Traditionally, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) were largely deployed in military missions, but are increasingly being adopted by civil applications including firefighting, law enforcement, assessment of natural disasters and environmental monitoring. The modern UAV, born in the 1970s, was motivated by the military’s need for a safe way in which to fly over high risk areas without endangering a pilot. The most essential feature was the inclusion of small video cameras that could send images to ground-based operators in real-time. The uses for these flexible devices has now increased beyond military, and law enforcement, to surveillance and security, to becoming somewhat of a movie star …

As drones — also known as UAVs, — are being employed for everything from warfare to Las Vegas bottle service, even Hollywood is enthusiastic about enlisting them into filmmaking. In the cinema, the UAV’s hold the promise of new creative options, real cost savings and possibly even safer sets. Filming days when using a helicopter equate to a major expenses and few creative options.  With a drone, the average ‘shooting’ days are reduced by at least half, the expense of a helicopter rental is removed, and the need for a human camera man in the sky with a hand-held camera is gone.  Versatility abounds - Drones don’t need lunch breaks, coffee breaks, and medical insurance … Just a flying drone with an aerial camera that captures video from the sky. New SONY FCB-MA HD Micro Block Cameras Coming Soon With these amazingly tiny cameras at our disposal, it is not a wonder that Drones and Unmanned Aerial vehicles  are the prime candidates to use the FCB-MA130, and the brand new FCB-MA131, FCB-MA132 and FCB-MA133 cameras. These tiny cameras, with their excellent imaging qualities, are able to acquire Full High Definition (HD) pictures (moving and still) in areas where brilliance in video recording is somewhat of a necessity - and they excel when placing cameras the size of a coin, into drones that will fit in the palm of your hand. Putting a camera up in the air offers new opportunities in established types of photography and videography, like sports, landscapes, and endless opportunities. Sony always creates something amazing for the camera consumer ~ and entering the Sony FCB-MA130 High Definition (HD) Color Block Series of Ultra-Compact micro cameras, are the new kids on the block (as in block cameras), the FCB-MA131, FCB-MA132 and FCB-MA133. While these minute cameras share the 1920x1080 (FHD) movie imaging qualities with the FCB-MA130, they differ with new lens options in the horizontal field of views (HFOV):
  • The FCB-MA130’s HFOV in Movie Mode: 53°, Still Image Mode: 58°
  • The FCB-MA131’s HFOV in Movie Mode is 26°, Still Image Mode: 28°,
  • The FCB-MA132’s HFOV in Movie Mode is 85°, Still Image Mode: 94°,
  • The FCB-MA133’s HFOV in Movie Mode is 115°, Still Image Mode: 128°.
The differences, however, now come to light …The f-number accurately describes the light-gathering ability of a lens only for objects an infinite distance away, and while the FCB-MA130 has an F number of F2.8, these new cameras have different F numbers. The FCB-MA131’s F number is F2.2; the FCB-MA132 is F2.2, and the FCB-MA133 is F2.8.  The FCB-MA130 has a one-push auto-focus, and the FCB-MA131, FBC-MA132 and FBC-MA133 have the benefit of adjusting the focus by rotating the lens by hand. And yet, these three new micro cameras share multiple qualities with the FCB-MA130:
  • 1/2.45-type Exmor CMOS image sensor,
  • 16x Digital Zoom
  • Image Stabilization for image and movie, and Face Detection (thanks to Sony’s original image signal processor),
  • Fixed Focal Lens,
  • Noise Reduction (3DNR),
  • Adaptive Tone Reproduction (ATR),
  • Picture Effects (Flip horizontal, Flip vertical)
  • Power consumption 700 mW (at FHD movie)
  • Operating temperature -5° C to +50°C; 23°F to 122°F
  • Storage temperature -20°C to +60°C; -4°F to +140°F
  • Power requirements 3.3±0.1, 1.8±0.1, 1.2-0.05/+0.1 V DC
  • Video Output:  CMOS Clock 81MHz, Parallel 16bit (Y/Cb/Cr:422 / SAV, EAV selectable) / Sync Signal (HD, VD)MIPI D-PHY Clock 324MHz, Data 2lane CSI-2 (YCbCr422)
  • 12C Serial Bus Additionally, they share the same Movie Image size: 1920 x 1080 (FHD), 1600 x 1200 (UXGA), 1280 x 960 (SXGA), 1280 x 720 (HD), 1024 x 768 (XGA), 800 x 480 (WVGA), 640 x 480 (VGA).
  • And the same Still Image: 4192 x 3104, 4128 x 3096 (13M), 3264 x 2448 (8M), 2592 x 1944 (5M), 1920 x 1080 (FHD), 1280 x 960 (SXGA), 1280 x 720 (HD), 640 x 480 (VGA), and
  • The same Shutter Speed of 1/25 to 1/5000 s, total 24 steps.
Adding to the Sony FCB-MA130 camera’s complete solutions, Aegis Electronic Group presents two available Interface Kits: The AVP-MA130-USB3NE Interface Kit for Sony FCB-MA130 is the perfect companion. The This kit includes a USB 3 Interface Board (AVP-MA130-USB3-BOARD), Ribbon Cable, PCI-­‐E Card (AVP-MA130-USB3-PCIE), 6 foot (2 Meter) USB 3.0 Cable, and is for desktop computers without Embedded USB 3. Its easy installation makes the AVP-MA130-USB3 Interface Kit the optimal solution for small form factor USB3 cameras.  This USB 3.0 PCI-E Express Card presents a straightforward answer for connecting a standard desktop PC to USB 3.0 devices (A Male to Micro B cable). Utilizing the latest generation of USB technology, this USB 3.0 card features increased transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps, giving you the availability of transferring videos, music, photos, and data files between USB devices and your computer at tremendously fast speeds. For those desktop computers with an Embedded USB3, the ideal Interface Kit  (AVP-MA130-USB3E Interface Kit) includes a USB 3 Interface Board , 47.6mm Ribbon Cable, and 6 foot (2 Meter) USB 3.0 Cable (A male to Micro B Cable). This AVP-MA130-USB3E kit is a perfect video capture bundle solution for the minute Sony FCB-MA130 camera, and is small enough to fit into many applications while capturing high quality images and videos for easy streaming to a USB 3 host.  With Output Video Resolutions of 1920x1080 (Full HD), one is sure to get the best still and moving pictures possible! And by now we all know that size does matter … the FCB-MA130 is 21/32 x 13/32 x 23/32 inches (16.5x10.3x18mm), and weighs 0.078 ounces (2.2 g.) – a true lightweight, and the word ‘tiny’ doesn’t even cover it! Its new family additions prove to be just as small, and perfect for the UAV’s and drones they fit into.  These diminutive cameras will be taking to the skies without us even knowing they are there… reliably recording what we don’t even see.