Camera Basics

ARTV 1351-Digital Video
Robert Flowers, Instructor

Camera Lecture

1) Roughly touch on last weeks Topics: ASPECT RATIO, VIDEO STANDARDS

1a) Set-up camera and tripod: TALK ABOUT PARTS of CAMERA
-Prime lenses – fixed focal length (E.I 35mm, 50mm) 35mm= How one sees
-Zoom Lenses – Wide to telephoto (E.I. 12mm to 120mm or 10:1)
-Macro lenses- used to get an extreme close-up, magnifies image.
-Lens Care- use lens tissue and cleaner, can use very soft “Kleenex” tissues
-KEEP LENS CAP ON CAMERA IF NOT USING!

-Focal length- the distance from the lens to the camera’s CCD, usually measured in millimeters

2) Aperture: The opening at the rear of the lens. The camera’s lens focuses light through the aperture onto the focal plane “the CCD (charge coupled device)”

3) Iris: This controls the size of the aperture.

4) f-stop: measurement of the size of the aperture

5) Diopter: small ring on viewfinder in front of eye cup adjusts focus for your eye

6) Viewfinder: eyepiece viewfinder and Flip-out LCD for framing subject(s).

7) Focus: lens elements move forward or backward in relation to the focus plane, which brings the incoming light into focus on the CCD itself.

8 ) Neutral Density filter or ND: cuts down the amount of light that reaches the CCD, usually numbered 1, 2, 3 the latter stopping the most light.

9) UV Filter: cuts haze, protects lens

10) Shutter Speed: Low = ¼ sec. 1/10000 sec. = High. With a high Shutter speed you can pick out fine details but removes the motion blur and image appears “jerky”.

11) White Balance: camera must see White correctly to Balance Color. DV cameras all have AUTO White Balance.

12) Digital Zoom: STAY AWAY “Low Resolution” (unless you are specifically looking for that effect, the image pixilates like zooming in on an image in Photoshop).

13) Manual Control/Override: control of Focus, Zoom, Aperture by means of a manual – non-automatic method

14) Image stabilization: compensates for camera shake. The lighter the camera the harder it is to hold steady.

15) In Camera Special Effects: “cheesy” aesthetically poor video effects, STAY AWAY!

16) Tripod, Steadicam: Holds camera steady, eliminates “jitter’.

17) Digital video cameras record to a wide range of media: Mini-DV tape, Compact Flash cards, Hard-drives, Memory Sticks, P2 cards etc.

VIDEO CAMERA SHUTTER DEMO YouTube