BirdDog XL Ultra: Gear of the Year Awards 2026 PTZ camera winner
Posted on Nov 2, 2026 by Lily Smith
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With a sensor size commonly used in mirrorless cameras and a spec built for serious productions, BirdDog’s XL Ultra was voted our best PTZ camera.
While most PTZ cameras focus on making remote production easier, BirdDog is aiming to make it better. For live events, studios, broadcast, houses of worship and increasingly ambitious creator productions, the BirdDog XL Ultra’s combination of image quality, connectivity and remote control mean it has considerably bigger ambitions, which can open up enormous possibilities.
PTZ cameras have transformed live production. Put several around a studio, venue or stage and a small team can produce multi-camera coverage that once required an operator behind every lens.
But convenience has traditionally involved compromise, particularly when it comes to outright image quality. The XL Ultra changes that, as at its heart is a 4/3in Sony CMOS sensor with 20.89 effective megapixels, considerably larger than the sensors traditionally found inside PTZ cameras. Combined with a 20x optical zoom spanning 9.8-186mm and 4K capture at up to 60p, it gives XL Ultra the imaging credentials to move beyond straightforward corporate and event coverage into demanding broadcast and premium production.
And Pro Moviemaker readers clearly like that thinking, voting the XL Ultra best PTZ camera in our Gear of the Year Awards.
The large sensor isn’t simply about resolution. It provides greater creative control over depth-of-field while helping the camera deliver the sort of image quality filmmakers increasingly expect as PTZ cameras find their way into more sophisticated productions. Phase-detection autofocus helps keep subjects sharp, while built-in ND filters give operators additional control when lighting levels increase.
But this pedigree BirdDog has another trick up its sleeve: a second panoramic camera, built around a 1/1.8in Sony 4K sensor. It provides a wide view while the main camera concentrates on the tighter shot and the two feeds can be output simultaneously and controlled independently. That’s a very useful extra angle without adding another physical camera position.
Connectivity includes 12G-SDI, twin 3G-SDI outputs, HDMI 2.0, USB-C, Gigabit Ethernet and an SFP+ cage, while network workflows include high-bandwidth NDI alongside NDI HX3 and HX2, SRT, RTSP and RTMP. Balanced XLR audio inputs, Genlock, Timecode and FreeD support underline its broadcast and virtual-production ambitions.
There’s clever automation, too. Advanced presenter and zone tracking can reduce the need for constant manual intervention, while BirdDog’s smooth pan-and-tilt system is designed to keep automated movement looking natural rather than robotic.
With the XL Ultra at the top of the PTZ category, this pedigree BirdDog really is the leader of the pack.
More info at birddog.tv
