LUMiO 12x - news? controller?

Feedback
1

I recently purchased three LUMiO 12x cameras. They’re great, and I’m pleased with the purchase. Some questions:

  1. Since launch, there’s been very little from Epiphan about the camera. (It doesn’t even have its own Category in this forum.) Have you abandoned it? (I hope not!)

  2. The included remote is great, and I love that I can control all three cams with just one. But I don’t plan to always have line-of-sight to the cameras and I have to run SDI cable anyway. So I’m looking for a controller/joystick that’ll allow me to control all three cams. I don’t care which protocol (as long as the controller works), but I don’t want to splice/solder my own cables. Is there a controller that’ll let me simply plug the cams in (or use daisy-chained cabling or whatever)?

2

We have not abandoned the Lumio, only that unlike other products that have feature updates, there is not much to say or add about a camera.

For control, basically any Serial controller that support the VISCA standard will do. A number of other customers have used the Huddlecam controller

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1272959-REG/huddlecamhd_hc_joy_g2_serial_controller_joystick_visca_pelco_d_pelco_p.html

It is a nice tool that can address/control multiple cameras.

3

Thanks for your reply!

  1. Thrilled to hear it. Since this is the Feedback category, I hope you don’t mind me offering some unsolicited (and potentially ill-informed) feedback: Take a hard look at the pricing of the camera. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are a few cameras on the market that cost a similar amount (or just a little more) but offer features like IP control, mic or line input with audio over SDI or HDMI, further optical zoom, PoE, etc. (I’m most familiar with the PTZ Optics line of PTZ cams, but their’s aren’t the only ones that seem to offer more bang for the buck.) My point is that if the Lumio’s price point were a little lower, it’d compare more favorably against similar cams on the market. (I got my Lumios second-hand for pennies. But I’d definitely be willing to pay more for new ones if the pricing made sense.)

  2. That controller looks great. Can you help me understand the cabling? How do you connect multiple cams to the controller’s single connection if each can has one has just one connector? Is there a “splitter” cable or something like that? (My background is in more “traditional” photography and videography, so I’m unfamiliar with how VISCA or PELCO cabling works.)

4

Serial RS232/VISCA controls will daisy chain.
So in the back of the Lumio you will see 2 Serial ports, an IN and OUT.
With the Huddlecam you can safely chain 4 cameras, each camera can have an ID set in the camera and controller settings.
Once configured you can choose the ID you want to control on the Huddlecam and that’s pretty much it.
Cables you would need would look something like this:
Controller to first camera: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/683790-REG/Vaddio_999_1005_010_PTZ_Camera_Control_Cable.html

Camera to camera chain: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1205743-REG/ptzoptics_visca_25_8_pin_male_to_male.html