The Orbiter in the sense of camera

Camera

A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

 technique is a camera seat with a seated cameraman, swivelling on a low working height.

A swivelling seat of the Orbiter is characterized by a patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

ed principle of partial separation of the camera

Camera

A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

 and the movable/swivelling seat. This ensures the natural vibrations of the camera operator

Camera operator

A camera operator or cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading cameraman is usually called a cinematographer, while a cameraman in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or videographer, depending on...

 to be absorbed and they are therefore transferred to the camera to a very small extent. The separation is achieved by a special mounting technique of the swivelling seat, due to which the occurring vibrations are transferred from the centre of the system to the external feet.

With the currently used focal length

Focal length

The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus...

s of telephoto lens

Telephoto lens

In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus...

 with up to x101 zoom

Zoom lens

A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...

 an optimum vibration resistance is vital for stable pictures. The closer the lens

Lens (optics)

A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...

 zooms on the object the more stable the camera support has to be. Otherwise the picture could wobble. The natural vibrations caused by the footwork of the cameraman are therefore unwanted and have to be kept away from the camera. Apart from the mechanical separation mentioned above, additional absorption membranes were inserted into the Orbiter system in the process of its development to ensure further picture stability.

In the process of construction and testing two things had to be considered simultaneously. Firstly, that the swivelling seat cannot be mounted on the centre camera column

Column

A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...

 (in order to prevent mechanical overload and to reduce vibrations). Secondly, that the panning of the camera must take place on the same axis as the rotation of the swivelling seat. The existing systems do not combine both of the above mentioned principles of construction implemented in the Orbiter system.

The name ‘Orbiter’ was judged to be fitting for the positioning on the market and chosen to be the name of the product on multiple grounds. The cameraman is, in fact, in orbit

Orbit

In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...

 around the camera. On the other hand, in the medical jargon, orbital

Orbit (anatomy)

In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents...

 means ‘concerning an eyeball’. A camera is indeed an electronic eye.

Based on its performance, efficiency and failure resistance the Orbiter system became worldwide the most successful camera seat in terms of sales. It is being required by many sports associations for TV productions. During the European championships at EURO 2004 and EURO 2008 as well as at the FIFA worldcup 2006 FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 and UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 exclusively trusted the Orbiter system for their competitions, which is now FIFA, UEFA and Deutsche Fußball Liga

Deutsche Fußball Liga

The Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH is a subsidiary of Die Liga – Fußballverband. The DFL is responsible for the operation of the 1. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.- Function :...

approved.

Early after its launch there appeared a Chinese 1:1 copy and a Dutch partial copy of the Orbiter at various fairs of the TV business branch, which could neither match the high standards of the German manufacturers in terms of quality nor reach the sales numbers of the original.