Received the 58th Technical Development Award from Motion Picture and Television Engineering Society of Japan, Inc.

NHK’s “I. I. Camera”, an ultra high-sensitivity image intensifier camera with built-in HD VTR, capable of shooting under very little moonlight, is being used in various occasions such as a simultaneous live aurora show from the North and South Poles, shooting of nocturnal animals, and breaking news reports at nighttime. Our next target was to enable camera shooting on moonless nights naturally. In response to this requirement, NHK has developed an HD camera with higher sensitivity than ever, sensitive to wavelengths of not only visible light but also near-infrared ray for the first time in the world. The near-infrared lights have longer wavelengths beyond visible red light. By irradiating a specific near-infrared ray to the subject, shooting can be conducted without being noticed by the animals. The camera was used for a major nature program called “The Planet Earth”, which was a series of 11 programs and a collaboration of BBC and NHK. It successfully shot a group of lions preying on an elephant in the Chobe National Park in the Republic of Botswana at night. The program was aired in November 2006.

Table-1: Features