VIDEO CAMERA
TYPES OF CAMERA
ANALOGUE VERSUS DIGITAL: All cameras regardless of their
being digital or analogue type, start out with an analogue video
signal. The light that is transported through the lens to the beam
splitter and from there to the imaging device remains all along
analogue. Even after the translation of the three RGB(RED BLUE
GREEN) light beams by the CCD, the resulting video signal remains
still analogue. But from there analogue and digital part company. In
analogue camera the video signal remain analogue inside the
camera and at the time of recording the video signal too. In digital
camera RGB signals are digitized and processed right after leaving
the CCD.
ANALOGUE CAMERA
DIGITAL CAMERA
STUDIO CAMERA: These are heavy
duty mostly pedestal mounted high
quality video cameras. Mostly now
high definition cameras, used mostly in
production of studio News and Current
Affairs, Fiction, Non-Fiction and reality
shows. These cameras have high
quality lenses and CCDs and are
generally controlled by a remote
control Video Operator in Studio CCU
(camera control unit) in PCR.
ENG/EFP CAMERAS: These cameras
are usually carried by a camera
operator in field, which means they are
portable and can be mounted on a
tripod. These cameras are easy to use
and carry because of their being light
weight and high quality. These are
called field production cameras also.
The VTR comes either inbuilt with the
camera or can be attached to it.
CONSUMER CAMERA: The
main difference between a
consumer and a professional
video camera is that the former
comes with a restricted and limited
input and out put audio video
quality. When professional
cameras have 3ccd and larger
better quality lenses, most of the
consumer camera is single CCD
and low quality small size lens.
PROFESSIONALCAMERA:
These cameras are basically fitted
with certain professional features
such as 3CCD and good quality
zoom lens with a wide angle
mount. These can be used in
News coverage and covering
important events and documenting
a feature or a soft story for TV.
PARTS & FUNCTIONS OF
CAMERA
APERTURE: The hole that is created
by moving the iris ring is called
aperture. When it is opened to full we
call it maximum aperture and when it is
closed to full we call that minimum
aperture. At maximum aperture that is
setting lens at a maximum aperture it
admits maximum amount of light with
the closing of the lens the metal blades
of the iris form a small hole and with its
opening form a comparatively bigger
hole, varying the amount of light to
pass.
IRIS: A light controlling device in
camera decides how much light is
needed to pass on through the lens.
The mechanism resembles a human
eye. It is called lens diaphragm also.
This iris consists of a series of metal
blades that form a fairly round hole
which opens and closes with the
movement of a ring called iris ring. It
creates a round hole through which the
light enters camera.
ZOOM: This is the function which
moves your point of view closer to or
farther away from the subject. The
effect is similar to moving the camera
closer or farther away, without moving
the camera. Two most common Zoom
mechanisms are available.
WHITE BALANCE: White balance
means color balance. It is a function,
which tells about the camera what
each color should look like by giving it
a “true white” reference. If the camera
knows what white looks like and then it
will know what all other colors look
like. Thus camera can give you right
balanced color view.
LENS: The lens selects a part of the
visible environment and produces a
small optical image of it. In a still or
movie camera the said image is then
projected onto film; in digital still
camera and video or TV camera it is
projected on to imaging device. Lens
can be with fast and slow speed. The
lens speed depicts to what amount a
lens can pass light and not with how
much speed it can do so. Fast lens
passes greater amount of light than a
slower one.
FOCUS: Focus is an incredibly
effective tool for directing the
audience’s attention. The eye is
always attracted to the area or part of
the image that is in focus.
VIEWFINDER: Camera has got a
view finder which depicts the seen or
the field of view as seen by the
camera. It is at the back of camera and
you can view the shot falling into the
field or view of the lens. It gives you
the actual picture to be shot by the
camera. The electronic viewfinder or
optical viewfinder is a component to
see the field of view.
BEAM SPLITTER: The beam splitter
through its various prisms and filters
separate white light that passes
through the camera lens into three
beams- usually referred to as RGB
(Red Blue Green) these three primary
colors are then electronically mixed
into many colors we see on the TV.
Consumer camera have single CCD
and professional cameras have 3 CCD
one each for RGB.
MOVEMENTS OF CAMERA
DOLLY: This platform with wheels is used
to smoothly move a camera during a shot
towards or away from the talent.
PAN: When the camera pivots to the left or
right with the camera pivoting on the
camera mount.
TILT: When the camera pivots up
and down on the camera mount.
HANDHELD: When the operator
handles the camera by hand, it is
usually because the camera has
to be mobile, able to change
positions quickly. This method is
commonly used by news crews,
for documentaries, at sports
events, or for shooting music
videos. In all these situations, the
camera generally needs to follow
the action.
TYPES OF LENS
ZOOM LENS: A zoom lens is a
variable focal length lens. It
allows the camera operator to
zoom in and zoom out on a
subject without moving the
camera forward or backward.
PRIME LENS: The prime lens,
which stands for primary lens
is a fixed-focal length lens.
Only the iris within the lens
barrel is adjustable. Changing
its aperture varies the lens’s
image brightness, which
controls the picture’s exposure.
WIDE ANGLE LENS: It shows a
much greater area of the scene.
Everything in the image looks
unusually distant. The lens seems
to emphasize space and depth.
Movements towards and away
from the camera seems faster
than they really are.
TELEPHOTO LENS: It will give a
magnified view of the scene,
making it appear closer. It is
advantageous when the camera
operator cannot move the camera
closer to the subject or does not
want to. It is also difficult to hold
steady; even the slightest vibration
is magnified and causes image
shake.
NORMAL ANGLE LENS: It is a
lens that portrays the scene
approximately the same way a
human eye might see.
