Lens and PTZ planning for broadcast system integrators
You're standing in a church. Twenty metres to the stage, columns on both sides, balcony at the back. The client wants to know whether a fixed PTZ can frame the speaker's face from position B. The lens hasn't been ordered yet.
Normally you make an estimate. Or you drive back with the camera.
With PocketOP, you hold up your iPhone and see exactly what you'd get: any broadcast lens or PTZ from the database, live on your screen, from where you're standing.
Point the iPhone at a position. Tap a lens from the database. You see the FOV bracket in real time on your screen, plus the wide and tele range simultaneously. Take a screenshot with the overlay burned in.
Mark lenses as Owned for stock models, or Favorites for on-request. They surface at the top of the list on location - the full database stays available below.
Pull up a lens on the iPhone and show the client what the frame actually looks like from position A. No guessing, no second trip with the camera.
Mounting points are fixed. Check whether the PTZ at position 3 reaches the close-up you promised, or if position 4 is the only one that works.
Screenshot includes the FOV overlay, lens name, and sensor format. Drop it straight into your report or quote.
PocketOP was built by a multicamera broadcast operator with more than twenty years of experience in live production. The app is designed for broadcast system integrators, camera operators, and technical directors who know what a 2/3" sensor is, not for consumers.
Tested by broadcast operators on real productions before launch. Available on the App Store.
PocketOP is free to download. The free version includes four broadcast lenses and one PTZ camera, enough to evaluate the app on a real location.
For daily use across your own projects, you want the full database: all broadcast lenses and PTZ cameras, through PocketOP Pro at EUR 19.99 per year.
A lens or PTZ camera not in the database? You can submit a request directly from the app. Confirmed models are added to the remote database without an app update, available within 24 hours.