Vicon launches ‘highest-fidelity motion capture cameras’

Vicon has launched Valkyrie, its new flagship camera range, with four models delivering what is said to be the world’s highest-quality motion capture system.

The company claims that Valkyrie cameras will capture motion more faithfully and accurate to reality than ever before, powering a new wave of innovation and discovery across the visual effects (VFX) sector.

Designed to work in tandem with Vicon’s  software solution for VFX – Shōgun – Valkyrie completes a best-of-breed ecosystem for motion capture users.

The range includes a 26-megapixel (MP) model and a high-speed capture mode at up to 2,000 frames per second (FPS). When combined with the new bespoke varifocal lens, they deliver a greater fidelity in human motion capture and unlock a previously unmatched capture quality.

With exceptional resolution, Valkyrie enables digital artists to visualise the most realistic characters and scenes, while saving time in post-production thanks to the quality of data it produces.

Valkyrie’s speed also ensures that even the most breakneck action sequences can be captured, even for studios working within tighter budgets.

The flagship model, VK26, comes with a 26MP resolution and native 150FPS, and is ideal for highly demanding applications, including full body performance capture, virtual production and in-camera VFX (ICVFX) for AAA films and games.

At the lower end is the VKX strobeless camera featuring 7MP resolution and native 380FPS, representing the most accessible entry point for small-scale ICVFX.

Imogen Moorhouse, CEO of Vicon, said: “Filmmakers rapidly adopting virtual production techniques and ICVFX are at the cutting edge of the use of motion capture. With Valkyrie we will support the growing needs and demands of the VFX industry with the most advanced motion capture systems ever seen.

“In challenging times, the Vicon team has created an industry-leading set of features providing high fidelity, intelligence, automation and a technical robustness that combine to create a new degree of usability, speed and accuracy.

“With every design decision we’ve taken we have focused on empowering the global community of motion capture users to take their work to the next level. With Valkyrie, our customers are going to play a massive role in driving forward a new era of motion capture innovation and exploration.”