Camera Facilities
Camera facilities vary with design, but many are universal.
The camera lens
Most electronic cameras are fitted with a zoom lens. This can be adjusted to any coverage angle within its range; e.g. from 80° to 10° (a 6 to 1 ratio; 6:1). If this variation is insufficient, your options are:
• Fit a different zoom lens system. Designs of up to 44:1 are available..
• Clip on a supplementary lens or add an adaptor ring.
• Some zoom lenses include an extender lens/range extender, which can be flipped in/out to select two different ranges.
On a shoulder-mounted camera, the operator reaches round (left hand) to adjust.the focus (distance), the f-stop (iris, aperture), and the manual zoom control (lever on barrel-ring). The right hand supports the camera, with-fingers on a rocker-switch controlling motorized zooming.
When the camera is fixed onto a mounting, both focus and zoom systems are usually extended by cable, to separate controls on the pan bars/panning handles, for easier access. In larger camera units, focus may be controlled by a knob at the right side of the camera head.
Many cameras have the choice of manual focusing, or ‘autofocus’ (automatic focusing), which self-adjusts the lens for maximum sharpness.
The viewfinder
Adjustments to viewfinder controls (e.g. brightness, contrast) do not affect the camera’s picture output. To make exact focusing easier, an inbuilt magnifier effectively enlarges the picture and electronic ‘crispening’ circuits emphasize edge contrast.
Viewfinders may be switchable, to allow another camera’s picture to be superimposed (to match shots), or to display technical test patterns (e.g. color bars) when checking the system’s performance.
Indicators
Various indicators may be provided on the viewfinder (lights, meters, on-screen displays) which give the camera operator information about the system. Typically these include, ‘on-air (cue-light)’ or ‘recording’ (tally) light, white balance, backlight correction, battery alarm, boost setting, low light warning, shutter speed, video level (exposure).
Additional indicators may give information about the attached videotape recorder: low battery alarm, tape end warning, playback/recording, elapsed/ remaining time.
Further indicators may be provided outside, on the sides and rear of the camera.
Audio
The camera operator’s headset has an intercom mike, and may be fed with program sound in one earpiece, while the other provides general Intercom/ talkback and a private-wire intercom to the video engineer/video control, or the technical director.
A The camera head
1 Lens hood (sun shade, ray shade)
2 Zoom lens
3 Adjustable panning handle (pan handle, pan bar)
4 Twist-grip zoom control
5 Focus control (many camers yse a control mounted on a panning handle – RHS)
6 Shot box (mounted on the camera head, or on a panning handle – RHS)
7 Monochrome viewfinder (perhaps with magnifying lens).
8 Viewfinder controls (including hi-peaker, crispening image detail)
9 Indicators mimic tally light, lens-aperture indicator (f-stop), loom lens setting (focal length/lens angle), etc
10 Camera card clip
11 Headset jack points (intercom and program) with volume controls. Mixed . viewfinder feeds switch
12 Zoom lens range-extender switch
13 Call button (contacts shader/vtdeo control).
14 Camera moyntirig. head (panning head/pan head) with drag adjustment for tilt and pan action, and tilt/pan locks. Also tilt fore-aft balance adjustment
15 Tally light with camera number, illuminated when camera selected to line on switcher.
B Focal lenfth (lens angle) may be adjusted manually (zoom lever on lens barrel), or with a motor system (power zoom) operated by a rocker-switch from wide . angle to telephoto (narrow angle). Nearby switches also control the lens aperture (iris) auto, manual, remote control.