Anyone ever hear of this?

[funky-d-munky]

A few years ago now I saw a magazine ad for a blue screening device. This device worked with a pre determined depth sensor that was user adjustable. This depth sensor would be set to 20 feet for example, and the camera would only film to that depth, leaving everything else out.
The ad had it selling for about $2500 USD. This seemed to be the greatest thing that had ever to happend to blue screening. Considering I haven't heard hide nor hair since I doubt it is still around.
The concept seems amazing to me. On the fly anywhere, anytime, blue screening. Anyone ever heard of this? Any insight?
In my mind it seems do-able.
It's probably in a big Indiana Jones type warehouse packed next to the 200 miles per gallon combustion engine, deemed not acceptable for our grubbly little hands ;>)

[Brian Ellis]

Have you ever tried turning lead into gold?

[landrover]

Yes, I´ve heard about such a thing at work sometime last year. I´ll ask some colleagues and let you know.

landrover

[DJ]

Holo-Set by Play.

DJ

[Brian Ellis]

Actually, it reminds me a little of the 35 mm camera adaptor with a 12 Mpixel CCD. The electronics and battery were in the "cassette" and the CCD was on an adjustable boom along the film plane. I think they claimed 100 full res pics on a cassette. Would fit any 24 x 36 mm SLR. Price? Just USD 750, and that was at least 5 or 6 years ago. It ended up in your warehouse, as well.

Pity, I would have bought one for my Asahi Pentax, no messing!!!

[funky-d-munky]

No DJ.
It didn't require any special backdrop. You just set it to how much depth you wanted to film. Anything past that was simply blank. It used the same essential tech as infra red auto focus, except set to the depth of your choice. It simply told the CCD's not to capture any data past that certain depth point.
funky

[KRSESQ]

Sounds like one of those things that 99.99% of all end users would have no use for. As always, demand drives marketing. If no one asks for these things (knowing they exist is a plus!) they end up in your warehouse, no matter how cool and useful they are.

Just like those 500 MB micro-drives.

Kevin

[funky-d-munky]

Ah, no.
Blue screen tech is a driven market and will contiue to be so as we move further into digital film. There are many companies who make software and hardware dedicated to blue-screening.
Yes probably 99.9% of the market doesn't need, understand, or want blue-screening equipment. But what the heck does that matter. Blue-screening is a very important part of modern digital and regular filmaking, and those who use it are always looking for better solutions.
It seems ideal to me. You don't have to remove the blue-screen if your camera didn't film it!

"Just like those 500 MB micro-drives" yes useless.
Depth adaptive blue screening with its ability to allow creative freedom, cost savings.= Priceless.(If the tech worked to start with or even made it to market. The reason for my post)
funky

[miya]

What you are describing is not possible. Light doesn't work that way. Take it from a professional Panavision tech.

[landrover]

I´m sorry Miya, but it does exist! I heard about it about a year ago from my chief of logistics at the broadcast company I work for.
Just don´t remember the name, but I´ll talk to him about it next Tuesday. And it works exactly like Funky said!

landrover

[miya]

You "heard about it a year ago" and you are ready to testify that a device that defies the laws of physics exists?

It sounds like you heard about the same rumour/vaporware that funky did.

[funky-d-munky]

What law of physics does it defy? It works only with digital camcorders with a similar principle to common auto focus. It sends out a beam (like an auto-focus beam) , but set to a certian distance. eg. 20 feet. And only records video within that depth. Anything past that depth does not register on the CCD.
I am not saying the device was perfect or even worked great. But it was advertised in a top video magazine with pictures of the product and a list of cameras it worked with. And I am very curious what the heck ever happend to this tech.
funky

[miya]

Learn how a camera works, and you will know it cannot work.

[Greebe]

I've got to agree with miya on this one.. there is absolutely no way any camera, analog or digital can do for what you claim this mysterious gadget does.

[funky-d-munky]

Well it may not have worked well. But it did work. I think they would have checked the basic principles befor placing the adds.
It wasn't a camera but a device that worked in conjunction to a camera. There were definately more technical aspects to the device (I am giving the basics from an add/web site I viewed from over 2 years ago.)
funky