AXIOM Beta Announcement

Last NAB without apertus°?

We would really have loved to visit Las Vegas this year in order to demonstrate our AXIOM Alpha prototype in front of an audience outside of Europe - in fact, we even had invitations to do so in two separate booths there.
Unfortunately, we are not in a position where we can afford the cost of flying several people to the United States of America and cover one week's accommodations for them. We simply cannot justify spending that much of the funds we have received as donations so far on a trip like this.
Most of those funds have already been spent on the development of AXIOM Alpha and we have no intentions of stopping there.
But as usual, we do not require a large booth at the NAB show-floor to make a huge announcement. (By the way, there are a number of major companies who could easily afford to rent space and set up a booth there, but have also decided not to attend this trade show)

Announcing: The AXIOM Beta

So, before we show you what's coming up next, just imagine you're walking up to our booth at the NAB Showfloor - it's all there, the cheering crowd, exciting gear and great people all around us ...

That being said, we hereby announce the AXIOM Beta!
It will be smaller and cheaper, exhibiting far more streamlined features that are much better suited for shooting, testing and development purposes than the AXIOM Alpha could ever be.
This time we need your contribution to make it happen, as we will start a crowd funding campaign to cover hardware and software development. We plan to start with an initial batch of approximately 250 cameras once we know that the design actually works, and this first batch will be exclusively reserved for crowd-funding backers. Each of those cameras will have a degree of personalization possible.

AXIOM Beta's planned features include:

• HDMI Full HD (4:4:4) output at up to 60 FPS
• 4K raw output via experimental HDMI formats
• Capture full resolution, full bitdepth raw still images to MicroSD card
• Remote control of all camera functions from smartphone, tablet, laptop
• Power management and monitoring (e.g. voltage, current, temperature)
• Highly customizable via modular I/O addons (e.g. SDI)
• Accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope e.g. for image stabilization
• Different lens mount options (e.g. Nikon F-mount, EF and M4/3)
• Wide input voltage range (5-40V)
• Very lightweight and compact ~110x60x50mm
• Embedded Linux (e.g. Raspian, ArchLinux)
• LUTs, matrix color conversion, FPN compensation, false color display, overlays, dead pixel compensation
• Using Microzed board (instead of Zedboard used in AXIOM Alpha)

In Retrospective: The AXIOM Alpha

As you may know, the AXIOM Alpha is our proof of concept prototype for the future AXIOM platform. While it was a great way to showcase our concept and verify that the chosen technical approach for building a cinema camera like this works, it has also revealed some shortcomings and a few problems with the chosen components - specifically the Zedboard hardware, which has turned out to be unsatisfactory for this task.

We've also had a large number of developers and hackers willing to buy a complete AXIOM Alpha, however the high component cost (mostly due to the CMV12000 image sensor) and the difficulty in replicating our custom designed enclosure and lens mount have prevented this from happening on a large scale.

Finally, there are the form factor and size of the Zedboard resulting in a bulky and problematic enclosure with a rather unfortunate placement of sensor and lens mount.

Who is the AXIOM Beta for?

While there are some companies out there who trick their customers into paying premium prices for a beta product, eventually ruining their entire project, this is not how we work, so we want to make sure that you know exactly what you are going to receive. Actually, we want to make sure that you are aware of what you are getting yourself into right from the beginning! The AXIOM Beta is a BETA product (which can clearly be deduced from its name). There will be bugs and other issues for sure, but we are confident that with your help, your experience and last but not least your input, we will hunt down every single one of them and turn it into a feature.

Of course, as always, there is the small possibility that the AXIOM Beta will work flawlessly from day one, but there is no guarantee that it won't fail miserably first. Nothing can be perfect right away, and our drive towards perfection may require some time and a number of firmware upgrades before all aspects of the Beta's operation are running smoothly.
We're inviting you to be part of this journey, not as a passive bystander but rather as a contributor at the forefront of progress shaping the final product. In return for your assistance, we're offering the hardware at cost, which brings us to the next point:

What will the AXIOM Beta cost?

Backers who support the AXIOM Beta development in the crowd funding campaign with a minimum amount of 350 EUR / 485 USD or more will receive the AXIOM Beta (including all the necessary I/O modules) for manufacturing costs only (i.e. material and assembly), at approximately 550 EUR / $760 USD (without image sensor, see table below).
But rest assured, no matter what hardware options you choose, you will only pay for the materials, assembly and shipping. Naturally, if we manage to attract more backers than initially planned, the cost of production per unit will be reduced and everyone will get to pay less. The main focus of this campaign is to find early adopters and get the hardware into the hands of hackers and developers. Once our product matures, you can expect the AXIOM camera to grow in complexity along with its feature set and price. For this reason, it is unlikely that future AXIOM models will be as affordable as what we are offering in the AXIOM Beta crowd funding campaign.

Upgrade Path

If you decide to upgrade your AXIOM Beta to a successive product (e.g., say, the AXIOM Gamma, if we continue using the greek alphabet naming scheme), the main (and most expensive) component, the sensor, can very likely be reused. The Microzed is also an independent product and can be utilized for other projects or resold again.

Image Sensor Choice

In the beginning, we will create an AXIOM Beta using the Truesense KAC12040, as we would like to gain experience with another image sensor than the one featured in the AXIOM Alpha. Once this is working, we'll start adding additional image sensor options based upon what the majority of people in our community are interested in. This sensor may come from Cmosis, Truesense or a different manufacturer, as long as they provide datasheets and use compatible interfaces. Please cast your vote below to give us an idea of which options would be preferred.

The following prices are indicative of these image sensors in single quantities. In higher volumes, their cost is slightly reduced. Add the approximately 550 EUR / $760 USD base cost of the AXIOM Beta to the cost of the image sensor to get an idea of the total price. Another possibility might be purchasing engineering grade sensors (containing defects as they did not pass quality assurance) at further reduced prices for developers.

Which image sensor would you get in your Axiom Beta camera?

Cmosis CMV12000 + 1300€/ 1800$

76% (564 votes)

Cmosis CMV8000 + 400€/ 550$

14% (102 votes)

Truesense KAC12040 + 650€/ 890$

8% (61 votes)

Total votes: 742

When will the crowd funding campaign start

Soon, so stay tuned, as we will share further details about the AXIOM Beta once we have finished the EU Horizon 2020 grant application. At present, we need all of our eyes, minds and energy focused on completing the documents for this program.