Macbook Pro Capture

[Don Greening]

[nickeljohnson] “What can I use to connect my Macbook Pro to the back of these new HD camera boxes?”

One of these:

https://www.aja.com/html/products_Io.html

– Don

[Kelly Johnson]

I appreciate the response. This looks a bit like over kill. Is there an option for some thing a bit smaller. One fire wire and one HD-SDI/SD-SDI x 2 is all I really need. Maybe there isn’t any thing like that but I appreciate your help.

[Kevin Hamm]

I might suggest something like this: https://www.aja.com/html/products_macintosh_kona.html

[Kelly Johnson]

Kevin,
I appreciate your response to my question. I am not sure but I don’t think I can get one of those cards into my MacBook Pro.

[Kevin Hamm]

ah yes, i’m a complete dork. It would seem that for the macbook you’d need the Io line for your system. I would check, tho, on the new camera boxes, I can’t imagine that they don’t have a firewire port at all. Most things nowadays do, even if it’s on the side and not talked about much. Have you talked to the camera manufacturer?

[Kelly Johnson]

The older cameras we have are sony’s that do have firewire but most of the cameras I have looked at don’t. The cameras we use are medical cameras that get fixed on the back of the surgical microscope. The camera itself is fasioned on to the optic head where the surgeon is looking.

But no a lot of camera boxes don’t have firewire out. I don’t know why.

[Kevin Hamm]

So I did a quick google of the medical cameras in HD, and it seems that as they are all being designed to be permanent installations that they are expecting that you’ll have a desktop. The cameras that I checked out are designed to go to a deck, be it tape or HDD based, although direct to desktop works because of those cards.

I would call the company and ask them what they offer for med cameras in non-permanent structures and see if you can divert the purchase that way. But then, I’m a sh*t-stirrer who always wants it my way, so I do things like that. YMMV

However, if you can convince them to get the Io, you’d be in awesome shape if you ever needed to do an outside project or something involving other cameras. Might seem like overkill, but it also might just be a way to get you doing amazing new things.

[Alan Lacey]

Hi nickeljohnson

I’m involved in a similar field in the uk. We’re all SD at the moment but would like to ug eventually. What cameras are you looking at.

From this side of the pond it looks like the Iconix is the main/only serious contender.

Alan (London)

[Kelly Johnson]

Alan,
That Iconix camera looks great. I wish it had a Firewire on the back of the box too. Oh well. I am looking at some Panasonic cameras or Ikegami. The Ikegami are sweet cameras but one of them runs at about $35K (US). With 5 Neurosurgery scopes that is kind of pricey, but they are sweet cameras.

What is it that you do over there?

[Alan Lacey]

Ophthalmology Kelly.

We’ve got one Iconix, nice camera but plumbed in permanently on a refractive laser system and recording uncompressed HD via its HD-SDI straight to HDD drives.

We looked at the Iki HD-20 but apart from being very pricey it didn’t do the colorimetry for the laser system, it’s only two chip, compared to the three of the Iconix.

The other cameras in our theatres are all ancient (but very nice when they’re working) Panas H522s.

Recording to DV and SVHS currently but the whole system needs rethinking and engineering now. Being UK health sector – no money of course.

Regards Alan