PTZ controler help

[Fireball 0]

I recently got a camera from ebay that came with a COSMICAR/PENTAX TV ZOOM LENS, 8-48MM, model HGZBME-5P.

 

What would I need to control this lens? Ideally I'm looking for something basic, cheap, and available in the UK.

 

One other thing that is confusing me, is that the controller would connect to the lens, but then surely there is another connection to the motors (I assume in a camera housing - which I do not have) so that the camera can pan/tilt. So would that mean two cables going from the camera to the controller?

 

Thanks.

[Horizon 0]

Did you have any luck finding info on this lens? Is it a motorised zoom lens (CS or C-mount)?

I've got a few similar lenses, so might be able to help.

[Fireball 0]

Hi Horizon, and thanks for the reply.

 

I'm still no nearer to a solution, although I did find a data sheet for the lens.

 

I can't remember where I found it, but I've uploaded a copy here:

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mixa00

 

By the way, it has an 8 pin din plug like this:

[Horizon 0]

Nice score! That f 1:1.0 lens would be excellent with a modern low light camera. Like the Watec Joel is/has bought

 

The zoom and focus motors are pretty simple.

You should slide the 8 pin DIN connector boot off to see how many wires you've got, and whether the colours match the datasheet. There could be either three or four wires for the zoom and focus motors.

For three wires, if you put between 6 and 12 volts between white and green, the lens will zoom out. Swap the polarity to zoom back in.

Its the same for the focus - apply the voltage between white and blue to focus far, reverse the polarity to focus near.

The PTZ controller would have driven these with relays, but you could use switches and a 9 volt transistor radio battery (like a PP3) to test it - the motors don't draw much current.

 

The iris is a bit trickier. You could leave the green wire disconnected, and hope that the iris will work normally without the remote level control. It should be okay. Then the red, white, and black wires go to the four pin square iris connector on your camera. This lens needs the camera to be set to video drive (not DC-drive). If it's not connected to the camera, the lens will keep the iris closed.

 

Some of the PTZ mounts had the controller board mounted inside. There was a connection between the camera iris socket and the controller, and between the pan/tilt motors and the controller as well. The controller would have either been controlled by a serial port, or a signal mixed in with the video over the coax. Other mounts didn't use a controller - you drove the motors directly.

 

So you only got the lens and camera? Not the PTZ mount as well?

[Fireball 0]

Thanks once again Horizon for your help!

 

Hehe, yeah, I was lucky to get the lens. It's ironic, I bought the camera/lens (no PTZ mount unfortunately) to just have a play around... mainly for the camera, as I had no idea the lens was a 1.0 and suitable for 1/2" format cameras - the camera it came with was 1/3"!

 

In the mean time I've been trying to find F1.0/F0.8 ultra-wide lenses and got nowhere (emailed about 5-6 retailers who seemed to have stock). Although 8mm is a bit long for my primary purpose (meteor/fireball detection) it should be ideal for guiding.

 

I also got a Watec (the 902H2), but I'm leaving that alone until I know a bit better what I'm doing - I don't want to make a mistake and damage expensive kit!

 

Regarding the 8 pin connector - another stroke of luck is that it came with the female connector with a few inches of cable before it was cut off, so I can mess around with it and not damage the male connector that's attached to the camera.

 

So from what you are saying, I might be able to hack together some sort of serial port control mechanism, if I understand you correctly?

 

Regarding the Iris, is there no way to set it to 1.0 and leave it there? If I use it for guiding I would have no need to have any control over it as long as it was set to F1.0 and focused to infinity. I think I'd also want it to be set to a longer focal length. Do you happen to know if the max aperture stays constant when zooming on this lens?

 

You've given me lots of info which I'll have to go through over the next few days. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon.

 

Thank you again Horizon.

[Horizon 0]

Hey there.

From the looks of it, the lens has a fairly constant aperture - 1:1.0 when it's looking at the widest view, and 1:1.2 when zoomed onto something distant.

You could also consider the lens as being expensive - I'd hate to think what it originally cost new!

 

For remote zoom and focus, all you need to do is connect a 9 volt battery across the correct wires. It doesn't need power to hold the zoom and focus settings. Use some light-weight wire like Cat-5 - it'll handle the current easily.

You will need to connect the auto-iris to the camera. Without power, the iris automatically closes to protect the camera. You might be able to fool it into holding open by putting 12 volts across the red and black wires. It might think that the missing video signal is caused by a dark scene, and so opening the iris to compensate.

[Fireball 0]

Thanks Horizon,

 

Very helpful info once again!

 

I've been very busy, so have not had a chance to have a play with it yet, but hopefully in the next few days. I'll be back with an update then.

[hardwired 0]

Your lens is a H6ZBME-5P, not a "G". Here' some links on it http://www.pentax.cz/web-content/PDF/PENTAX%20CCTV%202009.pdf, http://www.pentax.com.tw/cctv/motorizedzoom.pdf. For the video iris lens control, they need power on the + and - leads, and the actual video signal from the camera applied to the control lead.

[Fireball 0]

Wow - thank you hardwired!

 

I can't believe I picked it up for under £60. As far as I can tell the camera it came with was worth that alone!

 

Would a lens like this hold it's value well?

 

Sorry, I did actually see my mistake (confusing "G" with "6"), but forgot to correct it. Thanks for pointing that out.