Sachtler is a manufacturer of film and video camera support products and reporter lighting equipment. The company was founded in 1958 and was bought by the United Kingdom's Vitec Group (now

Videndum Videndum plc is a manufacturer of hardware and software for the film industry founded in 1910 and based in Richmond, London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The business was establishe ...

) in 1995.

History

Wendelin Sachtler was a cinematographer, actor and inventor, living in South-Germany. In 1958 he designed the first tripod head. This so-called gyroscopic head provided not only pans and tilt motion, but also added gyroscopic damping to smooth out camera moves. The new

tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

head proved so popular with fellow

camera operators A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaking, ...

that it led to the foundation of a new company, Sachtler, to meet demand. He worked out of a small workshop in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

-Schwabing,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. After a pair of moves, since 2004 Sachtler GmbH has been located in Eching near Munich. Sachtler has 150 employees worldwide and is represented by retailers in more than 140 countries. The company has production facilities in Germany, Costa Rica and Great Britain. In 1992 the company was awarded the "Scientific and Engineering Award", an award set up by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

. In 1995 Sachtler was acquired by the Vitec Group PLC. In 2001 Sachtler and

Curt O. Schaller Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

launched the artemis camera stabilizer system at the

NAB Show NAB Show is an annual trade show produced by the National Association of Broadcasters. It takes place in April, and has been held since 1991 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show's tagline is "Where Content Comes ...

in Las Vegas. The artemis systems were the first modular camera stabilizer systems in the world. In addition, the artemis HD systems were the first Full HD camera stabilizer systems worldwide. The artemis Trinity system, developed by Curt O. Schaller together with Roman Foltyn in 2015, is the first camera stabilizer system in the world that combines a mechanical stabilization system with an electronic one. In April 2016,

ARRI The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon menti ...

acquired the artemis camera stabilizer systems developed by Curt O. Schaller from Sachtler / Vitec Videocom.

Products

The company's portfolio can be divided into: * Camera support * High quality bags for storage and transportation of professional broadcast, camera and audio equipment The camera support division includes the production of Sachtler fluid heads, tripods and pedestals and professional bags for cameramen and sound operators.

References

{{Reflist

External links

SachtlerVitec Group
Photography companies of Germany Companies based in Upper Bavaria German brands