fps1000 Reaches Production Status!
about 9 years ago – Thu, Oct 01, 2015 at 10:03:37 PM

Finally the testing is over. Production and deliveries can commence.

Thank you all for bearing with me over the past few months. This was a necessary wait to ensure that when cameras are shipped they give you the pleasure of using them that you all deserve.

The camera has had a lot of intensive testing. Not just on the workbench under analysis but in real use. I've really enjoyed playing with it and adding features that we as users will need. I will be revealing some of these features over the coming weeks as I produce more videos.

The final approval step before mass production begins is EMC approvals - these are the CE and FCC certifications that are required before I can deliver any cameras. This is booked for this coming Monday. Hopefully all will be ok - if there are any problems then I don't expect any major rework.

I am well prepared for manufacturing and throughput should be fairly speedy. I expect to be shipping out cameras by the end of the month.

There is already a rich set of functionality in the camera but software development will be an ongoing process and I hope to include more features by the time shipment begins. In any case you will be able to download any updates from my forthcoming website.

I will be posting some full resolution files produced by the camera soon. However, in the meantime here are a couple of clips of the camera in action to keep you going. These are shot directly from the LCD on the camera and are not representative of the quality of video that the camera produces. 

https://vimeo.com/user33535663/review/141067969/cf8529997c

https://vimeo.com/user33535663/review/141067999/596a043451

Thank you all again for your support and patience. 

Latest Product Pictures
about 9 years ago – Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 10:30:45 PM

There has been a lot of progress since the last update. I've had the finished camera working for several weeks and have been busy adding software features. Most of the teething problems have been sorted out. There are so many fine details to take care of before the product can be production ready. I know that I can provide software updates as new features are added but I want to make sure that the basic functionality is in place and the camera is easy to use to minimise time spent in support.

I took time out today to take the camera on a shoot at one of my favourite places - the park. 

Putting these shots together takes a long time and I would like to do more of them. But I'm also reluctant to take time away from development. I would have liked to have taken some videos but this would have taken a lot longer.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. You can see some of the features that have been implemented such as histograms to show exposure levels, the information display to show frame rate, iso level etc.

You can also see the details of how the filter is fitted - this turned out to be a lot simpler than I thought and can easily be removed. The decision to go with a C mount is turning out to be a good one. The basic lens that ships with the camera is actually very good even though it is very low cost. It is an f1.4 50mm lens and suitable for many applications. 

I've also been shopping around for other C mount lenses - there is always a good selection on eBay. You can see in the photos my favourite lens - it has 12.5-75 zoom and f1.8 aperture. This is an incredibly versatile lens and I bought it for about £50.

You can also see the camera mounted on a standard tripod with the 1/4"-20 mounting thread.

Battery life for a typical session is turning out to be about 2 hours.

Some of you have been asking about shipment dates. I try to answer every message and email individually. When I am asked this question I naturally try to come up with an answer. The truth is, however, that I cannot give a definitive date. The camera has made steady, continuous progress with no real problems. I have made several iterations of the motherboard and sensor board which has fixed minor problems along the way. The camera now is in pretty much its final form - I don't envisage any more iterations. However, until I can answer the question "is it ready to ship?" with a definitive "yes" I cannot predict exactly when this will be. That's the honest answer.

If it's any consolation the camera has been updated in line with new developments in the market. I know much more now about market requirements thanks to a steep learning curve and valuable feedback from you all. I am extremely pleased with the way things have turned out.

Thank you all for your continued patience. I am spending all my available time getting this product to market. Hopefully we're not far away now.

Status Update
over 9 years ago – Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 04:46:28 PM

Final Stages

The latest and hopefully the last revision of the motherboard is being assembled now. This incorporates the power supply fixes and battery configuration. After some experiment I settled on the use of 2 cells (7.4v) with a more sophisticated sequence of step-down voltages to reduce the power dissipation. The use of a single cell caused noise problems as the 3-4v range of the cell required a switching regulator around the critical 3.3v used by the sensor. The new boards should be back next week.

The first batch of cases will also be here this week with the lens mount and tripod mount threaded. I eventually went for black. This means that I should be able to assemble completed cameras and start shipping next month if all is well.

4K Update

The 4K design is also complete now. Thanks to all those of you who have given me feedback on this. I've also been looking closely at the current 4K state of the art. I'm really happy with the final design. I've managed to keep to the same form factor of the camera - in fact the new motherboard is compatible with the current one. The case will be the same size except for the slightly increased depth to accommodate the MFT lens mount.

The new motherboard has an HDMI output which I realise is a pre-requisite for many of you. I've also replaced the USB3 as the means of retrieving data from the camera at high speed. This did not fit well with my goal of a non-tethered camera. There is still a high speed USB2 interface for a command interface and software updates but I have now added a CFAST 2 card slot for high speed data transfer from the camera. I considered the use of SSDs but even the smallest of these (1.8") were too big. I also considered mSATA and m.2 cards but while these would have been ideal from the size point of view the sockets are not designed for frequent insertion and removal. I realise that CFast 2 disks are expensive but you do not need very high capacity or even high sustained speeds: unlike most cameras that use these disks the fps1000 will not use them as a primary drive as it saves into internal memory at full speed, so high capacity and sustained speed are not crucial. At 32/64 GByte they are not very expensive. Also the price will come down in time.

The new motherboard is going through the prototyping stage now. The 4k sensor board will follow soon after.

Are we nearly there yet?
over 9 years ago – Sun, Jul 26, 2015 at 10:07:11 AM

This is a question I’m beginning to be asked and I’m overdue an update. 

Thank you all for your patience. As always you can be sure that I am spending every spare moment I have on the camera and getting towards the goal of shipment. 

Testing is pretty much complete and a basic set of software is available providing control of the essential features of the camera. This will be an ongoing process with more features to be added before shipment and with frequent updates thereafter.

A few modifications have been needed to the motherboard, which are being done at the moment. My goal is to make a small first batch with these new boards. The process of commissioning a new product of this complexity always takes longer than expected, but it has been a fairly smooth one with most issues that have arisen being easily remedied with changes in firmware. Bearing this in mind I don’t want to commit to a specific shipment date but I can say the pre-production phase is nearing an end. 

I am preparing some some video footage of the camera in operation, which I hope to post in the coming week. In the meantime here are some pictures of the new fps1000 in its machined aluminium case. The final case will be anodised to give it protection and a smooth finish and will be coloured - I'm still deciding on colour but it will probably be black and red. There are some finishing touches to be done to this prototype - notably the threading of the lens mount. You may note from these pictures that I have reverted to using the C lens Mount. This has been by popular request and also to help save costs and keep the case compact. If this causes any problems then there are C to MFT adapters readily available. The complete camera, less lens, weighs around 600g (about one pound), about the same as a DSLR, which I am fairly pleased with.

Please feel free as always to feedback your comments. 

Thank you sincerely for your support.

Brief Update
over 9 years ago – Fri, Jun 26, 2015 at 05:03:33 AM

Just a quick update because I don't like to be silent for so long.

Things always take longer than expected but considering what needed to be done I'm very pleased with the state of play. 

I have second iteration boards back from manufacture which corrected minor problems on the main camera board. I have sensor boards working for Silver, Gold and Platinum models.

During testing I've had a lot of time to try out the new hardware and gain confidence in it. The batteries and associated power logic all work well and heat dissipation is under control. The DSP processor is lovely to work with - it's very easy to program without layers of clumsy operating system in the way. The 5" LCD produces some lovely images.

I'm very excited about getting cameras built and sent out to you. I will be posting images of the completed camera and a timeline for production by the end of the month.

Thank you for your patience and continued support.