BirdDog might not be a name brand you are familiar with, but looking at their website, you can see the relative newcomer is a stand-out brand. The Australian company is making a splash in the U.S.; maybe it’s the logo or the company color scheme, but their whole aesthetic just works, and it carries over from their marketing into their products. PTZs seem to be their bread and butter, but NDI networking is one of the things BirdDog is particularly proud of. They do everything in that space. I don’t think the company makes anything that isn’t NDI-compatible. Why would you? When you consider NDI can carry power, audio, video, tally, and intercom all on one super cheap user-terminatable cable, trust me, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed using the P120, and it’s a solid value at the price point of $1,899.
Tech specs
The heart of the P120 is the Sony Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS image sensor. This sensor has an excellent low-light response, a good signal-to-noise ratio, and it just makes a pretty image. In front of that sensor is a 5.2-104mm 20x zoom lens, which will be plenty for most church environments. If you don’t need 20x optical zoom, BirdDog’s P110 version is available for a slight discount. For a PTZ, there is a ton of I/O on this camera. The P120 has many flavors of NDI, such as NDI|HX2, NDI|HX3, SRT, h.264, and the more standard SDI, HDMI, and USB 2.0. All of this means it can fit into pretty much any workflow. For control, the P120 is spoiled with options; it can be controlled using NDI Control, VISCA IP, RS232/RS422, PELCO D, and software-controlled through the BirdUI. So, if you are looking for options concerning control and I/O, the P120 has plenty to offer.
The BirdUI is clean, clear, looks good, and matches the company aesthetic, a level of detail most manufacturers don’t seem to bother with, and is a refreshing change of pace.
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Things to like
One of the first things that jumps out at you when you power up the P120 is the OLED panel on the front base of the unit. It gives you essential information like camera model, IP address, camera name, and resolution. The IP address is beneficial because it allows you to find the P120 on your network. Anyone who has set up network-based gear knows that sometimes just finding that address is really a pain.
Speaking of setup, the company style has extended into the BirdUI. The UI looks like it was designed by someone with a doctorate in user experience rather than the developer who took a semester of Photoshop at a community college. The UI is clean, clear, looks good, and matches the company aesthetic, a level of detail most manufacturers don’t seem to bother with, and is a refreshing change of pace. However, the form must follow function and the BirdUI has plenty of functionality. It has information like the number of active connections, current bandwidth usage, and network traffic, all available on the dashboard at a glance.
The position recall speed on the P120 is impressive, almost violently so. This camera has to be mounted securely because it whips around with abandon when presets are recalled. If it’s mounted to a light-duty lighting stand, it will shake like crazy. The camera control that came with the unit was also well-designed, easy to navigate, and intuitive. It also follows the rest of the aesthetic and it looks really good. There is a lot of feedback and indicators on the controller, so if you aren’t sure where you left the zoom and pan speed, the indicators on the unit tell you. The control was smooth and, at the lowest settings, had a slight ramp-up to speed and down to stop making the motions very natural.
Opportunities
While the P120 is an excellent PTZ camera, and there is a lot to like about it, it does fall short in a few spots. First, the I/O on the back side of the base is tucked in tight. If you are using any snagless RJ45 connector, the release is tucked way up to the lip of the base, making it tough to get fingers in there to release the cable. Beyond that, the connectors are very close to one another, which isn’t unique but does bear mentioning.
Lastly, the position recall speed of the camera was impressive, but the lens recall speed was less so. As a result, it almost seemed like the position snapped into place before the lens started moving, which made it feel sequenced rather than all at once.
In conclusion
If you have never heard of BirdDog, trust that this won’t be the last time you hear that name. With a nod to style, attention to detail, and quality of products, BirdDog will fit right in with the house of worship. If you are a church, school, or not-for-profit, you can go to their website and register for a free copy of their Central Pro or Comms Pro software. If nothing else, it will give you an appreciation for the brand’s aesthetic, which I think is genuinely brilliant.
I thoroughly enjoyed using the P120, and it’s a solid value at the price point of $1,899. So if you are a church looking to add some NDI to video production, the P120 is a great option, but you should also consider some of the other offerings BirdDog has in the NDI department; they have equipment to fit into almost any workflow.
