Saturday, 27 November 2010

BASICS OF CAMERA, LIGHT & SOUND

Lighting For Video

Video lights are divided into two main categories: bare bulb or fresnel (pronounced "fruh-NEL"). The bare bulb light is pretty straightforward -- a light bulb surrounded by a reflector. Also referred to as open face or open light, these lights use the reflector to focus the light's rays. All open face lights have uneven lighting, though higher-end versions mitigate the effect somewhat.
Fresnels, on the other hand, use a lens as the primary focus mechanism. They produce intense, focused light and usually have a longer reach than their open face cousins.



Video lights are usually known by the types of bulbs they use, and there are quite a few different types, so be forewarned! Here's a quick rundown:
Incandescent: Most household lamps contain this type of bulb. The home variety is usually very warm (around 2900K), but you can purchase professional incandescent bulbs at cooler temperatures. These types of bulbs are known as photoflood. When you use these lights, your initial investment is very low, but unfortunately, they rarely last very long.
Tungsten-Halogen: These little bulbs are smaller & more efficient than incandescent, but they're also more expensive! Sometimes referred to as quartz bulbs, they're normally rated at 3200K. Lights in this category include Arri's Arrilite 600-Watt Focusing Flood or Smith-Victor's 600-Watt Open Faced Tungsten.
Fluorescent: Regular fluorescent bulbs, such as those found in an office, produce greenish light and are hard to match with daylight or tungsten. But professional fluorescents do exist. Fluorescents have a very long life, produce soft light & generate virtually no heat.
HMI (Hydrargyrum Medium-arc Iodide): If you're willing to shell out some dough, these lights are daylight-balanced and extremely efficient. HMIs produce almost three times the amount of light as Tungsten-Halogen for the same amount of power. You can look at the 1.2KW Fresnel or the 400-Watt soft light for examples of lower cost HMI lighting fixture options.
Carbon Arc Lamps: You might best recognize these lights by their marketing application -- spotlights outside a car dealership making light circles in the sky! Large productions often use them for simulating daylight or for lighting large areas. But inexperienced users need not apply! Carbon Arc lamps have unique power requirements and a trained electrician is usually required for operation.
Lighting Accessories
Barn doors, adjustable flaps that can be fastened to light's rim, are used to control light rays & block unwanted spill.
Scrims, also used for light control, are circular wire mesh screens that are placed in front of the light. They effectively cut down a light's intensity while retaining its color temperature.
Softbox is a white-faced box which fits over the front of your lights. You use a softbox to both diffuse & soften light striking your subject. This "soft light" produces gentle shadows and smooths out wrinkles or textures.
You can also use an umbrella to get that soft light look. The light shines into the umbrella, and the umbrella's white or silver interior reflects and diffuses the light rays back onto the subject you are shooting.
Gels are an indispensable part of any videographer's light kit. These dyed plastic sheets mount in front of a light or clip on to barn doors. You can change a light's intensity and/or color by the type of gel you use. Some of the most common gels include neutral density, which cut down a light's output; CT Blue, which balances your lights to daylight or HMIs; & Orange, which balances your light to tungsten.



Controlling the Light’s Colour

Color Temperature
All light sources have a distinct color that is rated using the Kelvin temperature scale. When we talk about color temperature, we are not talking about heat, but the color of the light that we see. Simply stated, indoor light is around 3200K, outdoor light is 5600K and fluorescents around 4200K. We use these numbers as starting points because in reality the color temperatures can vary quite a bit depending on the light source. For instance, outdoor color temperatures can range from 5000K to 12000K depending on cloud cover and time of day.

The human eye is capable of seeing many color temperatures of light at one time and interpreting the colors correctly so that when you are indoors, looking out a window, you see the grass as green and the sky as blue. You will also see white & colors correctly under the indoor light. Cameras however can only see one color temperature at a time. If your camera is set for daylight, it will see indoor lighting as very orange. This is why the photos you take in your living room without flash with daylight film look orange (or set to indoor on your digital camera). If your camera is set for indoors, the scene out your window will look very blue.
When you white balance your camera, you are setting your camera to see white as white under the light in which you are shooting. The real trouble comes when you have multiple sources of light, each with a different color temperature.

Turning Indoor into Outdoor
If the interior location you are shooting in has a lot of windows and bright sunlight streaming in, don't close the curtains, use it. The light coming through the windows will make a great back light or fill light for your scene. However, what do you do about the video light you are going to use as your key light? It is rated at 3200K -- the indoor light setting. Simply attach a Blue gel to the front of the light and it converts the light to 5600K and becomes an outdoor light! White balance your camera using the outdoor setting & you will have a beautifully lit scene.

Turning Outdoor Light into Indoor light
If your interior setting has a few windows and you want to use the light as a fill light but your main light source will be video lights, you can also change outdoor light into indoor light. Get a sheet of Orange gel and place it over the window. While to your eye it will look a little strange, to the camera, it will look as if it is seeing through a clear window and the sky will be blue, the leaves green and the school busses bright yellow.



Fluorescents
If you shoot video in offices, fluorescent light fixtures can cause a myriad of problems. When you white balance your camera to match the video lights you set up for your shoot, the fluorescent lights in the office will give surfaces a nasty green tint. You could turn out the office lights and just use your video lights, but that creates other problems such as a need for more fill light. Having enough fill makes the scene look more natural. What you can do is counter balance: either place an aqua colored filter in front of your video lights to convert them to the same color temperature of the fluorescents, or place reddish orange sleeves over the fluorescent tubes to convert them to the same color temperature as your video light kit.

The next time you go to a movie and see an office scene with the city shining outside the window, you can be assured that they have used color correcting gels.

Final Correction
While correcting the light from your lighting instruments or the windows is important, your hard work will only pay dividends if you remember to white balance every time you change positions. Even when shooting outdoors you can have a variety of color temperatures.

Take the time to white balance every time you change camera positions or directions. Remember, when your camera sees white as white, the other colors in your scene will be right.


Tips and Tricks on Video Lighting
Lighting Indoors:
1. Don't place your subject in front of a bright window. Move the subject to a place where the light source (window) falls on the front. If that is impossible, frame the shot tighter so most of the window is not visible.
2. Turn on as many lights as possible to offset the stronger sunlight behind the subject. Use the manual aperture setting to counteract the camera's desire to over compensate.
3. In situations where you have a choice to use sun light or incandescent, use the former. Sunlight is more colorful than the house lights. Remember to white balance for the dominant light source.
4. At night with incandescent light sources, you'll have more freedom to move both the subject and the light. Again, it's a good idea to keep the light source out of the frame, but this time you don't have to compromise framing, just move the light. Another reason to remove the light from the frame is because table and floor lamps (practicles) sometimes leave a halo around the subject when placed in the frame.
5. Try to mold the light across from one side of the subject to the other so the difference between lighter and darker helps create the illusion of three dimensions.

Lighting Outdoors:
Nighttime: Most of us come across the difficulties in lighting outdoors at night.
1.    Don't place subject directly below light, this will cause harsh shadows under the eyes, nose & chin. Headlights from a car can work but they are hard & will act like spots: try bouncing them also to diffuse the light. I've seen flashlights bounced off clothing work, but this is really tricky.
2.    Moonlight is unlikely to work well, no matter how bright it looks to your eyes. In any event, move your auto focus and aperture to manual. At such low light levels, the auto sensors do not work well.


Available Light Outdoors: Daytime
1.    A sunny day is okay, but overcast is better situation. An overcast sky gives diffused light, creates very little shadow and you can shoot all day. If there is full sun, your subject may cast deep shadows, since sunlight is very hard. The stronger and higher the sun, the deeper and more contrasty the shadows, so there's not much opportunity to create 3D molding. Try to avoid shooting from 11:00am to 2:00pm. During this time, the sun is high and creates overhead lighting, which is very flat. In this situation put your subject under a tree in the shade, but don't show too much of the sky as background, since the dappled light under a tree will contrast strongly with the full sunlight in the background.
2.    Keep the camera angle higher so you can avoid too much bright sky or a burnt background. Sunlight provides plenty of light for a reflector, however. Position your subject in shade & then use a reflector to bounce sunlight onto your subject.
3.    If you have to deal with varying light intensities, because the subject is moving, for example, set the aperture to manual, take a reading of the brightest and darkest areas and then set your f-stop or aperture in between the two.
4.    If full sunlight with a beach or snowscape setting is unavoidable, at least position your subject with sun to the side so they don't have to squint directly into sun.
5.    If available, you can bounce light from the sun with a white sheet, poster board or foamcore. You don't need a big piece, just enough to illuminate the face. The upshot is to avoid sharp shadows and great contrast. Some shadow is good on people, because it results in a stronger three-dimensional look. In shooting inanimate objects, less shadow is desirable because you want to see all the detail that shadows may hide.
6.    If the light is too hot, your camera may overexpose the shot or over compensate in auto mode. What you really need is a neutral density filter. These gray filters don't change the quality of the light, just the intensity. They screw on to the front of your lens & come in 2-stop increments. Also, if you want to shoot sky & create fuller & deeper looking images, try a polarizer, it acts like a ND filter but changes the quality of the light much like polarizing sunglasses.

Using Dimmers
In an indoor situation where you have bright light from a table lamp or floor lamp, try using dimmers. Dimmers are very easy to make & you can safely wire one into an extension cord without too much trouble. If you are in a situation where the lights are bright just whip out your hand dandy home made dimmers and make that light as bright or dim as you want without the need to rearrange the furniture. The color temperature of the light will change, but as long as you white balance first, you should be OK.
Make the light work for you. Don't let the light make you work. 


Lighting

Video & Photography, both use light, reflected from subject to create images. Therefore light is a key element. In earlier days, its main function was to provide illumination to subject essential for capturing image on film. But today, lighting can be used to express (or even repress) chosen aspects of subject, such as texture, form, depth, detail & mood.

Characteristics of Lighting
Following are the key features of lighting to bear in mind:


  • Direction
  • Quality / Intensity
  • Evenness
  • Contrast
  • Colour
  • Source




Direction
FRONT LIGHT
Here light source is directly behind the viewer's point of view. This type of lighting is often unappealing if the light source is hard - there are exceptions and in some situations very attractive images can come from soft frontal lighting.

Front lighting doesn’t substantially helps in revealing form or texture since the shadows are mostly hidden from view, as a result it can make things look flat. It can help conceal wrinkles and blemishes and so is quite often used in product shoot.




SIDE LIGHTING
It is good for showing form & texture and lends a three-dimensional quality to objects. Shadows are prominent & contrast can be high as a result.

Side lighting is generally attractive & is often used to great effect: it is the kind of lighting encountered at beginning & end of the day & as such is often seen in photographs.

Potential drawbacks: areas of the image can be lost in shadow, and it can reveal imperfections such as wrinkles.

BACK LIGHTING
Back lighting is where the viewer is looking into the light source. It is usually a high contrast situation and can often look very atmospheric & dramatic.

·         Back lighting can make most mundane subjects look appealing.
·         It is also a very effective way of revealing translucency.
·         Silhouettes are a common feature of backlit scenes.


 TOP LIGHTING
It is slightly more unusual situation. It can be encountered in sunshine at midday, in some interiors & in situations such as stage lighting.

In soft light it is an effective way of showing form. But underneath hard lights one will have black holes for eyes since their eye sockets will be in total shadow.

It is rarely used by artists.
The very fact that it's not often seen, it can be used to create an uncomfortable feeling.


BOTTOM LIGHTING
Lighting from directly below the subject is even more unusual, than top lighting. In a natural context this might happen if someone is standing over a campfire, or holding a torch. It would definitely lend a strange appearance to even the most familiar things since what is usually seen in light & shade would be reversed.

Think of a person shining a torch onto their face from below: the shadows appear to be upside down.

In the very rarity, this kind of lighting can be used to creative effect.




SOURCE OF LIGHT
Natural: Sunlight, Moonlight,
Reflected Daylight etc.
Artificial: Flash, Lamps, Studio Lights, Street Lights etc.

Natural light
Natural light comes in a wide range & difference between them can be enormous. The main source of natural light is sun. However it varies in characteristics at different times of the day & weather conditions, turning it into different forms ranging from hard & warm to soft and cool lighting.
This image probably represents the most straightforward kind of light the sun gives in terms of character.
Being translucent, clouds also have a major impact on colour & character of sunlight. Light traveling through clouds, is deflected by water particles present in them. This causes rays to bounce around & emerge from it in several directions (diffusion).


Natural light is not necessarily outdoor, nor is artificial light exclusively indoor. Some of the best outdoor shots use flash to "fill" harsh shadows, while an indoor scene may rely entirely on filtered window light.
Artificial & Indoor lighting
Light indoors has a different character to that found outside. With human beings in control of light source there is an added twist; that a light is often designed for a specific purpose. e.g. household lights are to give appealing, generally diffused light whereas office lighting is more functional & cost-effective.
Generally, most artificial light sources are diffused (major exception being spotlights) to soften light & shadows it produce. Even sunlight indoors is diffused as it bounces between walls, floors & ceilings.

Household tungsten lights are most commonly encountered form of indoor lights. These use incandescent bulbs & can be found in overhead bulbs to lamps and side lights. The colour of these tungsten lights is strong yellow/orange.
Mixed lighting
Its common to see mixture of natural light & artificial light, especially during dawn & dusk leading to an interesting mixtures of colours & intensities (since natural light & tungsten light have complimentary colours in blue & orange). When using a combination of artificial & natural light, (exterior or interior) one or other of these light sources must be colour corrected.



Firelight and candlelight
Light that comes from a flame is even redder than incandescent light from light bulbs & we actually perceive it as orange / red. These light sources are often placed much lower than incandescent lights & also are often moving as light from fire & candles flickers.



Street lighting
Street lights are deep orange, and they have a very narrow spectrum. This makes everything under them appear very monochromatic orange.
In between two or more street lights objects will cast multiple shadows. And also, pool of light underneath them is quite small & fades into darkness quickly, making streets at night very high in contrast.


Quality / Intensity
Light Quality is used to label effect light has on photograph. Light quality breaks down into two basic types - HARD and SOFT.

Hard Light is very bright and hence creates harsh, hard shadows on a subject. As a result of this, range of details seen of the subject is diminished.
Also depending on the direction of the light, hard shadows make a major impact on the texture and shape of a photo; affecting the mood of a photo dramatically. 
An example of hard lighting can be seen in the photo of cactus plant. Here brightness range or the difference between white & black is too high. 

The solution with hard light is to Soften it with a reflector - to add light to the shadow side.

A pure soft light has NO shadows. It is a light that comes from no specific direction and is often seen on an overcast day. Because there are no shadows, it is called flat lighting because things look flat under this sort of light.
It is diffused, displaying better range of details of the subject.
Soft light is usually a little low in contrast and will often have a brightness range between white and black of less than one f stop or aperture.


Lighting Contrast / Lighting Ratio
It is difference between amount of light falling on shadow areas & areas of subject that are brightly lit. It is usually measured in stops & sometimes expressed as a ratio.

Low contrast images (or images with high key lighting) will not have a high amount of difference in light (usually 2 f-stops or lesser) while in a Low key / High contrast image the amount of light difference will be too high (5 to 7 f-stops).

 High key images generally have predominance of white & tend to look bright & airy. They’re often soft with very light shadows due to amount of reflected light bouncing around. In nature high key lighting is found in fog & snow.

Low key images have very little light in them. Contrast is high & the lighting hard. The most obvious setting for low key lighting is night time, storms and in interiors. To increase or decrease the contrast of a scene, additional lights can be brought in.

Some photographers deliberately work with extreme light contrast. This is usually done to achieve mood of a scene.

COLOUR
To understand the importance of color as a characteristic feature of lighting, one has to first understand that where exactly does colour comes from.

Where Does Color Come From
It is due to selectively absorption & reflection of certain wavelengths of white light.

Therefore colors are primarily affected by color of light source. Sunlight or light from bulb looks white to us (containing mixture of all colors in varying proportions) but in reality the colour of these sources vary considerably.

Light from midday sun, is bluer compared to sunrise or tungsten lamp. To produce what appears to us to be normal/accurate color, image must contain same colors as in original scene.

In order to establish a standard for defining the color content of light, colour temperature is used and quoted in degrees Kelvin.

Color temperature scale ranges from lower color temperatures of reddish light to the higher color temperatures of bluish light.
Colour temperature, as defined in a photographic context, is only concerned with characteristics of the recording medium, & this is measured according to ratio of light between blue & red region.

When light sources of varying colour temperatures are being used together, they should be colour corrected as required to conform to a single colour temperature output. In general you will be matching for either daylight at 5600 degrees Kelvin or artificial light at 3200 degrees Kelvin. A range of colour correction filters, are available for this task.
A camera film balanced for 3200 degrees Kelvin will reproduce images lit by a 5600 degree light source with a blue tint, or conversely a camera balanced for 5600 degrees Kelvin will produce images lit by a 3200 degree light source with an orange tint.


Continuity Problems
Aesthetic Editing Jumps

1)Crossing the Line of Action or Action Axis.

2) Abrupt Changes in Image Size
3) Shooting Angle
4) Continuity of Appearance

Technical continuity problem
Any noticeable, abrupt, or undesirable change in audio or video during a production is referred to as a technical continuity problem

Audio Continuity Problems
Audio continuity problems can be caused by a wide range of factors including shot-to-shot variations in:
background sound
sound ambiance (reverberation in room, mic distance, etc.)
frequency response of mic or audio equipment
audio levels .



Video Continuity Problems
Video has its own continuity problems; for example, changes in:
color balance
light levels; exposure
camera optics; sharpness
recording quality
Entering & Exiting the Frame   

LENSES
Focal length = distance from the optical center of the lens to the focal plane (target or "chip") when the lens is focused at infinity. It is generally measured in millimeters.
Zoom Lenses came into common use in the early 1960s. Before then, TV cameras used lenses of different focal lengths mounted on a turret on the front of the camera, as shown on the right.
Zoom lenses use numerous glass elements, each of which is precisely ground, polished, & positioned & can be repositioned to change magnification of lens. On zoom, these lens elements move independently at precise speeds.

With Prime Lens, focal length of lens cannot be varied. Prime lenses are more predictable in their results. Prime lenses also come in more specialized forms, like, super wide angle, super telephoto, etc.

Angle of View: It is directly associated with lens focal length. Longer the focal length (in mm), narrower the angle of view (in degrees).
 When you double the focal length of a lens, you double the size of an image on the target; and vice versa.

Zoom Ratio
Zoom ratio is conventionally used to define focal length range for a zoom lens. If the maximum range through which a particular lens can be zoomed is 10mm to 100mm, it's said to have a 10:1 (ten-to-one) zoom ratio. But this does not shows that what is the minimum and maximum focal length of lens. A 10:1 zoom lens could have a 10 to 100mm, or a 100 to 1,000mm lens, & the difference would be quite dramatic.
To solve this problem, we refer to the first zoom lens as a 10 X 10 (ten-by-ten) & 2nd as a 100 X 10. First number represents minimum focal length & second number the multiplier. So a 12 X 20 zoom lens has a min focal length of 12mm & a maximum focal length of 240mm.

Motorized Zoom Lenses
Originally, cameraperson manually controlled zoom lens. Today built-in, variable-speed electric motors do a much smoother & more controlled job. We refer to these electric zooms as servo-controlled zooms.

Perspective Changes
 The use of a wide-angle lens combined with a limited camera-to-subject distance creates a type of perspective distortion. The parallel lines along the sides of the building appear to converge toward the top. The building appears to be leaning backward.

You get even more distortion using an extreme wide-angle lens when you get very close to subj. If this is not the effect you want, the solution is to move back & use the lens at a normal-to-telephoto setting.

Lens Speed
Lens speed is the maximum amount of light that can pass through the lens to end up on the target. However we need a way of governing the amount of light entering the lens. For this we use the aperture or iris.
It is measured in f-stops. The "f" stands for factor. An f-stop is ratio between lens opening & lens focal length. More specifically, the f-stop equals the focal length divided by the size of the lens opening.
f-stop = focal length / lens opening
the smaller the f-stop number the more light the lens transmits.
1.4,  2.0,  2.8,  4.0,  5.6,  8,  11,  16,  22
<== more light      less light ==>
Depth of Field
We define depth of field as the range of distance in front of the camera that's in sharp focus.

DIGITAL ZOOM & OPTICAL ZOOM
Most people who have used a 35mm camera or an APS camera are aware of only optical zoom. Optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the camera to bring the subject closer. Digital zoom is an invention of digital video cameras. It is not uncommon to see digital videocams with 300x digital zoom.
For our purpose, digital zoom is not really zoom, in the strictest definition of the term. What digital zoom does is enlarge a portion of the image, thus 'simulating' optical zoom. In other words, the camera crops a portion of the image and then enlarges it back to size. In so doing, you lose image quality. If you've been regularly using digital zoom and wondered why your pictures did not look that great, now you know.
Is digital zoom therefore all bad? No, not at all. It's a feature that you might want in your digital camera (in fact, all digital cameras include some digital zoom, so you can't really avoid it), especially if you don't care about using (or don't know how to use) an image editing software. So, as far as digital zoom is concerned, you can do it in camera or you can do it afterwards in an image editing software. Any cropping and enlarging can be done in an image editing software, such as Photoshop.
So, when a digital camera is advertised with 3x digital zoom, no big deal. You can achieve the same 3x (and in fact as much as you want) digital zoom effect in an image editing software. The advantage of doing it later is that you can then decide exactly which portion to crop and how much to enlarge (3x, 4x, ...). If you do it in camera, image quality is irreversibly lost.
Someone in a digital camera forum once mentioned that he uses digital zoom because it might mean the difference between capturing a great shot or not at all. Umm, let's think about this a bit. True, if by zooming digitally in camera you get to see what your subject is doing and thus can capture the shot at the right moment. Not quite true, if it's something like a landscape shot, and the mountains ain't going nowhere fast, because you can achieve the same cropping and enlarging effect after the fact in your image editing software. So, it's really up to you, if you know what you're doing.
What, therefore is the rule of thumb, when it comes to using zoom? Here it is: Always use optical zoom. When buying a camera, choose one that warns you that you are about to use digital zoom or that allows you to disable digital zoom (most do). If you do use digital zoom, use it only if it does not appreciably impact your image quality. If you rarely print past 4x6 in. photos, digital zoom may not adversely affect you.
When comparing cameras, you should always use optical zoom. There is no point in comparing digital zoom with digital zoom or optical zoom with total zoom. Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom.
Optical Zoom vs. Resolution
What about optical zoom vs. resolution? Sigh! Now y'all know that we cannot and should not be comparing apples 'n oranges, but we still try. The question I often read about goes something like this: "Which is better: 2 megapixels resolution with 3x optical zoom or 3 megapixels resolution with 2x optical zoom?"
The megapixels resolution of a digital camera can be thought of as the number of pixels available to capture an image. With a 2 megapixels camera, you have 2 million pixels to record an image. With a 3 megapixels camera, you have 1 million extra pixels to record the same image -- in other words, you are able to capture the image in more detail.
Whether you zoom or not does not affect how many pixels are used to capture the image. So, zoomed at its maximum, a 2 megapixels 3x optical zoom digital camera will still have captured a 2 million pixels image. Likewise, a 3 megapixels 2x optical zoom digital camera will always capture a 3 million pixels image.
The real question behind the question is, "So now if I use digital zoom to zoom in with the 3 megapixels camera and simulate a total zoom of 3x, will the resultant image quality be less, the same, or still better than the one I captured with the 2 megapixels 3x optical zoom camera?" You follow so far?
With a 2 megapixels digital camera, you can make good 4x6 in. prints, and maybe even 5x7 in. prints. With a 3 megapixels digital camera, you can make good 8x10 in. prints. So, as far as image quality is concerned, the 3 megapixels camera is better. Unless you are always going to take pictures at max. zoom, the 3MP camera is better because at 2x optical zoom and less, it is always capturing images with more detail than the 2MP camera.
What we are really trying to say is this: do not compare. You've got to decide what is more important to you: resolution or optical zoom? If the answer is both, then find a digital camera that has both. It's that simple. If it's outside your pocketbook range, then choose a digital camera for what is more important to you.
We usually recommend buying a digital camera with at least 3 megapixels resolution because of the better image quality. A 2x optical zoom is disappointing, but not necessarily a show-stopper. A 3x optical zoom is standard with most consumer digital cameras. Some ultra-compact digital cameras may be able to provide only 2x optical zoom. We never bother to check how much digital zoom a camera provides, and ignore the marketing hype surrounding it. We always disable digital zoom in camera, choosing to do our own cropping and enlarging in an image editing software.
Optical vs. digital zoom? There is no contest. Only optical zoom matters when selecting a digital camera.
Added September 16, 2004:
Smart Zoom
Recently, a new type of digital zoom has appeared on the market, pioneered by Sony, called "Smart Zoom." Smart Zoom can be viewed as an "ethical" digital zoom which avoids interpolating the image and so avoid degrading image quality. Smart Zoom works only if you select an image size smaller than the full available image size. So, for example, if your digital camera is capable of producing a 5MP image, Smart Zoom is available only if you select to save your images as 4MP or less.
Say, your digital camera is 5MP and you select to save your images as 3MP. So, in effect, you are forfeiting 2MP of image data (extracted from all over the image area) that the digital camera's sensor has captured and now has to throw away [you hope the camera makes the right decision and does not throw away important image data]. Enter Smart Zoom that says, "Hey, instead of throwing away 2MP of good data from all over the image area, why don't I crop out all the pixels starting from the outside perimeter? When I've cropped out 2MP of image data all around, I have 3MP left over and that's what you want, right?" Notice, the 3MP image does not have to be interpolated and enlarged back to 5MP as traditional digital zoom does (because you elected to save it as 3MP, remember?). So, in effect, you've basically more or less retained the same image quality but you have to save your resulting simulated zoomed image in a smaller image size. Of course, if now you turn around and enlarge it in post-processing, you will be limited to what a 3MP image can be enlarged up to without image degradation.
I call Smart Zoom "ethical digital zoom" because it is not made available at full image size -- this would cause image degradation. The smaller you elect to save your image, the more smart zoom power you have available (folks, you're basically just cropping the image without re-enlarging, which you can also do at any time in post-processing). I would personally not recommend cropping down below 3MP, which means that Smart Zoom is useful only in digital cameras with 4MP and above.
So, our recommendation still holds. If you want zoom power, only optical zoom matters! Smart Zoom is the better form of digital zoom, but what you gain in simulated zoom power (again, you're just cropping), you lose in image size. There's no free lunch.
Again, don't buy a digital camera based on digital (traditional or smart) zoom. Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom. If you are comparing 2 digital cameras with the same optical zoom, but one has smart digital zoom and the other has traditional digital zoom, then the smart zoom has a slight advantage. But personally, I wouldn't even look at that because there are a lot more important features to differentiate the cameras.







In many situations, you may want to get "close" to a subject without moving physically closer—for example, when you don't want to break the mood of a scene, when you can't get closer because of an obstacle, or when the object of your attention might enjoy having you for lunch. The zoom control on your digital camera will let you get "close" enough to capture that bigger image. It will also let you zoom out to include a wide angle of view.
Digital cameras may be equipped with an optical zoom lens, optical and digital zoom settings, or a digital zoom only.


What is optical zoom?
Optical zoom lenses physically extend to magnify your subject. A motor controls the lens movement. When you press the switch to "W" or "T," the subject is either magnified or reduced in size. The "W" stands for "wide-angle" (reduce). The "T" stands for "telephoto" (magnify).




What is digital zoom?
Digital zoom crops your image and magnifies the result of the cropping. This magnification process is called interpolation. To make the cropped area bigger, digital zoom makes up, or interpolates, pixels to add to the image, which may give less than satisfactory results.
Using the digital zoom allows you to get closer to your subject when you want to be discreet about taking pictures, like at a graduation or a religious ceremony. Sacrificing image quality to capture the moment is more important than not getting the picture at all.
If you plan to use this mode, purchase a telephoto lens attachment so you don't have to use the digital zoom. Of course, you may use the digital zoom along with the telephoto lens attachment.
Setting up your digital zoom features depends on the type of digital camera you have. In general, the camera will allow you to zoom continuously from optical to digital or stop the optical zoom and then press the zoom switch a second time to engage digital zoom. Check your camera manual to determine your zoom settings.

Writing for Visuals

We do not watch news on TV just to get the latest news. The radio does a better job. We do not prefer television because we want to get all the news: local, national and international. The news paper does a better job.
We, as television viewers, benefit from TV newscasters because they transport us to the scene of action. The news is packaged and delivered to us. For this, a reporter must be able to relate words and pictures in a news story. Words fill in the factual details that pictures omit.
While the pictures are indeed important, it is the narration behind the film, in most instances, that is responsible for the success of visual news stories on television. Poorly written narration can hurt the effectiveness of visuals, but appropriate narration can greatly improve even poorly shot visuals. Writing to background graphics is the same as writing a story to visuals.
There are three basic rules which must be followed by the TV reporter writing for visuals:

a)               Do not cram your video narration full of details.

b)               Relate words to the pictures when telling the story. The narration and pictures must go hand in hand.

c)                Carry the viewer into the story by describing it the way it happened. Although the narrator may begin with a brief opening summary (without pictures) telling the viewer the main points of the story, it should be told as it happened, not necessarily in a chronological order.

Writing narration to blend with the visuals is one of the most difficult skills in broadcast reporting. The language must be crisp, the timing exact and the words have to click with what appears on the screen.


  Carry the viewer into the story by describing it the way it happened. Although the narrator may begin with a brief opening summary (without pictures) telling the viewer the main points of the story, it should be told as it happened, not necessarily in a chronological order.

Writing narration to blend with the visuals is one of the most difficult skills in broadcast reporting. The language must be crisp, the timing exact and the words have to click with what appears on the screen.



 The Nature of a Sound Wave

Sound is a Mechanical Wave

Sound and music are parts of our everyday sensory experience. Just as humans have eyes for the detection of light and color, so we are equipped with ears for the detection of sound. We seldom take the time to ponder the characteristics and behaviors of sound and the mechanisms by which sounds are produced, propagated, and detected. The basis for an understanding of sound, music and hearing is the physics of waves. Sound is a wave which is created by vibrating objects and propagated through a medium from one location to another. In this unit, we will investigate the nature, properties and behaviors of sound waves and apply basic wave principles towards an understanding of music.
As discussed in the previous unit of The Physics Classroom, a wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium, transporting energy from one location to another location. The medium is simply the material through which the disturbance is moving; it can be thought of as a series of interacting particles. The example of a slinky wave is often used to illustrate the nature of a wave. A disturbance is typically created within the slinky by the back and forth movement of the first coil of the slinky. The first coil becomes disturbed and begins to push or pull on the second coil; this push or pull on the second coil will displace the second coil from its equilibrium position. As the second coil becomes displaced, it begins to push or pull on the third coil; the push or pull on the third coil displaces it from its equilibrium position. As the third coil becomes displaced, it begins to push or pull on the fourth coil. This process continues in consecutive fashion, each individual particle acting to displace the adjacent particle; subsequently the disturbance travels through the slinky. As the disturbance moves from coil to coil, the energy which was originally introduced into the first coil is transported along the medium from one location to another.

A sound wave is similar in nature to a slinky wave for a variety of reasons. First, there is a medium which carries the disturbance from one location to another. Typically, this medium is air; though it could be any material such as water or steel. The medium is simply a series of interconnected and interacting particles. Second, there is an original source of the wave, some vibrating object capable of disturbing the first particle of the medium. The vibrating object which creates the disturbance could be the vocal chords of a person, the vibrating string and sound board of a guitar or violin, the vibrating tines of a tuning fork, or the vibrating diaphragm of a radio speaker. Third, the sound wave is transported from one location to another by means of the particle interaction. If the sound wave is moving through air, then as one air particle is displaced from its equilibrium position, it exerts a push or pull on its nearest neighbors, causing them to be displaced from their equilibrium position. This particle interaction continues throughout the entire medium, with each particle interacting and causing a disturbance of its nearest neighbors. Since a sound wave is a disturbance which is transported through a medium via the mechanism of particle interaction, a sound wave is characterized as a mechanical wave.
The creation and propagation of sound waves are often demonstrated in class through the use of a tuning fork. A tuning fork is a metal object consisting of two tines capable of vibrating if struck by a rubber hammer or mallet. As the tines of the tuning forks vibrate back and forth, they begin to disturb surrounding air molecules. These disturbances are passed on to adjacent air molecules by the mechanism of particle interaction. The motion of the disturbance, originating at the tines of the tuning fork and traveling through the medium (in this case, air) is what is referred to as a sound wave. The generation and propagation of a sound wave is demonstrated in the animation below.


In some class demonstrations, the tuning fork is mounted on a sound board. In such instances, the vibrating tuning fork, being connected to the sound board, sets the sound board into vibrational motion. In turn, the sound board, being connected to the air inside of it, sets the air inside of the sound board into vibrational motion. As the tines of the tuning fork, the structure of the sound board, and the inside of the sound board begin vibrating at the same frequency, a louder sound is produced. In fact, the more particles which can be made to vibrate, the louder or more amplified the sound. This concept was also demonstrated by the placement of the vibrating tuning fork against the glass panel of the overhead projector; the vibrating tuning fork set the glass panel into vibrational motion and resulted in an amplified sound.
In the tuning fork demonstrations, we know that the tuning fork is vibrating because we hear the sound which is produced by their vibration. Nonetheless, we do not actually visibly detect any vibrations of the tines. This is because the tines are vibrating at a very high frequency. If the tuning fork which is being used corresponds to middle C on the piano keyboard, then the tines are vibrating at a frequency of 256 Hz - 256 vibrations per second. We are unable to detect vibrations of such high frequency. But perhaps you recall the demonstration in which a high frequency strobe light was used to slow down the vibrations. If he strobe light puts out a flash of light at a frequency of 512 Hz (two times the frequency of the tuning fork), then the tuning fork can be observed to be moving in a back and forth motion. With the room darkened, the strobe allows us to view the position of the tines two times during their vibrational cycle. Thus we see the tines when they are displaced far to the left and again when they are displaced far to the right. This is convincing proof that the tines of the tuning fork are indeed vibrating to produce sound.
In a previous unit of The Physics Classroom, a distinction was made between two categories of waves: mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves are waves which have an electric and magnetic nature and are capable of traveling through a vacuum. Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium in order to transport their energy. Mechanical waves are waves which require a medium in order to transport their energy from one location to another. Because mechanical waves rely on particle interaction in order to transport their energy, they cannot travel through regions of space which are devoid of particles. That is, mechanical waves cannot travel through a vacuum. This feature of mechanical waves was demonstrated in class using a segment from a laser disc. A ringing bell was placed in a jar and air was evacuated from the jar. Once air was removed from the jar, the sound of the ringing bell could no longer be heard. The clapper could be seen striking the bell. but the sound which it produced could not be heard because there were no particles inside of the jar to transport the disturbance through the vacuum. Sound is a mechanical wave and cannot travel through a vacuum.

Sound is a Longitudinal Wave

In the first part of Lesson 1, it was mentioned that sound is a mechanical wave which is created by a vibrating object. The vibrations of the object set particles in the surrounding medium in vibrational motion, thus transporting energy through the medium. The vibrations of the particles are best described as longitudinal. Longitudinal waves are waves in which the motion of the individual particles of the medium is in a direction which is parallel to the direction of energy transport. A longitudinal wave can be created in a slinky if the slinky is stretched out in a horizontal direction and the first coils of the slinky are vibrated horizontally. In such a case, each individual coil of the medium is set into vibrational motion in directions parallel to the direction which the energy is transported.


Sound waves are longitudinal waves because particles of the medium through which the sound is transported vibrate parallel to the direction which the sound moves. A vibrating string can create longitudinal waves as depicted in the animation below. As the vibrating string moves in the forward direction, it begins to push upon surrounding air molecules, moving them to the right towards their nearest neighbor. This causes the air molecules to the right of the string to be compressed into a small region of space. As the vibrating string moves in the reverse direction (leftward), it lowers the pressure of the air immediately to its right, thus causing air molecules to move back leftward. The lower pressure to the right of the string causes air molecules in that region immediately to the right of the string to expand into a large region of space. The back and forth vibration of the string causes individual air molecules (or a layer of air molecules) in the region immediately to the right of the string to continually move back and forth horizontally; the molecules move rightward as the string moves rightward and then leftward as the string moves leftward. These back and forth vibrations are imparted to adjacent neighbors by particle interaction; thus, other surrounding particles begin to move rightward and leftward, thus sending a wave to the right. Since air molecules (the particles of the medium) are moving in a direction which is parallel to the direction which the wave moves, the sound wave is referred to as a longitudinal wave. The result of such longitudinal vibrations is the creation of compressions and rarefactions within the air.


Regardless of the source of the sound wave - whether it be a vibrating string or the vibrating tines of a tuning fork - sound is a longitudinal wave. And the essential characteristic of a longitudinal wave which distinguishes it from other types of waves is that the particles of the medium move in a direction parallel to the direction of energy transport.


Sound is a Pressure Wave

Sound is a mechanical wave which results from the longitudinal motion of the particles of the medium through which the sound wave is moving. If a sound wave is moving from left to right through air, then particles of air will be displaced both rightward and leftward as the energy of the sound wave passes through it. The motion of the particles parallel (and anti-parallel) to the direction of the energy transport is what characterizes sound as a longitudinal wave.
A vibrating tuning fork is capable of creating such a longitudinal wave. As the tines of the fork vibrate back and forth, they push on neighboring air particles. The forward motion of a tine pushes air molecules horizontally to the right and the backward retraction of the tine creates a low pressure area allowing the air particles to move back to the left. Because of the longitudinal motion of the air particles, there are regions in the air where the air particles are compressed together and other regions where the air particles are spread apart. These regions are known as compressions and rarefactions respectively. The compressions are regions of high air pressure while the rarefactions are regions of low air pressure. The diagram below depicts a sound wave created by a tuning fork and propagated through the air in an open tube. The compressions and rarefactions are labeled.

The wavelength of a wave is merely the distance which a disturbance travels along the medium in one complete wave cycle. Since a wave repeats its pattern once every wave cycle, the wavelength is sometimes referred to as the length of the repeating pattern - the length of one complete wave. For a transverse wave, this length is commonly measured from one wave crest to the next adjacent wave crest, or from one wave trough to the next adjacent wave trough. Since a longitudinal wave does not contain crests and troughs, its wavelength must be measured differently. A longitudinal wave consists of a repeating pattern of compressions and rarefactions. Thus, the wavelength is commonly measured as the distance from one compression to the next adjacent compression or the distance from one rarefaction to the next adjacent rarefaction.
Since a sound wave consists of a repeating pattern of high pressure and low pressure regions moving through a medium, it is sometimes referred to as a pressure wave. If a detector, whether it be the human ear or a man-made instrument, is used to detect a sound wave, it would detect fluctuations in pressure as the sound wave impinges upon the detecting device. At one instant in time, the detector would detect a high pressure; this would correspond to the arrival of a compression at the detector site. At the next instant in time, the detector might detect normal pressure. And then finally a low pressure would be detected, corresponding to the arrival of a rarefaction at the detector site. Since the fluctuations in pressure as detected by the detector occur at periodic and regular time intervals, a plot of pressure vs. time would appear as a sine curve. The crests of the sine curve correspond to compressions; the troughs correspond to rarefactions; and the "zero point" corresponds to the pressure which the air would have if there were no disturbance moving through it. The diagram below depicts the correspondence between the longitudinal nature of a sound wave and the pressure-time fluctuations which it creates.


The above diagram can be somewhat misleading if you are not careful. The representation of sound by a sine wave is merely an attempt to illustrate the sinusoidal nature of the pressure-time fluctuations. Do not conclude that sound is a transverse wave which has crests and troughs. Sound is indeed a longitudinal wave with compressions and rarefactions. As sound passes through a medium, the particles of that medium do not vibrate in a transverse manner. Do not be misled - sound is a longitudinal wave.

SOUND RECODING & THEORY PRACTICE
THE NATURE OF SOUND


The Sound Wave


Sound begins when an object vibrates and sets into motion molecules in the air closest to it. These molecules pass on their energy to adjacent molecules, starting a reaction - a sound wave - which is much like the waves that result when a stone is dropped into a pool.  
The transfer of momentum from one displaced molecule to the next propagates the original vibrations longitudinally from the vibrating object to the hearer 



Sound Motion in Air - Elasticity
What makes this reaction possible is air or, more precisely, a molecular medium with the property of elasticity.

 Elasticity is the phenomenon in which a displaced molecule tends to pull back to its original position after its initial momentum has caused it to displace nearby molecules. 

  Sound Motion in Air - Compression
As a vibrating object moves outward, it compresses molecules closer together, increasing atmospheric pressure.
Compression continues away from the object as the momentum of the disturbed molecules displaces adjacent molecules and so produces a crest in the sound wave.    


Sound Motion in Air - Rarefaction
When a vibrating object moves inward, it pulls the molecules farther apart and thins them, creating a rarefaction.  
This rarefaction also travels away from the object in a manner similar to compression, except that it decreases pressure, thereby producing a trough in the sound wave.  
Audio Control Devices: Boards, Consoles, & Mixers

Various sources of audio must be carefully controlled and blended during a production.
Beyond this, audio sources must also be carefully & even artistically blended to create the best possible effect.

The control of audio signals is normally done in a TV studio or production facility with an audio board or audio console.
 
Audio boards and consoles are designed to do five things.
1.Amplify incoming signals
2.Allow for switching & volume level adjustments for a variety of audio sources
3.Allow for creatively mixing together and balancing multiple audio sources to achieve an optimum blend
4.Route the combined effect to a transmission or recording device
5.Manipulate specific characteristics of audio (including left-to-right "placement" of stereo sources, altering frequency characteristics of sounds, and adding reverberation)
For video field production smaller units called audio mixers provide the most basic controls over audio.

Audio Mixer Controls
Audio mixers & consoles use 2 types of controls:
1.selector switches
2. faders. 

Monitoring of Sound
Level Control and Mixing
Audio mixing goes up to the total subjective effect as heard through the speakers or earphones.
During long pauses in narration you will probably want to increase the level of the music somewhat, and then bring it down just before narration starts again.

In selecting music to go behind narration, instrumental music is always preferred.
 





Using Audio From PA Systems
In covering musical concerts or stage productions a direct line from a professionally mixed PA (public address) system will result in decidedly better audio than using a mic to pick up sound from a PA speaker.
An appropriate line-level output of a public address amplifier fed to a high-level input of a mixer can be used. However, be careful, feeding a high-level PA signal to a mic input can damage the amplifier.
 
VX-2000
Part number: DCR-VX2000

General
·         Video input type
·         Camcorder
·         Digital zoom
·         48 x
·         Optical sensor size
·         1/3 in
·         Optical sensor type
·         3CCD
·         Min illumination
·         2 lux
·         Image effects
·         Slim, Sepia, Still, Trail, Stretch, Monotone, Old Movie, Flash Motion, Negative Art, Solarization, Black & White, Luminance Key
·         Image stabilizer
·         Optical
·         Video head qty
·         2
·         PCM digital sound
·         16bit (48KHz / 2 channels), 12bit (32KHz / 4 channels simultaneously)
·         Digital scene transition
·         Random, Black fader, Overlap fader, Monotone fader
·         Min shutter speed
·         1/60 sec
·         Max shutter speed
·         1/10000 sec
·         Slow shutter modes
·         1/4sec, 1/8sec, 1/15sec, 1/30sec
·         Shooting modes
·         Normal movie mode, Digital photo mode
·         Shooting programs
·         Night mode, Lesson mode, Sports mode, Sunset & moon, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority
·         White balance
·         Presets, Automatic
·         White balance presets
·         Indoor, Outdoor
·         Exposure modes
·         Manual, Program, Automatic
·         Flash type
·         None
Lens System
·         Lens aperture
·         F/1.6-2.4
·         Optical zoom
·         12 x
·         Lens system type
·         Zoom lens
·         Min focal length
·         6 mm
·         Max focal length
·         72 mm
·         Auto focus
·         TTL contrast detection
·         Filter size
·         58 mm
·         Equivalent 35mm focal length
·         43.2 - 518.4 mm
·         Manual focus
·         Manual, Automatic
·         Zoom adjustment
·         Manual, Motorized drive
Memory / Storage
·         Media type
·         Mini DV
·         Image storage
·         Standard 640 x 480 : 60 - With 4MB card, Fine 640 x 480 : 40 - With 4MB card, Super-fine 640 x 480 : 20 - With 4MB card
·         Flash memory
·         1 x 4 MB - Memory Stick
·         Recording speed
·         LP, SP
Viewfinder / Display
·         Display type
·         LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
·         Display form factor
·         Rotating (270°)
·         Display resolution
·         200,640 pixels
·         Viewfinder color support
·         Color
Audio Input
·         Audio input type
·         Microphone
·         Microphone type
·         Built-in
·         Microphone operation mode
·         Stereo
·         Microphone technology
·         Electret condenser
Expansion / Connectivity
·         Connections
·         1 x Microphone, 1 x Headphones, 1 x Composite video/audio (input/output), 1 x S-Video input / output, 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.LINK), 1 x Control-L (LANC), 1 x Flash terminal, 1 x DC power input
·         Expansion slots
·         1 Memory Stick
·         Cables included
·         1 x A/V cable, 1 x S-Video cable
Additional Features
·         Video input features
·         DPOF support, Built-in speaker, Backlight compensation, Progressive scan CCD system
·         Remote control
·         Remote control - Infrared
·         Software type
·         Picture Gear 4.1 Lite
·         Included accessories
·         Eyepiece, Lens cap, Lens hood, Software kit, Memory storage adapter, Camcorder shoulder strap
Power
·         Battery type
·         1 x Camcorder battery - Rechargeable - Lithium ion
·         Mfr estimated battery life
·         90 min
·         Power supply included
·         Power adapter - External
Physical Characteristics
·         Width
·         4.5 in
·         Depth
·         13.5 in
·         Height
·         5.7 in
·         Weight
·         3.1 lbs

                 Video Cameras
Just like a still photography camera, the basic requirement for a video camera is also LIGHT.
The sensitivity of camera towards light is dependent upon the quality of camera.
In order to establish a standard for defining the color content and camera’s sensitivity towards light, colour temperature is used.
   


CAMERA;TYPES OF VIDEO CAMERA

During more than five decades of existence of television industry ,the video camera has undergone a number of important changes. A half century ago there was only one kind of color television camera, a massive heavy device with three huge image sensing tubes these tubes were very larger than any Broadcast T.V. Camera today.


But today advancement in technology and in video processing makes video a great medium of communication .Video shoot will recoded on C.C.D (charge couple device camera)/digital handy camera, since the result is that the image quality is better



 



                 MAJOR CAMERA                 
COMPONENTS


All camera have three major components:

1.The lens that transmitted the light into the camera body and form the image on the camera sensor.
2.The camera head/Body containing the camera image sensor.
3.The view finder that allows the camera to compose the elements making up of a shot
        In earlier days there were basically tubes type Camera were used to form the image but now due to the advancement in technology the C.C.D (charge couple device) camera will be introduce to carry forward the function.
CAMERA
We all know that Lens capture the light reflected from the surface or scene and transmit it to the light senstative surface of the camera .In the camera the light senstative surface is either of a sold state or an older tube type imagining device which is used to convert the light energy intoelectrical energy. In video production there are basically two types of camera:
1.Photo conductive tube type camera(till,1960-70)
2.Charge couple device camera (C.C.D) till date   
In early days till mid 1960-70most of the camera produces B/W (monochrome) image. In those days the camera, light rays are reflected by the surface, reaches  the tube type imaging devices inside the camera called a vacuum tube These tube mainly converts the signals of light energy identical patterns of electrical energy
1.THE PHOTO CONDUCTIVE TUBE CAMERAS;
The Photo conductive tube is made up of glasses. light rays reflected from the surface of the lens are splits into three major components RED,GREEN,BLUE. usually called the RGB factor .The optical prism system which in turns which in turns project them to photo senstative tube. The tubes follows these path in a very identical manner any misbalance to this internal system. 
The prism block after receiving three components Red, Green, Blue. through the lens surface reflected down the blue color down to the imaging device designated for blue & similarly reflected up the red pattern upward to the imaging device red. But the prism block only allows only the green component to pass through throw them to straight to the imaging device designated to green  these three colors are re-arrange themselves to form an image inside the camera.
THE PRISM BLOCK: The prism block is highly senstative to camera. It is consist of the sensor associated with each of the color component of the light source which is highly fixed in the company at the time of designing the camera any displacement to this alignment of sensor or prism may cause damage to the whole camera & require the full replacement of the camera body.
CHARGED COUPLE DEVICE CAMERA (CCD) The change coupled device or (CCD) is also called a chip which is demonstrated in 1967.
      In the charged coupled device instead of photoconductive tubes the signal are formed into tiny discrete pixels which when formed are coupled with its associated longer to form an image which go to the system of the camera. Each compromised with a light sensitive material and a storage device.
There are various characteristic of C.C.D:
1.LONGITIVITY
2.STABILLITY
3.POWER
4.STRENGTH.
CAMERA TYPES
1.STILL PHTOGRAPHY CAMERA
2.FILM CAMERA
3.VIDEO CAMERA
Video Camera
1.Electronic News Gathering Camera
Studio Camera
2.Vacume Tube Camera
SINGLE CCD CAMERA
2 CCD CAMERA
3 CCD CAMERA

ENG CAMERA
Portable
Has VTR
Is used for all field recordings

STUDIO CAMERA
Does not have VTR
Only gives an output which is cut
  by Vision Mixer in PCR (Production
  control room)
Is used for all Live transmissions and
  recordings.

Single CCD Camera
Single CCD
Used both for Chrominance and Luminance
Cheap but Quality is not very professional

Two CCD Camera
Two CCD
One for Chrominance & second for Luminance
A little expensive than single CCD.
Quality is better but can not be called professional

Three CCD Camera
Three CCD
One for each Primary Colour + Luminance
üRed + Luminance
üGreen + Luminance
üBlue + Luminance
Expensive than previous two models.
Professional Quality.

Pickup Tube/ Vacuum tube Camera
Three tubes filled with gas
One for each Primary Colour + Luminance
üRed + Luminance
üGreen + Luminance
üBlue + Luminance
Very Poor Quality, Now Obsolete.

VIDEO FORMATS
1. ANALOG
2. DIGITAL
3. OPTICAL

VHS
Developed by JDC

Width is ½ inch

Lines of resolution – 180

Consumer quality, became highly popular                                                                            
BETA MAX

Developed by SONY
Width is ½ inch
Lines of resolution – 180
Difference between VHS &  Betamax is just the casing
Betamax is now obsolete.


U-MATIC

 Width is ¾ inch
Lines of resolution –
Low band - 220
High band - 240
Superior band - 280
Initially used for industrial & broadcast purpose


BETACAM
  introduced by Sony
   Betacam - 1982;
   BetacamSP – 1986
 LoR – 550-700
UVW
PVW
BVW
Tape width – ½ inch

HI-8
  Developed by Sony
 LoR – 400
Tape width – ¼ inch
Preferred because of small size


Super-VHS
Developed by
   Panasonic
LoR – 250-400
Tape width – ¼ inch
Comparable format to Hi-8, Obsolete from market now.


Mini - DV
Developed by Sony
LoR – 500-600
Tape width - 1/8th  inch
Small size, High quality, recordable on
DV – SP
DV – LP
DV – CAM 






DVC Pro

Developed by Panasonic

LoR – 500-600
Tape width - 1/8th  inch
Format comparable to DV-CAM, good format but expensive, low backup in delhi.





Digi-Beta



Developed by Sony
LoR – 800
Tape width - 1/4th  inch
Combines the advantages of Beta and Digital recording.


High Definition
Developed by Sony
LoR – 2000
Tape width - 1/8th  inch
Video’s answer to film, but incompatible with all other formats

Optical Disc

DVDs, CDs Hard Discs etc