Camera Corps Q3 User manual

Q3 Operation Manual

For your personal safety, read these instructions. Do not operate the product if you do not understand how to use it
safely. Save these instructions for future reference.
Warning Symbols used in these instructions
Safety cautions are included in these instructions. These safety instructions must be followed to avoid possible
injury and avoid possible damage to the product
WARNING!
Where there is a risk of personal injury or injury to others, comments appear supported by the warning
triangle symbol. Where there is a risk of damage to the product, associated equipment, process or surroundings,
comments appear supported by the word ‘Caution’
ELECTRIC SHOCK.
Where there is a risk of electric shock, comments appear supported by the hazardous voltage warning
triangle.
Mounting and Installation
WARNING! Do not install this product onto a bracket, support or other equipment that is not designed to
support the weight of the product and its payload. All ceiling or wall supports must comply with local
government regulations.
WARNING! Installation of this product must only be performed by qualified and trained electrical
engineers.
WARNING! Always ensure that all power and auxiliary communications cables are routed so that they do
not present any danger to personnel.
Operating Environment
CAUTION! The product should not be used outside the operating temperature limits. Refer to the product
Technical Specifications for the operating limits for the product.
Electrical Connection
WARNING! Risk of electric shock. Always disconnect and isolate the product from the power
supply before attempting any servicing or removing the covers.
WARNING! Risk of electric shock. Always check cables for signs of damage. Damaged cables can
cause personal injury and/or damage the equipment.
WARNING! The external DC PSU used must be approved to IEC 60950-1, 2nd edition, and have a
power output limited to the requirements of the equipment.
CAUTION! This product must be connected to a power supply of the same voltage (V) and current (A) as
indicated on the product. Refer to the Technical Specifications for the product.
CAUTION! We recommend that you use the power supply cable supplied with the product.
Using alternative power sources will invalidate the system EMC liability.
Cleaning
WARNING! Risk of electric shock. Always disconnect and isolate the product from the power supply
before cleaning.
CAUTION! Do not use solvent or oil-based cleaners, abrasives or wire brushes. Only use detergent-
based cleaners.
Maintenance
WARNING! The fitting of non-approved parts and accessories, or the carrying out of non-approved
alterations or servicing can be dangerous and could affect the safety of the product. It may also
invalidate the terms and conditions of the product warranty.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

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Contents
General ..................................................................................................................................................2
Main Q3 Head Unit ................................................................................................................................2
Interface Unit - Front..............................................................................................................................3
Interface Unit - Rear...............................................................................................................................4
General Operation .................................................................................................................................5
Fiber Card Option ..................................................................................................................................6
PTZF joystick additional functions.........................................................................................................7
Memory Setting and Recalling...........................................................................................................7
RCP functions........................................................................................................................................8
Main Menu .........................................................................................................................................8
Gain....................................................................................................................................................8
Shutter................................................................................................................................................8
Detail..................................................................................................................................................9
Chroma ..............................................................................................................................................9
IR........................................................................................................................................................9
AWC Mode.........................................................................................................................................9
Gamma ..............................................................................................................................................9
Noise Red (Noise Reduction)............................................................................................................9
Iris Area..............................................................................................................................................9
Iris Speed...........................................................................................................................................9
ENG Menu .......................................................................................................................................10
Format..............................................................................................................................................10
H Phase ...........................................................................................................................................10
V Phase............................................................................................................................................10
ABS/Rel (Absolute / Relative)..........................................................................................................10
Appendix ‘A’ – CCU panel and Joystick panel settings ......................................................................11
Appendix ‘B’ – Removing the Interface Box lid...................................................................................11
Appendix ‘C’ – Internal link settings. ...................................................................................................11
Appendix ‘D’ – Startup Interface Box settings.....................................................................................11
Appendix ‘E’ – Connector Wiring.........................................................................................................12
Connection Diagram............................................................................................................................14
Specifications.......................................................................................................................................14
Camera ............................................................................................................................................15
Q3 head ...........................................................................................................................................15
Q3 Interface Box..............................................................................................................................16
Fiber Option .....................................................................................................................................16

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General
The Q3 robotic camera system is based around four main
components. The main Q3 head, the interface unit, the
joystick control and the RCP.
The joystick control and the RCP have their own operation
manuals so will not be described in detail here, except
where they have specific functions applicable to Q3.
Q3 has some major improvements over its Q-Ball
predecessor. These include an improved camera block
providing higher sensitivity, resolution and features such as
genlock. Also, the new system has been designed in such a
way that improved camera modules may be fitted as new
ones become available. This gives the new model a ‘future
proof’ concept.
Many more options are now provided for control of the head. These include standard
Camera Corps audio data, RS232, RS422 and IP all at varying baud rates.
A continuous data output is provided showing the pan, tilt, zoom and focus positions. This
uses a standard D1 or ‘raw’ format although other formats can be provided on request.
An optional fiber interface can be added to the interface box providing data control, genlock
and HD Video signals using two single mode fibers.
A PAL/NTSC output is provided at the same time as the HD output for most selected
camera formats.
Multiple HD formats are available, detailed later in this manual.
The control software protocol for Q3 is readily available for third party use. Please contact
Camera Corps Ltd. for full details and a control protocol description document.
Although Q3 has a camera block which uses the latest technology and sensor please
remember that it is a single 1/3” chip and as such will not have the same high sensitivity as
a large camera with 3 x 2/3” chips!
Main Q3 Head Unit
The Q3 head unit is sealed against moisture and dirt ingress. However, it should not
be installed long term in an outdoor location without additional rain protection.
The mounting is by means of a standard ¼” UNC thread, or special mount adapter.
Although Q3 does not have a tilt slipring it can still be mounted either upright or inverted
without any mechanical changes to the ball itself.

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The pan and tilt axes may be moved manually but only if the unit is not powered.
Even then this is not recommended as it can cause excessive play in the gearboxes.
Under no circumstances should the axes be moved manually while the unit is powered.
A single cable connects the head unit to the interface box. The cable has a Lemo connector
at each end for connecting the Q3 head to the interface box. The maximum cable length is
currently 10m.
Interface Unit - front
The interface unit takes power from a
standard XLR4 socket and will accept
any voltage from 9v to 36v DC.
The data input on the XLR3 is for data
which conforms to the standard
Camera Corps data system. This is in
the form of a balanced audio signal
which can be sent over virtually
unlimited distances down a normal
microphone or CAT5 cable. No DC continuity is necessary. The joystick controller has
output level adjustment to handle long cable lengths if necessary.
The left hand rotary switch should be set to the required ID number being used by this
camera. Normally this will be in range 1-8 to agree with the channel selected on the RCP
and PTZF controller. The right hand rotary switch sets the ID Group No. This allows
extending the number of possible units being controlled using the Camera Corps Multi
Camera control system to a maximum of 96.
The LED to the right of the Group switch is green when data is present on the XLR input,
and changes to red if a Cue/Tally is sent from the RCP or PTZF controller. The LED is
normally off when using the serial data inputs, but flashes green as data blocks are
received. The Cue/Tally can be used to test the data system and ID are set and working
correctly even if the Q3 head is not attached to the interface box.
The right hand LED shows if power is present.
The large circular Lemo connector is for the head cable. This cable has the same male
connector at both ends.
Note that the head unit can be plugged in and out of the interface while power is on without
damage. However, if the camera is plugged into an interface unit which is already switched
on, then initial data which is sent to the camera during switch on will be missed and the
camera may be in a non-standard condition.
The 9w ‘D’ connector is used for RS232/422 control input and outputs. Input control data
can be used here and also return data with PTZF position information being made
available.

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See Appendix ‘E’ later in this document for full connector wiring details.
The Ethernet connector is provided to enable control from an Ethernet data source. Input
control data can also be used here and return data is available with PTZF position.
The DIP switches on the front panel are used to select the input data source and baud rates
as follows.
DIP 1 When ON selects RS232 control data from 9w ‘D’ connector
DIP 2 When ON selects RS422 control data from 9w ‘D’ connector
DIP 3 When ON selects Ethernet control data from the Ethernet port
Note that only one of DIPs 1,2 and 3 should be ON at any one time.
DIPs 4, 5, and 6 select the data type and control baud rate as shown in the following table.
Baud Rate
4800
9600
19200
38400
Audio Data
DIP 4
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
x
DIP 5
OFF
OFF
ON
ON
x
DIP 6
ON
ON
ON
ON
OFF
Note that the Audio Data input will automatically select the baud rate to be either 1200,
2400 or 4800 when it receives some data bytes from the transmitting device.
Interface Unit - rear
The Rear of the Interface Box has
the video connections and fiber
connectors (if this option is fitted).
The left hand BNC is for the Genlock
input. This can be any analogue
video signal with the correct frame
rate. I.e. Composite Video, Black and
Burst or Tri-level sync.
The BNC to the right of the DIP
switches is for the Composite SD
output. This is present for most camera formats.
The two right hand BNC’s both provide a digital HD output. The LED shows a solid green
colour for a valid HD-SDI signal being present.
The DIP switch functions are as follows.
DIP 1 ON = Genlock termination on for the left hand BNC genlock input.
DIP 2, 3 These DIPs provide equalisation for the Genlock video input.

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DIP 4 This DIP selects either the Genlock BNC or a Genlock signal from the fiber
card (if fitted). DIP switch 4 is ON for Genlock from the BNC and OFF for
genlock from the fiber card.
General Operation
For those who are familiar with the existing QBall or other Camera Corps equipment the
wiring and operation of Q3 will be well known as it uses all the same principles of operation.
One difference will be immediately apparent when the head is powered up. The head goes
through an initialisation sequence which involves both panning and tilting movements to
check the encoder values are set correctly in the event that the head has been manually
turned while being switched off. This also sets the tilt endstops to the correct positions
preventing the head from hitting it’s ‘hard’ tilt endstops during operation. Note that neither
pan nor tilt endstops can be set from the PTZF joystick controller for Q3.
After the initialisation procedure has finished, the head will take up a roughly central
position for both pan and tilt. However, it is possible to set this final position by simply
storing the required position in memory 18. Move the head to the required shot and then
press the Mem button on the joystick until it shows red. Now press and hold button 6 (now
memory 18 button) until there is a ‘beep’. Memory 18 has now been set to that shot.
Whenever the head is powered up it will always return to this position after the initialisation
procedure. Note that the speed/time setting will be ignored during the initialisation
procedure, but will be used if this memory position is used during normal head operation.
Note that the joystick controller must have Q-Ball 3 set as it’s head type and the RCP must
be set to camera type Sony>Q-3. (Note that both of these settings are done in the ‘Setup’
Menus of the respective units).
Assuming control is using an audio data link, and the system has only just been switched
on, then the Interface Box needs to receive some bytes of data from the joystick to
synchronise the baud rates. (Normally the Joystick baud rate will be set to 4800 baud and
the RCP will be set to 2400 baud).
The easiest way to do this is to move the joystick around until the head starts moving, or do
a couple of ‘Update Camera’ commands from the RCP.
Once everything is working you can operate the head in the normal way using the joystick
for pan, tilt, zoom and focus controls in the normal way. For new users note that the
direction of operation of all these controls can be changed from the SW Menu on the
joystick.
Other settings can be used to give the best type of control for a given situation. Speed
settings for pan and tilt set the maximum possible speeds for full joystick movement. If fast
movement is required then set the speeds to a high value, if slower operation is required
then much greater joystick sensitivity is obtained by setting the speeds to a lower value.
Only set the speed as high as is needed for the fastest required movement to maintain
good slow speed sensitivity.
The zoom also has a speed adjustment setting and the focus can be set to four possible
sensitivities plus an ‘Auto’ focus mode where the focus wheel is disabled and focus is
adjusted automatically by the camera.

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As well as speed adjustment there are settings for ‘damping’. The ‘takeoff’ damping sets the
speed of acceleration of the head if the joystick is moved rapidly towards a high speed.
‘Slowdown’ damping allows the head to decelerate slowly even if the joystick is moved
rapidly back to its centre position. The ‘reverse’ damping sets how fast the head can
change direction and will override the other damping settings if the joystick is moved from
one direction past the centre point to the opposite direction.
The RCP has a number of additional functions compared to the earlier QBall. There is a
‘Bars’ test function which is useful when lining up the camera into a studio or OB truck. The
white balance button can now operate in ‘Manual Colour Control’ mode, i.e. in the same
mode that allows operation of the colour control knobs.
Both Mirror and Flip picture reverses are available. The Flip can be used if the head is
mounted upside down although this is not essential as the head can be turned through
180deg to achieve the same effect!
Another major difference between Q3 and the earlier QBall is that the camera format is set
from the RCP ENG menu. This is described in detail later in this manual.
Also, the OSD (On Screen Display) menus allow access to changing some camera
functions which are not available directly from the RCP. If any changes are made to these
functions not available on the RCP, then they will be saved when exiting from the OSD
menu screen and will remain unchanged even when the ‘Update Camera’ button is
pressed. These functions include such things as WDR (Wide Dynamic Range), AE Peak,
Eclipse and De-fog.
The other major improvement available with Q3 is the addition of a Genlock function. This
avoids the need for a synchroniser when using Q3 with other cameras into a mixing point.
The timing can be adjusted from the RCP>ENG menu. Vertical timing adjusts by one line
for each setting change (up to a maximum of 15 lines) and Horizontal timing adjusts in pixel
steps. Note that there may be some picture disturbance when making timing adjustments.
The genlock signal can be any analogue video signal with the same frame rate as the
camera format.
The Interface Box also provides a ‘composite’ video output which will be either PAL or
NTSC depending on the camera format being used. This can be used for feeding a local
SD monitor.
Fiber Card Option
The optional fiber card fits inside the interface box at the rear. If you wish to upgrade a
system to include the fiber card then there is a separate document (supplied with the
upgrade kit), to describe how to fit the card into the interface box.
No external wiring to the interface box connectors is required. The audio data signal on the
fiber is connected internally and the green data LED on the front panel should light as
normal when a data signal is present.
The genlock video signal is also internally connected but DIP 4 must be set to OFF to select
this input rather than the BNC on the rear panel.

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The HD-SDI video signal is also connected internally so both external BNC’s are still
available for local video connections.
A separate fiber box is required to send/receive the fiber signals from the interface box.
This is supplied with a fiber upgrade kit.
This requires a 12v power supply and takes in audio data from the PTZF joystick. Analogue
genlock video is also fed into this unit if required. It also provides 2 x HD-SDI video signals.
PTZF joystick additional functions
The standard PTZF joystick will function perfectly well with Q3. However, it should have
software version 5.8 or later to provide all the new functions that are available with Q3.
After deciding on the ID being used for a particular Q3, enter the ‘Setup’ menu and select
Q-Ball 3 as the head type.
Most functions of the joystick will be as described in the manual. However, the method of
storing and recalling memory positions is slightly different and will be described here.
Memory Setting and Recalling
The main difference with Q3 preset positions is that there is a choice of either ‘speed’ or
time settings for determining the motion during the move.
The selection is made by going to the ‘Mem’ function menu. The first screen here allows
changing the speed and time settings using the up/down buttons on the left hand side of the
screen. Moving above 15 for a speed value will take you into time settings which can be
from 2.0 (2secs) up to 25.5 (25.5secs). Moving downwards below speed setting 1 will go
straight to time 25.5 etc.
The ‘speed’ setting will make all four axes of movement (pan, tilt, zoom and focus) move at
a constant speed so will not all arrive at their endpoint simultaneously.
The ‘time’ setting will give the time for the move from the current positions to the destination
position in a given time. All four axes will move at a speed necessary to make them all
arrive at the destination positions at approximately the same time. Note though, that in
extreme cases where one axis has a large movement and others a very short movement
they may not all arrive at exactly the same time.
Once the required ‘speed’ or ‘time’ setting has been chosen, the destination position for a
given move can be set.
Up to 18 different destination positions can be set using the memory buttons to the right of
the LCD screen in the same way as for other heads. (Up to 40 positions are available if you
are using your own control software).
Move the pan, tilt, zoom and focus axes to the required destination positions and then
simply press and hold the required memory button until a ‘beep’ is heard. This will set that
memory button to that destination with the current speed/time setting being stored as the
movement parameter. (Different speed/times can be set for each memory position).
To recall a given memory position and cause the head to move from its current position to
the new destination simply press and release the memory button for the required memory.

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Note that the head will not move if the speed/time setting screen is displayed on the LCD.
Any other screen will allow movement of the head to a preset position.
Note that although the pan axis will always take the shortest route to a given preset
position, the tilt axis will always have to take the long route avoiding the area where it would
be looking directly into its base.
RCP functions
To control the camera head in Q3 you will need an RCP with software version 5.4 or later.
Once the required channel has been selected go to the ‘Setup’ menu and choose
Manufacturer ‘Sony’ followed by camera type ‘Q-3’. Note that you may be asked for a
password which is 2146. The password feature may be disabled by holding down the ‘Auto’
button and then pressing and releasing the channel 3 button.
With the interface box and head connected to the RCP data output (probably through the
joystick panel), press ‘Update Camera’ as usual to set the camera functions to agree with
the settings in the RCP channel.
All functions normally available for other types of camera can be controlled as usual, but
usefully this camera has the option for showing ‘On Screen Display’menus (OSD). This
gives access to all possible settings in the camera head rather than just those available
directly from the RCP.
Note that after moving down through the various OSD menus, pressing the OSD button
again will move back up through the menus finally removing the menu display. Pressing
‘Exit’ will exit the LCD OSD display options.
Genlock timing adjustment is available to time the camera output to other camera sources
and this is probably easier to set from the RCP than the OSD screen.
(If you set any functions from the OSD screen that are also available directly from the RCP
then an ‘Update Camera’ button press will restore the RCP setting rather than anything you
may have set on the OSD screen.) Only functions shown on the OSD screen which are
NOT available from the RCP remain unchanged after an ‘Update Camera’ command.
Main Menu
From the Main RCP menu press the left hand function button to access the main camera
control functions:-
Gain
Gain is available when the Iris is set to ‘Manual’ rather than ‘Auto’. (Button above the Iris
knob selects Manual/Auto Iris). The gain steps up in 2db steps to a maximum of 42db.
There is also a -6db setting which acts like an ND filter and is useful in outdoor situations
where there is plenty of light available.
Shutter
Shutter is only available in Manual Iris mode. The default position is ‘Off’. Higher settings
will reduce the light level, lower settings are also available which greatly increase the light
level but the sensor only updates the image at reduced frequency.