A Mac Mini is the brain of this new video camera.

[alfredo]

Of course they screw it up by using Windows, but that just shows the versatility of the Mac. I guess the software they use doesn't have an OSX build.

http://blackbettycameras.com/first-camera/



I started building a small Mini ITX PC and put it inside a metal frame. Using some parts from a low mode cage from an elderly Glidecam V20, I mounted the camera with odds and ends into a basic camera shape. It was magnificently sucky; The computer heat failed within a week!

Along the way I had convinced my employer that this could be a great company project, but when things kept failing and became incredibly complicated, it was dropped. “Betty” became a passionate personal endeavor.

It soon dawned on me that a Mac Mini could do much better inside the rig. It turned out that many newer generations of Mac Mini could run on unregulated 12V power when the power supply was removed; this was a huge discovery! It removed the need to add any voltage regulation into the camera design. After some research I went to MicroCenter in Cambridge and picked through a bin to find every SATA/Mini/Micro/eSATA adapter I could grab. I took out the optical drive and hooked up an external eSata dock, yanked the latch off the 2.5″ door and crimped on a key ring as a pull tab.

[alfredo]

2. I liked seeing the mock ups. I'd be Happy with a Panasonic GH3 or Black Magic.

I can then use my collection of Micro 4/3 lenses.