It would be excellent if you could provide a replaceable protective cover (similar to the rubber ones found on Canon / Sony cameras, for example) to protect the ports (SDI, HDMI, SYNC, EXT, USB ETC.) at the back of the camera from any damage / dirt ingress.
If it’s also possible to use the heavier duty type of BNC connectors for the SDI and SYNC IN port that have their centre pin reinforced with a surrounding plastic ring (as found on many broadcast monitors etc.), this would also make them more resilient to repeated use.
Many thanks for your consideration. I look forward to your next update on the progress of production.
Thanks for the suggestions! Since Spark’s structural design is already finalized, we unfortunately can’t add a rubber dust cover for the I/O ports at this stage. That said, the interfaces are built to be very robust.
I’ve attached a close-up of the actual SDI/Sync connectors on Spark. You can see the reinforced design here—I think this matches the broadcast-standard spec you suggested?
Understood, though as a rubber protection cover could be made as a separate part and does not need to be anchored to the camera anywhere, it could still be manufactured separately and just be held on by its own snug fit if made tight enough to the BNC connectors. If it’s not possible to include something like this, would be great if you would consider offering one as an accessory! I would 3D print one, but I believe a rubber part is the way forward to help it stay fixed to the camera. Just an idea as these cameras are often going to be around shooting scenarios with water / food / paint and other messy stuff that can get into these ports. Thanks!
The dielectric you refer to as “reinforcing” material typically indicates the connector is 50 ohm and intended for RF signals not video. The connectors that Pixboom show in their pics are the most appropriate and correct 75 ohm type.
No, I’m aware of the 50 Ohm connectors and that’s not what I’m referring to. You can get similar heavier duty 75 Ohm BNC connectors that look just like those. They are used for reinforcing HD-SDI video in / out on devices such as some Sony broadcast monitors,as well as Accsoon CineView Master RX/TX etc. - They are 75 Ohm, not 50 Ohm but are notable for their absence on a lot of devices where they would help protect the central pin of the SDI video in/out from damage, possibly due to extra cost. They are not widely used, especially on 12G devices, so it’s not that the ones Pixboom are using aren’t appropriate, these are just more rugged.
