All Phantom v-Series cameras with the Airborne option (these are no longer shipping) are classified as ECCN 7A994.

All Phantom MIro Airborne and Miro Airborne HD cameras are classified as ECCN 9A991D.

Any Phantom camera with the FAST option installed (typically this gives you frame rates >= 1,000,000 fps and/or digital exposures < 1 microsecond) such as the Phantom v611, v711, v1210 or v1610 are classified as ECCN 6A003 and are export controlled (see below).

All other Phantom cameras are classified as ECCN EAR99.

Cameras with ECCN 6A003 can only be exported to these countries with no license require (NLR):

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.

All other countries require an export license.

We offer hands-on training for Phantom cameras at our Wayne, New Jersey facility. The two-day class has both lecture and labs for the best learning experience. This class is targeted at applications where the cameras will be used for scientific and engineering applications. A schedule of classes can be found here.

On-site training is available.

For customers outside of North America, who prefer local training, most of our International Sales Partners offer training courses tailored to your needs.

If your application is TV or Motion Picture production, consider training courses targeted at those applications from Abel Cine Tech, or other Phantom resellers around the world who focus on the "entertainment" market.

Vision Research welcomes slow motion videos from our industrial users as well as our entertainment customers. Submission is easy. Send us an email (randy.feldman@ametek.com) that explains what you’d like to share. In the body of the email give us all the details about your shoot, equipment used, workflow and anything else you think we need to know. We will send you a permission to use form to complete. This form gives us permission to use your footage and tells us how to credit your work. Once we get the completed form, we’ll work with you to get the footage (we prefer the original cine file). Then, we’ll post your high speed video in the Gallery and on our YouTube channel.

Slow motion videos in our Gallery are rotated on a weekly basis and randomly chosen for inclusion into the Gallery.

FOCUS is VR’s blog / online newsletter. In it you will find company information, new products announcements and launches, recently released case studies, and innovated ways our high speed digital video cameras are used around the world. Think of  FOCUS as your one stop shop for all news Phantom.

There sure is! Visit our camera comparison page. All of our slo-mo cameras are listed on one page.

Yes. Look on our Documents Download page for the CE Declarations.

There is no danger. First, there is actually very little liquid in the heat pipe. And, it is under very low pressure. So, while the liquid might freeze, it will not damage the heat pipe. Soon after powering the camera, the liquid will thaw.

Yes it will. You can connect through the remote port on the camera either with a "Remote" cable or Bluetooth dongle. You can also use an RCU connected via the Break-out-Box.

If you connect using the remote port on the camera then you will also have to connect to one of the HD-SDI outputs of the camera to see video on the RCU.

Connecting through the Break-out-Box provides NTSC or PAL video to the RCU.

Both the Phantom v1210 and v1610 are equipped standard with the unique CineMag interface. This interface is able to transfer images from the camera’s high-speed memory to non-volatile, flash memory at about 1Gpx/sec. A full resolution frame is 1 Mpx, so you can save about 1000 frames each second to a CineMag. Or, another way to state this is you can save  about 1.5GB/sec to non-volatile mass-storage. A v1610, equipped with maximum memory of 96GB, can save its full memory buffer to a CineMag in about a minute.

Once a shot is saved to the CineMag it is safely stored and available for later retrieval. This means you immediately can use the camera for another shot.

Images stored on a CineMag are available for later retrieval using the Phantom Camera Control (PCC) software with the CineMag mounted on either the camera or the offline docking station known as a CineStation.

The camera and the CineStation each have a 10Gb Ethernet port for file retrieval at the fastest possible speeds.

The v1210 and v1610 are not compatible with 1^st generation CineMags (those in the larger housing, often called CineMag I.) If your CineMag is in the slim housing, then it is compatible.

Download times over Ethernet are highly dependent upon your computer and disk configuration and performance. Over Gb Ethernet, we typically see about 60 MB/s to a very high performance desktop PC. (Dell Precision, T3500, quad-core Xeon processor at 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM, to a 8-disk RAID array using SSD drives, Windows 7 Professional.) With 10Gb Ethernet from CineStation, we typically see about 400MB/s to this configuration.  Characterization of download speeds and times from the v1610 and v1210 are under evaluation, but should be similar to the CineStation results. Your results will vary.

The GPS port on the Phantom v1210 and v1610 can be used to provide date, time and location information from the GPS satellite network. Vision Research sells a compatible GPS receiver (VRI-GPS-18X-LVC-5M). With the GPS receiver connected to the camera, and assuming it has a valid satellite fix, GPS timing can be used similarly to IRIG timing. You can synchronize the camera’s internal clock to the GPS, timestamp frames with GPS timing accuracy, and even save the camera’s latitude and longitude with any cine file (location error is < 3 meters after a satellite fix.)

The primary input is where you plug the 220W A/C power supply provided with the camera. This is your primary source of power for the camera. You can optionally connect a backup source of power—often a battery—to the backup battery power input. If the camera power switch is set to AUTO, and if there is a loss of power on the primary input, even momentarily, the backup power will immediately take over - providing uninterrupted power to the camera. This is important to protect any images stored in the camera’s high-speed memory from accidental loss.

Connecting power to the battery backup port will not turn on the camera. (See FAQ about the AUTO/ON/OFF switch.) There is no drain from the connected battery unless a loss of primary power causes the power input to switch to the battery backup.

The battery backup port will not charge a connected battery.

In case of primary power loss, the backup battery port will not only protect images saved in memory, but can provide sufficient power to power all camera operations until the input voltage drops below the minimum required, ~ 18VDC.

If primary power is restored, that again becomes the power source for the camera and the battery port reverts to a backup mode.

[This answer was modified on 23 August 2011]

Prior to the introduction of the Phantom v1210 and v1610, Phantom cameras did not have a physical power switch. Instead, the camera powered up any time an appropriate DC voltage appeared on the power input to the camera. This was done so that cameras can be powered up (booted) remotely by providing primary power and did not require physical access to the camera.

However, there is a physical power switch on the v1210 and v1610. It has three positions: AUTO, ON, and OFF.

When the switch is set to AUTO, providing power to the Primary DC Input will power up (boot) the camera and it will be ready for use. In AUTO, providing power to the Battery Backup power input of an unpowered camera WILL NOT power up the camera. However, if there is a loss of primary power, then the Battery Backup power will be used to maintain camera operation and protect any stored data.

When the switch is in the OFF position, the camera is off. Providing power to the Primary DC Power input or the Battery Backup input will not cause the camera to power-up.

When the switch is moved to the ON position, the camera will power-up immediately provided there is power connected to the Primary DC Power port OR the Battery Backup port on the camera

There are several use-cases this scheme enables:

1. Battery backup for mission critical tests: Set the camera to AUTO. Power through the Primary input and provide local battery backup power to the Battery Backup input. If primary power is lost, camera operation will continue and data is protected by the battery backup.
2. Remote power up: You can turn the camera on by providing power to the Primary DC Power input when the camera is in AUTO or ON.
3. Remote power cycle: If the camera will need to have power cycled remotely, set the switch to AUTO and do not use a battery for battery backup.
4. Battery operation: Connect a battery to the Battery Backup port. Set the switch to ON.

No, you must use the 220 W power supply shipped with the camera. It is part number: VRI-PWR-SUPPLY-220W-FIS. Spares and replacement power supplies are available from Vision Research.

There is a 19-pin Amphenol connector on the back of the camera that is called the Capture Connector. The connector has the following available signals:

• Event input (an external signal can “mark” one or more frames with an event marker making it easy to later find and view specific frames)
• Trigger input (provides a hardware trigger to the camera)
• Strobe output (is a low during the frame exposure time)
• Ready output (is high when the camera is capturing pretrigger frames)
• IRIG-In (external sync and time stamping from a modulated or unmodulated IRIG source)
• IRIG-Out (provides an umodulated IRIG source that contains timing information from the camera)
• Video Out (a composite video signal, either NTSC or PAL)
• Serial Port input (for serial protocol control of camera)
• Power Out (24VDC, used to power the Break-out-Box)
• A-Sync output (optionally, signal goes low when a trigger event is detected by the Image-Based Auto-Trigger feature allowing for multiple cameras to be synchronized to an event trigger)
• Pre-trigger/Memgate input (mode is set in software; if Memgate is low, acquired frames are discarded rather than saved to camera memory; Pre-trigger signal “arms” the camera and starts the acquisition of pretrigger frames)
• Genlock input (locks the camera’s video system to an external source)

Detailed information about these signals is available using the PCC application’s Help feature.

All v1210 and v1610 cameras ship with a standard Capture Cable that connects to the Capture Connector and provides access to:

• Ready
• Strobe
• A-Sync
• Pre-trigger/Memgate
• Video

All other signals are accessible by using a Phantom Break-out-Box. See the related FAQ.

Yes, the Break-out-Box works with these cameras.

Signals available on the Break-out-Box include (see FAQ on the Capture Connector for more details):

• IRIG-In
• IRIG-Out
• Video
• Trigger
• Event
• Strobe
• A-Sync
• Pre-Trigger / Memgate
• Ready
• Genlock

In addition, the Break-out-Box provides a Remote connector for use with the Phantom Remote Control Unit (RCU) and optional Bluetooth connectivity to the RCU.

Note: you cannot power the camera from the Break-out-Box.

Yes.

Yes. You need to order the optional Canon EOS lens mount and use it with one of the tested and supported lenses (see FAQ elsewhere). The part number is: VRI-MNT-EOS-VSERIES.

No. We've been able to achieve these rates of speed without the use of such technology.

To minimize noise and maximize image quality on any digital high-speed camera, it is important to control the sensor temperature. By keeping the sensor at a fixed temperature, you will get better, more repeatable images. For many years, Vision Research has used thermo-electric (TE) coolers based on the Peltier effect to control sensor temperature. The sensor die is attached to the TE cooler and by monitoring sensor temperature, the camera can supply more or less power to the TE cooler to adjust the temperature.

The TE cooler is typically bonded to a heat sink cooled by an active fan-based cooling system.

This technology is used on the v1210 and v1610. However, these cameras run so fast, that additional cooling technology is employed. On these cameras the sensor die is attached to the TE cooler, which in turn is bonded to a copper heat sink which has heat pipes attached. The heat pipes carry excess heat away from the sensor area toward the sides of the camera where heat is removed using dual fans.

The heat pipe is a copper tube that is filled with a liquid under low pressure.  One end of the heat pipe is bonded to the source of heat, in this case the copper heat sink. The other side is bonded to a heat sink which is fan cooled. Liquid in the heat pipe moves toward the source of heat through capillary action. When it gets to the hot side of the pipe, it will turn to vapor and circulate back to the cool side where it gives up heat and turns back into liquid. The process then repeats.

Prior to the introduction of the Phantom v1210 and v1610, Phantom cameras did not have a physical power switch. Instead, the camera powered up any time an appropriate DC voltage appeared on the power input to the camera. This was done so that cameras can be powered up (booted) remotely by providing primary power and did not require physical access to the camera.

However, there is a physical power switch on the Miro M-series cameras. It has three positions: AUTO, ON, and OFF.

When the switch is set to AUTO, it works exactly like any previous Phantom Camera. Providing power to the Primary DC Input will power up (boot) the camera and it will be ready for use. (Note: even in AUTO, providing battery power to an unpowered camera WILL NOT power up the camera.) If there is a loss of primary power, then the battery power will be used to maintain camera operation and protect any stored data (assuming a battery is connected.)

When the switch is in the OFF position, the camera is off.

When the switch is moved to the ON position, the camera will power-up immediately provided there is power connected to the primary power port OR a battery is connected to the camera.

The input power spec is 12-28VDC. The power supply provided by Vision Research provides 24VDC power to the camera.

If the power input to the camera drops below 16VDC and a battery is connected to the camera, the camera will begin to draw power from the battery if the camera is in ON or AUTO mode. This is a data protection safety feature.

Standard NTSC and PAL composite, selectable in PCC and available on the capture cable. The video signal is also embedded in the RCU connection cable which provides video for the RCU.

The camera shows the whole image filling the screen by default; this is most useful when framing a shot. A pixel-for-pixel zoom (1:1) is available that center-crops the image and is useful for focusing.

Today, it simply performs a CSR by closing the internal mechanical shutter and issuing a command to the camera to do a current session reference.  This functionality will likely be enhanced in the future.

No, you cannot record directly to the CineFlash. There is no “run/stop” mode on the Miro cameras.

The cine is stored on the CineFlash as a 10-bit log raw cine file that can be read from a CineFlash installed in a camera over the Ethernet connection using PCC. This is the default method for accessing a cine file on the CineFlash.

For user convenience, we also provide a CineFlash Dock that can be connected to a computer using an eSata port. While this is not the default method for accessing a cine on the CineFlash, the CineFlash can be recognized by PC or Mac computers once inserted into the CineFlash Dock connected to a computer that has the appropriate driver installed. This will allow 3^rd party solutions that can read 10-bit log raw cine files to see the file directly on the CineFlash. This also means that you can “drag and drop” the file from the CineFlash to local storage on a computer.

The CineFlash is formatted using the Linux EXT2 file system format, and a driver that recognizes this file system must be installed on any computer that will read the CineFlash directly using the CineFlash Dock. With the driver installed, the cine file appears just like any other file on a mounted disk. And, is thus available to 3rd party software and PCC.

For a Windows PC download the driver from:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2fsd/files/Ext2FSD/

Download the latest version to your PC and run the downloaded file to install the driver. (On Windows 7, be sure to run this as an administrator.) This will install the driver and a program called Ext2 Volume Manager, which you can use to assign a drive letter to the CineFlash. The Ext2 Volume Manager can be found in the (default) program folder Ext2Fsd. You might want to create an alias to this program and place it on your desktop. Reboot your PC after installing this software to complete the installation.

The CineFlash is less tolerant of being removed from the dock (disconnected from the computer) than a typical USB drive. Therefore, you should ALWAYS unmount the CineFlash before removing it from the dock or disconnecting the dock from the computer if it has a CineFlash in it.  You can do this in the Device Manager. Or, to make this easier, download the HotSwap! utility from this location:

http://mt-naka.com/hotswap/index_enu.htm

Download the latest version, extract the appropriate program (either 32 bit or 64 bit) for your computer and put this in a logical place for your computer and operating system. Run it once and it will place a control in the notification area (utility tray) of your computer. You will now get notifications when the CineFlash is inserted, and you should always use this utility to unmount the CineFlash before removing it. This ensures that all data is written and flushed to the disk before removing the CineFlash.

Once the CineFlash is mounted, a user can access, play, edit and save the cine files using Phantom PCC or the Phantom CineViewer software. CineViewer is available for download from the Vision Research web site at no charge.

For a Macintosh computer running OSX:

You can use a commercial driver from Paragon Software Group. This costs about $40, but seems to work reliably on a Mac. On a Mac Book Pro with an ExpressCard slot, we’ve had success using the 1-port ExpressCard eSATA Controller Adapter Card ECESATUSB1 from StarTech.com, as well as the Tempo™ SATA ExpressCard/34 interface card from Sonnet. (To view and play the cines on a Mac, you will also want a copy of the GlueTools PhantomCine plugin available from GlueTools.com.)

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/extfs-mac/

Again, be sure to unmount any CineFlash from the Mac OS before removing it from the dock.

None of the above solutions are provided by Vision Research and we cannot guarantee they will work or continue to be supported. You can always access and manipulate cine files stored on a CineFlash using the PCC application to access the camera over Ethernet, and the above mentioned solutions are provided for convenience. We will continue testing under a variety of conditions so we can provide the best possible customer experience.

No, you must power the CineFlash Dock using the included power supply.

Using PCC, you can select any cine stored on the CineFlash while it is in the camera. Once selected, you can play that cine in PCC, trim it, adjust it, and save it over Ethernet to the computer. You cannot, however, play the cine over the NTSC/PAL video port using PVP.

The only time you can play a cine over the video port is when it is stored in camera RAM.

Yes using PCC.

When inserted in the CineFlash Dock and connected directly to a computer, the read times for the CineFlash will be very fast, ranging between 120-250MB/s depending upon the size of the CineFlash and the performance of the target disk drive on the computer. (Files downloaded via PCC when the CineFlash is still in the camera will be slower since those go over the Ethernet connection.)

The CineFlash can save data at about 2.8 GB/minute (about 47MB/second). So, a 3GB file will take about one minute. A 6GB file will take a little over 2 minutes. A 12GB file, about 4.5 minutes.

[This answer was updated on 15 November 2012]

Yes. The RCU will be a very popular accessory for the M-series Miro cameras. A kit will be available that includes the RCU, all necessary cabling, power supply, battery, and case.

There is a cable which plugs into the power input on the Miro camera that then provides a place to plug the AC adapter and the RCU. (The RCU port on the Miro cameras is in the power connector.) This cable is included in the Miro-compatible RCU kit: VRI-RCU-KIT-MIRO-M.

When the camera is used under battery power, the camera will not power the RCU which must use its own battery. When the camera is powered by the AC adapter and the appropriate cabling is used, the RCU is powered by the camera’s AC adapter.

Up to 45 minutes for the BP-U30 and 90 minutes for the BP-U60. Of course, this depends a lot upon camera usage—frame rates, cycle time between shots, etc. We will continue to characterize this and update the FAQ as we gather more data from different cameras in different applications. These run-times were determined without the EOS lens mount. We expect that using the adjustment features of the EOS mount (aperture and focus) will decrease battery run time.

There is a battery capacity indicator on the battery (you push a button and some LEDs tell you the approximate charge remaining.) This does not give you run time directly, but some indication of the battery state.

No, the camera does not charge a connected battery. The battery must be charged using the external charger.

The LED indicators provide you with a visual representation of the camera's operational state, and communication status.

Power Indicator

The Power LED, located between the Capture and Power connectors on the right-hand side of the camera's rear panel near the center, provides a visual indication of camera power status and firmware integrity. If power is being supplied to the camera, and this LED is not lit, it indicates an error has occurred in the camera firmware. If this happens, it is best to reboot the camera to correct the error.

Capture Indicator

The Capture LED, located just below the Power Mode Switch on the right-hand side of the camera’s rear panel, near the bottom, provides a visual indication of the camera's operational states. By factory default, the camera is placed into the Preview - Waiting for Pre-trigger mode when the camera is powered on, unless it has otherwise been user-configured to start in the Recording waiting for trigger (capture) mode. Once in the Capture mode the camera starts recording images into the camera’s circular memory buffer (DRAM). Upon detection of a trigger signal, the camera is instructed to stop writing to the cameras internal memory buffer, once the number of specified Post Trigger frames has been reached, and the camera will be placed into the Preview mode. If the camera has been configured to automatically save the images to Flash the camera will, at this point write the images stored in the cameras DRAM to the Flash module.

User intervention is required to either save the cine to an external drive, or to put the camera back into the capture mode from the Setup and Recording screen.

The following will indicate the camera's operational state described above:

Off         Preview or Preview - Waiting for Trigger

On         Recording waiting for trigger (capture)

Ethernet Activity Indicator

When active the Ethernet Activity LED, the second of two LEDs located just above the Ethernet connector on the top right-hand side of the camera’s rear panel, indicates data is being transferred between the camera and the Phantom Control Unit computer.

Ethernet Link Indicator

When active the Ethernet Link LED, the second of two LEDs located just above the Ethernet connector on the top right-hand side of the camera’s rear panel, indicates that the camera is detected and is connected to an Ethernet network.

Phantom CineFlash Recording Indicator

The Phantom CineFlash Recording Indicator located inside the CineFlash Compartment near the bottom, will be active (red) when image data is being saved to the CineFlash. Do not remove the CineFlash during this process.

The Capture Cable has the following signals available: Trigger, Ready, IRIG In (modulated or unmodulated), Video Out, IRIG Out (unmodulated), and Auxiliary. The Auxiliary signal can be assigned to Event, Strobe or Memgate within the PCC application.

The Miro eX4 Capture Cable is identical to the capture cable for the new Miro cameras except the F-SYNC signal on the Miro eX4 cable is now the AUX signal on the new Miro’s capture cable. (F-SYNC is now available on the camera body.)

Yes, but some signals are different.

eX4                     Miro M-Series

IRIG-IN              IRIG-IN
Ready                Ready
Video                 Video
Trigger              Trigger
F-SYNC             IRIG-OUT
AUX(1)               AUX(2)

Note 1: Selectable between Strobe, IRIG-OUT
Note 2: Selectable between Strobe, Event, Memgate

On the 1 megapixel cameras, you can achieve 640x480. On the M120, you can achieve 1280x960 under a c-mount. For customers with an application that requires a square aspect ratio, 1152x1152 also fits under a 1” c-mount.

All high-speed cameras have “native resolutions” based on the internal design of the sensor and camera. On Phantom cameras, the legal increment for horizontal and vertical resolution is called “Continuously Adjustable Resolution” or CAR. On the Miro M-Series cameras, CAR is 64 x 8. This means that the camera will always acquire images at integer multiples of 64 for the horizontal resolution and 8 for the vertical resolution.

On previous Miro and v-Series cameras, the user could select any arbitrary resolution, then internally and “behind the scenes” selected the appropriate native resolution. Starting with the v1210 and v1610, we’ve determined that users wanted to always see what resolution they are using inside the camera.

If you need a final cine that has a non-native resolution, you can use the crop feature of PCC to get exactly what you need.

There is not a separate signal as on the v-Series cameras. But, the new Miros can pull the Trigger signal low in response to an IBAT event, so you can ensure several cameras are triggered together by tying the trigger signal together.

The Miro M-Series cameras are built on a new firmware platform that no longer supports individual settings for each cine in a multi-cine environment.

Yes. You would need these cables: VRI-2MA5002-03, -05, -10, or -30 (depending upon length); and, VRI-2MA5001-03, -05, -10, -30. The first cable is the capture cable and the second is the Ethernet cable.  There is no F-SYNC available for camera synchronization via the Junction Box, so if the cameras must be synchronized, use IRIG for synchronization. Note: This configuration has not yet been tested.

Here are a few of the major differences:

• The Phantom Flex can run faster – take more pictures per second – than the HD. This is especially true in Standard Mode where the Flex is up to 2.5X faster. Even in HQ mode the Flex is about 20% faster than the HD Gold.
• The Phantom Flex has a global shutter. The HD Gold has a progressive shutter. This means the Flex will be better at shooting super-fast-changing events such as lightning strikes.
• The Flex has dual shooting modes: Standard Mode is a good general purpose mode when you need high frame rates, HQ Mode is best for superb picture quality. The Flex puts the choice between speed and image quality into the hands of the user.
• The Flex has Dual Link HD-SDI outputs for 4:4:4 video. Or the two ports can be used to provide identical 4:2:2 video.
• The Flex housing offers some advantages over the HD Gold with the viewfinder port toward the front of the camera, two 12V auxiliary power ports, and it is smaller and lighter.
• The Flex camera comes with a 3-year warranty.
• The Flex has dual power input ports. These can be used to provide “hot swappable” power either from AC or batteries. One port can provide AC power while the other port provides battery backup in case of power loss.

In terms of image quality, the two cameras are about the same, especially when using HQ mode on the Phantom Flex. We still expect the HD Gold to be a popular camera choice – especially now that it is available at a lower price point (refurbished “like new” cameras.)

HQ mode uses a proprietary technology to enhance each frame of your shot. Each frame is analyzed for noise and image artifacts that can occur under continuously changing shooting environments. Using HQ mode means that you will always get the best images possible even when changing frame rates, exposure settings, resolution, or if ambient and camera temperatures are changing. Use this mode when you are changing camera settings often or working in an ever-changing physical environment and when you need your last shot of the day to look just as good as your first shot. HQ mode reduces maximum frame rates by about ½ and each frame requires twice the internal camera memory. However, saved cine files are the same size as in Standard Mode and recording directly to CineMag has the same speed and size specifications as Standard Mode.

If you find yourself in an application where you need very, very short exposure times, you may need to use Standard mode. In HQ mode, the Phantom Flex uses some of the time during the frame acquisition to enhance the image for that frame. This time is not available for digital exposure. So, the exposure times in HQ mode are a bit more limited than in Standard mode. See the FAQ on this topic for more explanation.

There are two main benefits from oversampling on the Phantom Flex camera:

1. When shooting at full resolution of 2560x1600 (or 2560x1440 for 16:9 aspect ratio), the active sensor area (25.6mm x 16.0mm) is very close to the size of a 35mm film frame – meaning, when using 35mm lenses, you will get the field-of-view and depth-of-view you have come to expect with 35mm cameras.
2. When an oversampled image is scaled to HD, the scaling process tends to reduce noise and increase dynamic range. Scaling can be done automatically in-camera for the video signals from the camera, and it can be done in post-production using compatible tools.

When the Phantom Flex camera is used at “normal” speeds where sound recording may also be used, it is important that it is as quiet as possible. While the new dual-fan cooling system on the Phantom Flex runs very quiet, the fans are automatically slowed down and become even quieter when shooting in HQ mode AND while recording directly to the CineMag. This is the most likely recording scenario where synchronized sound is also recorded. At all other times (in Standard mode and in loop recording) the fans will run at whatever speed is required to keep the camera at a constant temperature.

Even in the quiet mode, if the camera temperature begins to exceed limits that we’ve set to protect the camera circuitry, the fans will speed up. Typically, this will not occur except for very, very long takes.

The Versatile Dual HD-SDI  feature of the v640, v12.1 and v710 allows the user to have a live image on one of the two HD-SDI ports on the camera while playing back a stored cine on the other port at the same time. This is a feature that is critical in sports broadcast replay applications. The camera operator can always be looking at or recording the live action, while the controllers in an OB truck (for example) can be viewing, saving or even airing a slow-motion playback stored in the camera.  This feature, in addition to true HD resolution and great light sensitivity is what has propelled the v640 into the position as the most popular ultra-slow-motion broadcast camera.

Dual-link HD-SDI is a video system which has two HD-SDI outputs, which always have the same content on them – either live OR playback. They can be configured to provide two 4:2:2 video feeds of identical content, or they can be “combined” to provide a 4:4:4 video feed for maximum video quality. (4:4:4 is typically not available at 60fps playback.)

Dual-link HD-SDI is available on all of our camera with two HD-SDI video ports and is the functionality available on the Phantom Flex.

In Standard mode you can shoot with exposure times as short as 1 microsecond. That is very close to a 0 degree shutter angle! You might need that in rare situations where you are trying to stop all motion blur and you have enough light to shoot at extremely small exposures.

The HQ mode needs time to do the frame-specific image enhancements that are key to the mode. And, it needs to do this as the frame is acquired. The time it takes for these enhancements is not available to the camera as digital exposure time. The greater the frame rate, the less time there is for digital exposure. At the maximum frame rate for any resolution in HQ mode, the exposure time is limited to about ½ of 1/frames-per-second or a 180 degree shutter angle. As you lower the frame rate, the available time increases so that at 24 fps (for example), the range is 7 degrees to 353 degrees.

If you find that the minimum available exposure in HQ mode is insufficient to “stop motion” and you have unacceptable motion blur, you will need to switch to Standard mode. This will be a very rare situation. At 1920x1080 in HQ mode the minimum exposure will be about 300 microseconds, generally good enough to stop motion for most applications.

At this time, no. We are working to enable video scaling on the CineStation. To take advantage of video scaling, you must play the cine back from the camera.

Unfortunately, in the fast-paced and sometimes hectic production environment, sufficient care is not used when putting a CineMag onto a camera. The result can be bent or broken pins on the CineMag interface. On previous cameras, this could bring the production to a halt and the camera had to be returned to Vision Research for service. On the Phantom Flex, this can be easily fixed by replacing the pin array assembly on the camera – and, it is an end-user repair. A spare pin array assembly is included with the camera, and a damaged one can be returned to Vision Research for replacement for a nominal fee.

 The Phantom HD sensor is a 2048 x 2048 pixel sensor -- a full 4 megapixels. You can set the camera to record at any resolution within these maximums.

If you order your Phantom HD with an F-mount lens mount, you can image onto the whole 2048 x 2048 sensor successfully.

However, with the standard PL-mount, the maximum imaging resolution is 2048 x 1536 pixels.

The most popular imaging resolution is HD (1920 x 1080), however the 2048 x 2048 sensor allows you to over sample some, if you choose. Or, you can shoot at 2K resolutions for digital cinema.

Yes. But it works very differently from the Phantom v-Series cameras you may be used to.

Changes to the horizontal resolution have no impact on recording speed on the Phantom 65 and Phantom HD. It will impact the saved (not cine) file size, but not recording speed.

Changes to the vertical resolution (in 8 pixel units) on both cameras will impact recording speed.

See the cameras' individual product pages for more information:

Phantom 65

Phantom HD

The Phantom HD Gold is our second-generation Phantom HD high speed camera and the new standard for HD digital high-speed image quality.  While the specs of the camera do not change, there have been many improvements implemented based on feedback from existing Phantom users.  This slow motion video camera maintains a solid black level and is the ultimate in color and image quality.

Since the Phantom v211 camera does not have an internal mechanical shutter for doing a remote or automatic Current Session Reference (CSR) the BREF button on the EOS mount when installed on a Phantom v211 is non-functional.

On other cameras, this button (BREF stands for Black Reference) causes the shutter to close and the camera will do a CSR.

If you can estimate the typical daily usage of the CineFlash, it is easy to estimate its expected lifetime.

The formula is: Years of CineFlash life = (Drive Size in GB * 20) / (GB Recorded per Day)

For example, if you plan to save 10 x 12GB files to a 120GB CineFlash each day, your estimated CineFlash lifetime is: (120 * 20) / (10 * 12) or 20 years. If you have the same daily usage but use a 60GB CineFlash, the lifetime is 10 years (and, you’ll need to remove some cines from the CineFlash at some point during the day.)

CineFlash lifetime is determined by the number of times you write to a specific memory location. The hardware in the CineFlash will automatically ensure that all memory cells are used equally across the CineFlash lifetime.

Note: Due to CineFlash formatting and bad block allocation, not all 120GB on a 120GB CineFlash will be available for user storage.

The memory in Phantom digital high-speed cameras is a combination of volatile (DRAM) and non-volatile (Flash) memory.

Depending on the model of camera, either 1GB or 4GB of non-volatile memory is always present and is used only to store the camera's operating system, sensor calibration data, and set-up parameters (i.e. frame rate, resolution, exp, etc.) for the camera. Should this non-volatile memory be erased, the camera would become nonfunctional. This non-volatile memory is not used for storing digital images and does not present a security risk.
 
The internal memory of Phantom cameras that is used for storing digital images is the camera's volatile (DRAM) memory.  By the nature of volatile memory, the images are lost when the power for the camera is disconnected or they are overwritten when a user wants to initiate a new recording.
 
Notwithstanding the above, some Phantom cameras are optionally equipped with non-volatile image storage capability in the form of either an internal flash card, an external flash magazine (CineMag), or removable CompactFlash or CineFlash. This storage enables the user to save digital images from the volatile DRAM to non-volatile flash memory.   

In non-volatile flash devices a user initiated erase/format command will erase every data block in the flash chips, except the first block which contains the flash ‘bad block’ information. This first data block never contains digital image information. CompactFlash can be erased/formatted from the LCD user-interface, or via operating system commands when used in a reader connected to a PC. CineFlash can be erased/formatted from PCC.

Additionally, in the CineMag case, the magazine is scanned when connected to the camera, and the scanning stops at the first unerased block. So if the gazine reports that its full capacity is available for recording this is an indication that the previous erase command has been completed.

We do not manufacturer such equipment, however, there are several manufacturer's of underwater housings for all types of camera equipment.

Corel Sea TV are making some custom enclosures for our Phantom v640 and Phantom HD GOLD cameras.

Prevco is a subsea engineering consultancy and manufacturer specializing in submersible pressure vessels, instrumentation housings, junction boxes, vent plugs, pressure relief valves and other accessories to meet all your underwater equipment needs for the Phantom line of digital high speed video cameras.

If you supply underwater housings or know of another supplier, please let us know so we can add to this list.

We test our cameras' light sensitivity to an industry standard: ISO 12232. We use the SAT method which we think is the best method for determining a sensor's sensitivity. The SAT method does not use gain to boost sensitivity. When using gain to increase sensitivity, you also boost the noise level. A gain adjustment to boost sensitivity is available on all Phantom cameras using image processing tools, if increased noise can be tolerated.

We recommend you blow off the camera using forced or compressed air and a damp cloth. For cleaning the Phantom CineMag’s contacts please use a cotton-swab and electrical contact cleaner (or alcohol safe for electronics). Be very gentle.  For cleaning sensors we recommend using a brush-based cleaning solution or forced air (do not blow on the sensor or use canned air).

We offer a sensor cleaning kit in our online store.

Sensor cleaning is a hot topic for digital camera users - Phantom and otherwise - and there are definite techniques on tackling it. Depending on your lighting situation, a tiny speck of dust on your sensor can lead to a big ugly spot on your images, which is a shame because it is usually avoidable. The longer the lens and smaller the aperture, the more pronounced the spots will appear on your image.

The No.1 rule is that if the dust can be removed without using a solvent, you will save yourself a lot of headaches in getting rid of it! Use the Sensor Sweep brush, (link below), as it attracts the particles to the bristles. Be sure to follow the directions. You must clean the brush by blowing air on it and sweeping it across a vellum-like surface to charge the bristles before each sweep on the sensor glass. You can also use the brush to clean the area around the sensor as dust can settle there and then get attracted back onto the sensor glass. Make sure to always blow the bristles free of dust before storing it within its container.

Compressed air is OK as a quick solution, but always test the spray first away from the sensor to make sure none of the fluid comes out. Use short bursts and hold the can upright. A better solution would be to use a blower that recycles air to force the dust off of and from around the sensor.

If there is a smudge or dust that won't go away, try a micro fiber lens cleaning cloth to gently wipe the smudge away. Just like the brush, keep the cloth clean, if you reuse them, they can build up residue, which will end up back on the sensor glass. For very stubborn smudges, you might want to wrap the micro fiber cloth or a piece of lens tissue around a pencil eraser or long swab for better control. If that doesn't work, a drop or spray of lens cleaning solution on the cloth will do the trick.. make sure it isn't too wet before wiping it on the sensor glass. Lens tissue folded into a point with a drop of lens solution can help very concentrated spots as well.

TECH TIPS

• · Use a tiny flashlight to look at the sensor, it's easier to spot the dust.
• · Always have a clean micro fiber cloth handy for more serious dirt.
• · Cotton swabs aren't a good idea, unless they are wrapped in a micro fiber or lens tissue like material. They leave behind    more than they remove.
• · Never use your finger to get a speck of dust off, it's going to make things much worse.
• · Never blow on the sensor itself (as tempting as it is).
• · Always keep the Phantom Body cap on the camera when there is no lens attached.

Lenses gather a lot of dust as well, which can also wreak havoc on your images. Always keep the rear and front elements protected with their lens caps. There are many products out there safe for cleaning lenses, Here at Vision Research, we find that a micro fiber cloth with one spray of Eclipse or Pan-cro solution (on the cloth) works at the fastest with the best results.

A Senor and Lens Care Kit can be purchaesd in our online store

Each slo-mo Phantom camera comes with a fixed amount of very high-speed dynamic RAM. When the camera is in the pre-trigger mode (you've pressed "Capture" in the user interface), the camera is continuously recording images into that memory. When it gets to the end of memory, it cycles back to the beginning and continues recording. This behavior is called "circular buffer recording".

The slow motion camera is always "live". What you end up actually saving in memory is a function of how you've set up your trigger. You can set it up such that only frames that occur after the trigger are saved, so any images already in memory are overwritten and you record an event after the trigger (until memory is full). If you set the trigger to stop the recording and save all frames up to the time of the trigger, the camera will simply stop recording upon the trigger and all the frames in memory before the trigger will be saved. Finally, you can set the trigger anywhere in the middle, for example having 90% of the recorded movie be what happens prior to the trigger and 10% after the trigger.

Our new Remote Control Unit has Bluetooth(r) wireless remote capabilities. Depending upon your camera model, you will need to outfit it with a Break-out-Box that has Bluetooth capability, or use a Bluetooth "dongle" directly on the remote port of the camera. Then, a Bluetooth-enable RCU can be used to remotely control the camera.

Below is a list of lenses that we have tested with the 1Mpx v-Series Phantom Cameras.  If you have additional lenses that you have used with the EOS Lens mount and would like to share with us or you would like to request a lens to be added, please send your feedback/request with the specific manufacturer's P/N to support@visionresearch.com.

Lenses Tested with the Canon EOS Lens Mount*

*Please contact your Vision Research sales representative for details including pricing.

Engineering, Scientific, Industrial Applications (USA only) -- Vision Research rents several of our Phantom high-speed video cameras for industrial, scientific and engineering applications. The cameras are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Our high speed rentals come complete with a controller (laptop), cables, and a lens. There is a 2 day minimum on all camera rentals. Please contact rentals@visionresearch.com for more information and a quote.

Production & Entertainment Applications (World-Wide)  -- Visit our directory of world-wide high speed rental partners.

Our American offices only rent to companies with addresses within the US and Canada.

Many of our International Sales Partners offer rental programs.

The minimum rental period for most of our cameras is two days, and there is no maximum rental duration. We do discount rentals that are one month or longer.

With your rental of a Phantom camera, you will also receive a Dell or HP Laptop Controller with the Phantom software installed. The controller is needed to setup and control the camera as well as download and save cine files. You can choose a lens from our wide selection. We will also include a Northstar light, upon request.

We also offer lights, tripods and other accessories.

All items are shipped in a rugged case.

Yes! 

The software will install on the following operating systems:

• Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
• Windows Vista (32 & 64 bit)
• Windows XP Pro (32 & 64 bit)
• Windows XP Home 
• Windows 2000
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2008

The Phantom software might look different based on the screen resolution of your monitor. We rearranged the software components to maximize the space for the resolution of your monitor.

PCC software is written for and only runs on :

• Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
• Windows Vista (32 & 64 bit)
• Windows XP Pro (32 & 64 bit)
• Windows 2000

Though not supported by Vision Research, some customers have had success running the Phantom software on Macs by installing Windows on the Mac using either Apple's Boot Camp or Parallels. These programs allow you to either boot the Mac into Windows (Boot Camp), or run Windows in parallel with Mac OSX (Parallels).

A cine file is the name we give to the Vision Research proprietary file that holds the images in the camera memory. The file can be written to a disk drive and then read and manipulated with the Vision Research Phantom Software. The file format is "lossless" meaning all of the sensor data is available without any compromise or compression.

If you save the file as cine RAW, the file contains the uninterpolated raw sensor data.

If you save as just a cine file, the file contains RGB information for each pixel interpolated from the raw sensor data.

Currently, the Phantom Cine Raw file will need to be converted to a compatible format to work on the Adobe platform. For best results, choose one of the following 4 options:
On the WINDOWS platform...

• Use Phantom software to convert a Cine raw file to a series of DPX images, and then import the DPX stack into Adobe Premier. Please be aware that when you "convert and process" a Cine raw file you must use a naming convention to properly save a series of DPX, such as "test+4".  That "+4" tells our software to save a series of DPX files in order, numbered like this:  test0001.dpx, test0002.dpx, test0003.dpx,  etc. So you can save up to 9999 frames that way. If you have more than 10000 frames then you can use +5 as the naming convention. Also, with a DPX you must choose either "convert to 10 bit LOG" or "convert to 10 bits per pixel" (linear), in the advanced options menu of the file conversion dialogue. When converting to LOG format we also give you the option to export a LUT file.

• In Adobe Premier you can take advantage of the "DNG" format, which is Adobe's Digital Negative format. This preserves all the RAW info and is a great way to work in the Adobe suite.  To convert to a series of DNG files, you would follow the same naming convention as I explained above. More information can be also be found in our Software help files.

• Use Phantom software to convert an uncompressed quicktime. This conversion can take a long time and you end up with a large file, but it should work ok to import into Premier.

On the MAC platform...

• You have the option to use a 3rd party plug-in called "Glue Tools"  www.gluetools.com. Glue Tools allows the MAC to see a Phantom Cine file as a native Quicktime .mov file by default. Either convert the Cine to DPX or save the Cine raw as a .mov, which can then be easily imported into Premier.

You can convert a raw Cine file to other formats easily by using our Phantom operating or viewer software.  In the File -> Convert & Process menu, there are a series of file formats available to you.

The most popular video formats are AVI or uncompressed Quicktime. The Cine can also be converted to high quality TIFF of DPX images. This is recommended when you need to retain the optimal image quality. That batch of image files can then be imported into a professional editing system directly and re-compiled there.

For detailed instructions on batch conversions, please refer to our operation manual or contact tech support.

We also make available to our customers viewer software which will allow you to covert Cines to a variety of formats.  Download the viewer

You can batch process cine files into an image sequence for overnight or unattended processing.

1. Click on the Batch Convert icon.

2. In the Open Cine(s) dialogue window:

a. Navigate to the folder containing the files to be converted.
b. Highlight the files to be converted
c. Click the Open button.

3. In the Multifile Convert Destination dialogue window:

a. Navigate to the folder the compressed file is to be saved into.
b. Select the desired file format from the Save As Type pull-down selection list.
c. Enter the special Phantom File Naming Convention characters, For a more detailed description of the Phantom software's file     naming wildcards, see the Application Note Phantom Software File Naming Wildcards
d. Define the desired Save Options, including:

1) Advanced Options
2) XML Header
3) Border Data...

e Click the Convert button.

4. In the Batch File Conversion window, click the Close button once the file has completed the process.

The best way is to use the Quicktime plugin from Glue Tools. Installing this plugin allows you to open Phantom® Cine files in Quicktime or any compatible application. You can even drag cine files directly onto the FCP timeline and edit them without rendering.

Here is an alternate way to get Phantom Cine files into Final Cut Pro for editing:

1. Use "Process and Convert" in the Phantom software to create a directory that contains sequential TIFF files, each file representing a frame in the cine. You can find detailed instructions on how to do this elsewhere on this web site or in the Phantom software help, but in summary: create a new directory (named appropriately), select the cine you want to convert, choose to save it as a TIFF 16/48 for maximum bit-depth preservation, set the destination to the new directory and the filename to "frame+5". Be sure to do this onto an NTFS formatted external disk connected to the PC.
2. When the convert process is done, move the external disk to the Macintosh computer and mount it. Optionally (but recommended) copy the whole directory to a Mac volume.
3. Use Quicktime Pro on the Mac to "Open the Image Sequence" by navigating to the directory and selecting the first TIFF frame. You will need to decide what your "play" frame rate will be at this point. Do "Save As..." and be sure to save the exported movie as a reference movie. You won't be able to save into the same folder as your TIFF files unless you moved that folder to a Mac disk drive. However, that is a good idea, that way your reference movie and all the frames it points to are in a single directory on the Mac.
4. Launch Final Cut Pro and do "File --> Import --> Files..." and select the reference movie you just created. You now have that clip in FCP, ready for editing.
5. But first, go to your sequence settings and create a setting that matches the resolution of the cine and be sure to select the "TIFF" compressor. This will give you a "real time" timeline that avoids rendering during editing. (Of course if you apply any filters, etc. you will need to render.)
6. When you are done editing, color correcting, etc. render the file and export it as a Quicktime (not a reference file), with no compression.
7. You can now use Compressor, Sorenson Squeeze or Telestream Episode to convert your movie to any desired formats and compression schemes. The Quicktime movie is your master.

It’s easy to capture a single image from a Cine file using the Phantom software.  The best way to do this is to hit the ‘DISPLAY’ button from the Cine playback screen. When you close out of the playback window the displayed image will be there, ready to be saved in a variety of formats.

 
MPEG 1 and 2 have been removed from the current versions of Phantom software due to licensing issues. Cine Raw, Cine, Cine JPEG, AVI, Multi Page Tiff, MXF (PAL and NTSC) and QuickTime are currently available for conversion. A common workaround is to convert the Cine file into a QuickTime movie, then export the file to MPEG-4 format using QuickTime Pro.

Depending on when your camera was made after 2009, performing an ILOAD will restore the camera to it’s factory settings.  Here is how you do it:

1.  Go to the Windows START button and select RUN..

2.  In the RUN window that pops up in the line that reads OPEN, type in the following:

               telnet <IP address> 7115 

NOTE: There is one space between “telnet” and the IP address and one space between the IP address and “7115”

3.  Press OK

4.  Press ENTER two times.  The controller will respond with "?".

5.  Type in the following:

               ILOAD

6.  Press ENTER once.  The controller will respond with "Ok!". 

7.  Type in the following:

               ILOAD

8.  Press ENTER once.  The controller will respond with "Ok!". 

9.  Close the Command Prompt window, power cycle the camera.

Most image issues can be resolved by performing a Current Session Reference (CSR) or reloading the cameras factory .STG file. If either of these two methods doesn’t work, please send a 3-4 cine to support@visionresearch.com. The cine file will provide the most of the information about the camera so we can diagnose your problem. support@visionresearch.com

When contacting Technical Support, you should have the following information:

1. The S/N of the camera.

2. Firmware in the camera - To find this information out, launch the Phantom application and click on HELP tab followed by the ABOUT tab and make a note of the following information: Phantom Camera Control Version, Firmware, Kernel, and FPGA.

3. If you have image problems, a 3-4 frame Cine would be helpful.

It's easy.  If you are using PCC, power up your camera and connect it to your controller and launch the Application.  Click on the LIVE tab and select the camera you are interested in and select CAMERA INFO.  The following screen will show up:

The firmware version in your camera will the number next to the words, "Firmware version", the bin version will be the number next to the words, "FPGA version" and the kernel version will be the number next to the words “Kernel version”.

1. The following screen will show up:

The firmware version in your camera will the number next to the words, "Firmware version", the bin version will be the number next to the words, "FPGA version" and the kernel version will be the number next to the words “Kernel version”.

 For legacy software: Power up your camera and connect it to your controller and launch the Phantom application.  In the application go to HELP and select ABOUT.   The following screen will show up

The firmware version in your camera will the number next to the word, "Firmware", the bin version will be the number next to the word, "FPGA" and the kernel version will be the number next to the word “Kernel”.

 A log can go a long way in determining what's going on inside the camera and the performance of the controller.  To create a log, perform the following steps: 

1. Start the Phantom application.
2. Go to the HELP tab and then select ABOUT.
3. Select LOGGING from the ABOUT window.
4. Click on the ALL button from the LOGGING OPTIONS window.
5. Select OK from the LOGGING OPTIONS window.
6. Select CLOSE from the ABOUT window.
7. Close and restart the Phantom application.
8. Perform the steps to create the issue in question.
9. Go to the HELP tab and then select ABOUT.
10. Select LOGGING from the ABOUT window.
11. For a single camera, click on the EXTRACT and then select OK from the LOGGING OPTIONS window.  For multiple cameras, select EXTRACT ALL and then select OK from the LOGGING OPTIONS window.
12. Select the NONE button from the LOGGING OPTIONS window.
13. Select OK from the LOGGING OPTIONS window.
14. Select CLOSE from the ABOUT window.
15. Exit the Phantom application.
16. Create a C:LOG directory.
17. Go to the Phantom Directory (C:Program Files>Phantom) and locate PhCon.log and move the file to the C:LOG directory.  Attach PhCon.log to an e-mail to technical support. 
18. Go to the Phantom Directory (C:Program Files>Phantom) and locate the internal camera log.  The format for the file is CAM<S/N>.log where S/N is the serial number of the camera.  Move the file(s) to the C:LOG directory   Attach the CAM<S/N>.log file(s) to an e-mail to technical support. 

A:  Here are the steps to reload the camera’s factory STG
1) Power up the camera
2) Open the Phantom software, but do NOT go into acquisition/set up & recording. (If you get any messages about updating or copying STG files at this point, just dismiss them)
3) Minimize the Phantom software (do not close)
4) With the software and camera running, go into Windows Explorer and locate the existing STG.  The existing STG can be found in the following path: Program Files -> Phantom -> XXXX.STG where XXXX is the S/N of the camera
5) Delete the old STG file ("serial number".STG AND ALL ‘long’ STG files)
6) Copy the STG file from either your CD or the STG that you downloaded into the Program Files -> Phantom folder. If you cannot locate the CD, please contact Technical Support at support@visionresearch.com and we’ll get you the most recent factory STG file
7) Maximize the Phantom software
8) Select  Acquisition Menu
9) Select  Restore NV Memory
10) Select  Load & Write to NV Memory
11) Close
12) Exit out of the Phantom software
13) Reboot the camera by removing and replacing power
14) Open the Phantom software

The Phantom Camera Control software allows the user to assign a user defined, static IP Address to an Ethernet Phantom camera by performing the following steps:

1. Ensure that the Camera Control Unit has a dedicated IP Address of 100.100.100.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0
2. Ensure camera is cabled properly and apply power to the camera.
3. Start the Phantom Camera Control application
4. Click on the Acquisition menu option
5. Click Restore NV Memory
6. With the Restore Non-Volatile Memory Setting dialogue window open, press and hold the ALT key and press the :I: key on the keyboard to invoke the Set the Camera IP Addresses dialogue window
7. In the Set the Camera IP Addresses dialogue window, enter the appropriate IP information for your network. If you not sure what to enter, check with your local network administrator.
8. Power down the camera.
9. Change the IP Address and subnet Mask information on the Camera Control Unit to ensure that both the camera and the control unit have been assigned to the same network (not the same IP address).
10. Restart the control unit
11. Re-apply power to the camera.
12. Restart the Phantom Camera Control application.

Note:

1. If the control unit does not detect the camera, recheck the settings of the control unit.
2. Setting the IP Address of a camera does not remove its default IP address. In the event you need to verify the camera's user defined IP Address, or made a mistake entering the information, simply reset the control unit's IP Address to 100.100.100.1, and reconnect to the camera making any necessary changes using the steps above.

What's happening is the firewall is protecting the controller from the camera.  To alleviate this problem, the firewall needs to be disabled.  In order to do this, you may need administrator privileges.  Go to the control panel and locate Windows Firewall and double click on it.  In the pop-up window verify the firewall is set to off.

Most image issues can be resolved by performing a Current Session Reference (CSR) or reloading the cameras factory .STG file. If either of these two methods does not work, please send a 3-4 cine to support@visionresearch.com. The cine file will provide the most of the information about the camera so we can diagnose your problem. support@visionresearch.com

There are several steps in troubleshooting this problem. Here is the procedure (if your camera is of the firewire variety please contact tech support:
1. Click the Windows START button and select the RUN command.
2. Type: CMD, and click the OK button.
3. In the C:Windowssystem32cmd.exe window, type: ping <IP Address of the camera> at the C: prompt.  (the IP address of the camera is located on the bottom the camera).
4. Click Enter.
    a. If properly installed the camera should reply to the Ping Request.
    b. If the Phantom Control Unit fails to detect the camera:
       1) Unplug the Cat-5 cable from the Network Phantom Control Unit computer, and ensure the proper cable type is being used.
       2) Re-insert the proper cable.
       3) Verify the TCP/IP addressing information is correct.  The steps to verify the TCP/IP addressing information is contained in steps 5-9.
       4) Shutdown the Network Phantom Control Unit computer.
       5) Remove power from the camera.
       6) Restart the Network Phantom Control Unit computer.
       7) Re-apply power to the camera.
       8) Ping the camera again to verify the Phantom camera replies to the Ping Request.
5.  From Windows' Start button, go to Control Panel>Network Connections.
6. Right-click Local Area Connections>Properties to view a list of components used by your system.
7. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
8. Click the Properties button.
9. When the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) properties box opens:
    a. Select Use the Following IP Address and enter the following:
       1) IP Address: 100.100.100.1
NOTE:  If multiple Phantom Control Units will be used to access the same Phantom cameras, each controller unit requires a unique IP Address. For example:
Controller Unit 1: 100.100.100.1 (255.255.0.0);
Controller Unit 2: 100.100.100.2 (255.255.0.0), etc.
       2) Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0 or (255.255.255.0 for v7.0 only)
    b. Select Use the Following DNS and leave the entry blank.
    c. Click OK to complete the setup
10. From Windows' Start button, go to Control Panel>Windows Firewall and verify that the firewall is set to OFF.
11.  If the above steps do not resolve the issue, please contact technical support at support@visionresearch.com

The Phantom Camera sensor is made up of thousands of pixels whose sensitivity can drift due to changes in resolution, exposure, time and temperature.  A Current Session Reference calibrates all the pixels that will be used for a given set of camera parameters.  It is usually good practice to perform a CSR anytime a change is made in camera settings or lighting.  This ensures that the camera sensor will deliver the best possible picture available.