AXIOM (camera)

AXIOM
AXIOM Alpha prototype at the Metalab Vienna
Type Digital cinema camera
Sensor Super35mm
Image sensor type Digital
Image sensor size 4K
Image sensor maker CMOSIS
Maximum resolution 4096×3072 pixel
Frame rate 150 frames/sec

AXIOM is an open hardware and free software digital cinema camera family of devices being developed by a DIY community around the apertus° project.[1]

History

In 2006, people on the DVInfo.net forums started experimenting with adapting Elphel open hardware camera devices for film production in a forum thread entitled "High Definition with Elphel model 333 camera". The thread grew fast as people joined the effort and provided their own customizations. By early 2009, over 1000 posts had been submitted to this thread. The community realized that it was going to be impossible to maintain overview in this way and started setting up a dedicated website for the project.[2] In 2012, the plan to create the AXIOM camera hardware from scratch - overcoming the limitations of the Elphel hardware - was announced at the Libre Software Meeting in Geneva.[3]

Timeline

Date Model
10 July 2012 Sebastian Pichelhofer announces the project at the Libre Software Meeting in Geneva.[4]
7 March 2014 Presentation of the proof of concept prototype at Metalab.[5]

AXIOM Alpha

AXIOM Alpha is a digital cinema camera proof of concept prototype.[6] Only two units were built in 2013 and the second revision model was presented at the Metalab (Vienna based Hackerspace) in spring 2014.[7] The main components include a Zedboard using a Xilinx Zynq-7020[8] System on a chip (SoC) and a 4K Super35mm image sensor designed by the Belgian company CMOSIS.[9]

Technical specifications

The CMOSIS CMV12000 Super35/APS-C video image sensor has a resolution of 4096×3072 pixel, a color resolution of 10bits/pixel and is able to capture at a maximal frame rate of 150 frames/sec. It is connected to the ZedBoard over FMC. The Xilinx Zynq Z-7020 combines a Cortex-A9 dual-core with a DSP and FPGA. The ZedBoard contains the Zynq Z-7020 and all the necessary interfaces.[10]

Software

The operating system is Linux kernel-based and composed entirely of free and open-source software[source?].

AXIOM Beta

Successor of the AXIOM Alpha[11] that is meant to be distributed as developer kit to early adopters.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Open Source: Eine Revolution mit Lötkolben und Schraubenzieher (German), zeit.de, 2014, retrieved July 21, 2014
  2. ↑ apertus° History, apertus.org, 2014, retrieved July 21, 2014
  3. ↑ Apertus - The birth of a completely open digital cinema camera, Libre Software Meeting, 2012, retrieved July 21, 2014
  4. ↑ "Apertus - The birth of a completely open digital cinema camera". 2012-07-10.
  5. ↑ Metaday 65: Building an open source digital cinema camera - Functional Prototype Presentation, Metalab, 2014, retrieved July 18, 2014
  6. ↑ Axiom Alpha: Die Open-Hardware-Kamera (German), heise.de, 2014, retrieved July 18, 2014
  7. ↑ Metaday 65: Building an open source digital cinema camera - Functional Prototype Presentation, Metalab, 2014, retrieved July 18, 2014
  8. ↑ "Zynq-based Axiom Alpha open 4K cine camera proto debuts in Vienna hackerspace". 2014-03-20.
  9. ↑ Zynq-based ZedBoard + CMOSIS Super35 Image Sensor + Apertus Engineering = Axiom Open 4K Cinema Camera, Xilinx, 2014, retrieved July 19, 2014
  10. ↑ "ZedBoard".
  11. ↑ Introducing the Apertus Axiom Beta: the Most Affordable 4K Cinema Camera Yet, NoFilmschool, 2014, retrieved July 18, 2014
  12. ↑ The Axiom Beta 4K Camera and How You Can Get It, Cinescopophilia, 2014, retrieved July 18, 2014