local bandwidth constraints.

The new LDX C135 also supports Creative Grading for remote IP or cloud-connected shading. This remote access provides new options for story-telling from any place with an internet connection.

The LDX 100 series has proven very popular with both outside broadcast and production companies such as NEP, ES Broadcast and All Mobile Video, for its ease of use and highest quality images.

The LDX C135 is the compact companion of the LDX 135, where single speed UHD (4K) is standard. The LDX C135 offers a high sensitivity F11@2000 lux vs F9@2000 lux) global shutter via its three new Xenios imagers that result in wider dynamic range in HDR mode, improved signal-to-noise ratio by reducing gain for cleaner images; greater depth of field by allowing smaller lens apertures for easier and better focusing.