NBC Adds New Ultra Slow-Motion Cameras for Super Bowl

The four NAC Hi-Motion II ultra-slow motion cameras will offer better replays of the action

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/2/2012 4:55:40 PM

NBC Sports has decided to use four new NAC Hi-Motion II cameras from NAC Image Technology for the network's coverage of Super Bowl XLVI. The cameras have a three-CMOS censor that will allow crews to capture higher quality images for ultra-slow-motion replays.

The new camera system is made by NAC Image Technology and developed in cooperation with Ikegami, which is selling and the supporting the Hi-Motion II cameras.

The cameras to be used at this year's Super Bowl are among the 12 Hi-Motion II cameras sold by Ikegami to the rental company, Fletcher Camera & Lenses.

The Hi-Motion II cameras have a three-CMOS-sensor camera head with built-in memory, which has much better light sensitivity and is capable of delivering greater than ten-times-speed ("10x") for ultra-slow-motion playback of HD sports action.

The Hi-Motion II camera has a dual-format 1080i/720p system that can provide simultaneous output of live normal-speed video and ultra-slow-motion replay video.

In a statement, Dan Grainge, VP at Fletcher Camera & Lenses, noted that his company invested $3.5 million in the new technology because of the cameras offered a number of advanced features, including superior image quality, easy integration with production trucks and their ease of use.

"Number one is the superior image that we saw in the Hi-Motion II cameras during side-by-side testing with other high-speed cameras," Grainge said in a statement. "You can get great images out of both single-chip and three-chip cameras, but I can tell you that the three CMOS sensors in the Hi-Motion II cameras provided a clarity improvement and a detail enhancement that is better than their competitors' cameras."