Orbiter (camera seat)

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Orbiter 500 superflat without a camera

The Orbiter in the sense of camera technique is a camera seat with a seated cameraman, swivelling on a low working height. The name Orbiter was originally used only as a label. However, due to the vast distribution of the product and resulting technical and economical success it achieved, in a short period of time ‘Orbiter’ became a synonym of the swivelling camera seat.

A swivelling seat of the Orbiter is characterized by a patented principle of partial separation of the camera and the movable/swivelling seat. This ensures the natural vibrations of the camera operator to be absorbed and they are therefore transferred to the camera to a very small extent. The separation is achieved by a special mounting technique of the swivelling seat, due to which the occurring vibrations are transferred from the centre of the system to the external feet.

With the currently used focal lengths of telephoto lens with up to x101 zoom an optimum vibration resistance is vital for stable pictures. The closer the lens zooms on the object the more stable the camera support has to be. Otherwise the picture could wobble. The natural vibrations caused by the footwork of the cameraman are therefore unwanted and have to be kept away from the camera. Apart from the mechanical separation mentioned above, additional absorption membranes were inserted into the Orbiter system in the process of its development to ensure further picture stability.

In the process of construction and testing two things had to be considered simultaneously. Firstly, that the swivelling seat cannot be mounted on the camera column (in order to prevent mechanical overload and to reduce vibrations). Secondly, that the panning of the camera must take place on the same axis as the rotation of the swivelling seat. The existing systems do not combine both of the above mentioned principles of construction implemented in the Orbiter system.

The name ‘Orbiter’ was judged to be fitting for the positioning on the market and chosen to be the name of the product on multiple grounds. The cameraman is, in fact, in orbit around the camera. On the other hand, in the medical jargon, orbital means ‘concerning an eyeball’. A camera is indeed an electronic eye.