A professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic
moving images. Originally developed for use in television studios, they are now
also used for music videos, direct-to-video movies, corporate and
educational videos, marriage videos etc. Since the 2010s, most of the
professional video cameras are digital professional video cameras.
With the advent of digital video capture in the 2000s, the distinction between
professional video cameras and movie cameras disappeared as the intermittent
mechanism became the same. Nowadays, mid-range cameras exclusively used for
television and other works are termed as professional video cameras.
History Earliest video cameras were mechanical
flying-spot scanners which were in use in the 1920s and 1930s during the period
of mechanical television. Improvements in video camera tubes in the 1930s
ushered in the era of electronic television. Earlier, cameras were very
large devices, almost always in two sections. The camera section held the
lens and tube pre-amps and other necessary electronics, and was connected
with a large diameter multicore cable to the rest of the camera electronics,
usually mounted in a rack. The rack would be in a separate room in the
studio, or in a remote truck. The camera head could not generate a video picture
signal on its own. The video signal was output from the rack unit to the rest of
the studio for switching and transmission. By the fifties, electronic
miniaturization had progressed to the point where some monochrome cameras
could operate stand alone and even be handheld. But the studio configuration
remained, with the large cable bundle transmitting the signals back to the
CCU. The CCU in turn was used to align and operate the camera's functions, such
as exposure, system timing, and video and black levels.
The first color cameras, notably the RCA TK-40/41 series, were much more complex
with their three pickup tubes, and the size and weight drastically increased.
Handheld color cameras did not come into general use until the early 1970s - the
first generation of cameras were split into a camera head unit connected via a
cable bundle to a backpack CCU. The Ikegami HL-33, the RCA TK45 and the
Thomson Microcam were portable two piece color cameras introduced in the early
1970s. For field work a separate VTR was still required to record the camera's
video output. Typically this was either a portable 1" reel to reel VTR, or a
portable 3/4" U-matic VCR. Typically, the two camera units would be carried by
the camera operator, while a tape operator would carry the portable
recorder. With the introduction of the RCA TK76 in 1976, camera operators were
finally able to carry on their shoulders a one piece camera containing all the
electronics to output a broadcast quality composite video signal. A
separate videotape recording unit was still required.
Electronic news-gathering cameras rapidly replaced the 16mm film cameras
for TV news production around 1940s because the cost of shooting on film was
significantly more than shooting on a reusable tape. Portable video tape
production also enabled much faster turnaround time for the quick completion
of news stories, compared to the need to chemically process film before it could
be shown or edited. However some news feature stories for weekly news magazine
shows continued to use 16mm film cameras until the 1990s.
At first all these cameras used tube based sensors, but CCD imagers came on
the scene in the mid-80s, bringing numerous benefits. Early CCD cameras
could not match the colour or resolution of their tube counterparts, but the
benefits of CCD technology, such as introducing smaller and lightweight
cameras, a better and more stable image and no need for calibration meant
development on CCD imagers quickly took off and, once rivaling and offering a
superior image to a tube sensor, began displacing tube-based cameras - the
latter of which were all but disused by the early 1990s. Eventually, cameras
with the recorder permanently mated to the camera head became the norm for ENG.
In studio cameras, the camera electronics shrank, and CCD imagers
replaced the pickup tubes. The thick multi-core cables connecting the camera
head to the CCU were replaced in the late seventies with triax connections, a
slender video cable that carried multiple video signals, intercom audio,
and control circuits, and could be run for a mile or more. As the camera
innards shrunk, the electronics no longer dictated the size of the
enclosure, however the box shape remained, as it is necessary to hold the
large studio lenses, teleprompters, electronic viewfinder, and other
paraphernalia needed for studio and sports production. Electronic Field
Production cameras were often mounted in studio configurations inside a mounting
cage. This cage supported the additional studio accessories.
In the late 1990s, as HDTV broadcasting commenced, HDTV cameras suitable for
news and general purpose work were introduced. Though they delivered much
better image quality, their overall operation was identical to their
standard definition predecessors. New methods of recording for cameras were
introduced to supplant video tape, tapeless cameras. Ikegami and Avid
introduced EditCam in 1996, based on interchangeable hard drives. Panasonic
introduced P2 cameras. These recorded a DVCPro signal on interchangeable flash
memory media. Several other data storage device recording systems were
introduced, notably XDCAM from Sony. Sony also introduced SxS, a flash memory
standard compliant to the Sony and Sandisk-created ExpressCard standard.
Eventually flash storage largely supplanted other forms of recording
media. In 2000s, major manufacturers like Sony,
Philips introduced the digital professional video cameras. These
cameras used CCD sensors and recorded video digitally on flash storage. These
were followed by digital HDTV cameras. As digital technology improved and also
due to digital television transition, digital professional video cameras have
become dominant in television studios, ENG, EFP and even in other areas since
2010s. = Chronology =
1926 to 1933 "cameras" were a type of flying spot scanner using mechanical
disk. 1936 saw the arrival of RCA's iconoscope
camera. 1946 RCA's TK-10 studio camera used a 3"
IO - Image Orthicon Tube with a 4 lens turret. The RCA TK-30 was widely used as
a Field Camera. A TK-30 is simply a TK-10 with a portable camera control
unit. The 1948 Dumont Marconi MK IV was an
Image Orthicon Camera. Marconi's first camera was shown in 1938. EMI cameras
from the UK, were used in the US in the early 1960s, like the EMI 203/4. Later
in the 60s the EMI 2000 and EMI 2001. In 1950 the arrival of the Vidicon
camera tube made smaller cameras possible. 1952 saw the first
Walkie-Lookie "portable cameras". Image Orthicon tubes were still used till the
arrival of the Plumbicon. The RCA TK-40 is considered to be the
first color television camera for broadcasts in 1953. RCA continued its
lead in the high-end camera market till the TK-47, last of the high-end tube
cameras from RCA. 1954 RCA's TK-11 studio camera used a 3"
IO - Image Orthicon Tube with a 4 lens turret. The RCA TK-31 was widely used as
a Field Camera. A TK-31 is simply a TK-11 with a portable camera control
unit. There is some commonality between the TK-11/TK-31 and the earlier
TK-10/TK-30. Ikegami introduced the first truly
portable hand-held TV camera in 1962. Philips' line of Norelco cameras were
also very popular with models such as PC-60, PC-70 and PCP-90.
Philips/BTS-Broadcast Television Systems Inc. later came out with an LDK line of
camera, like its last high end tube camera the LDK 6. Philips invented the
Plumbicon pick up Video camera tube in 1965, that gave tube cameras a cleaner
picture. BTS introduced its first HandHeld Frame transfer CCD-
Charge-coupled device-CCD camera the LDK90 in 1987.
Bosch Fernseh marketed a line of high end cameras in the US ending with the
tube camera KCK-40. Image Transform used specially modified 24 frame KCK-40 for
their "Image Vision" system. This had a 10 MHz bandwidth twice NTSC resolution.
This was a custom pre HDTV video System. At its peak this system was used to make
"Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl" in 1982. This was the first major
high-definition analog wideband videotape-to-film post production using
a film recorder for film out. In the 2000s, major manufacturers like
Sony, Philips introduced the flash storage based digital television
cameras. Since the 2010s, these digital cameras have become most widely used of
all other systems. Usage types
Most professional cameras utilize an optical prism block directly behind the
lens. This prism block separates the image into the three primary colors,
red, green, and blue, directing each color into a separate charge-coupled
device or Active pixel sensor mounted to the face of each prism. Some high-end
consumer cameras also do this, producing a higher-resolution image, with better
color fidelity than is normally possible with just a single video pickup.
In both single sensor and triple sensor designs, the weak signal created by the
sensors is amplified before being encoded into analog signals for use by
the viewfinder and also encoded into digital signals for transmission and
recording. The analog outputs were normally in the form of either a
composite video signal, which combined the color and luminance information to a
single output; or an R-Y B-Y Y component video output through three separate
connectors. The digital outputs are in form of a HDMI output.
= Studio cameras = Most television studio cameras stand on
the floor, usually with pneumatic or hydraulic mechanisms called pedestals to
adjust the height, and are usually on wheels. Any video camera when used along
with other video cameras in a multiple-camera setup is controlled by a
device known as CCU, to which they are connected via a Triax, Fibre Optic or
the almost obsolete multicore cable. The CCU along with genlock and other
equipment is installed in the production control room often known as the Gallery
of the television studio. When used outside a formal television studio in
outside broadcasting, they are often on tripods that may or may not have wheels.
Initial models used analog technology, but are now obsolete, supplanted by
digital models. Studio cameras are light and small enough to be taken off the
pedestal and the lens changed to a smaller size to be used on a
Multiple-camera setup's shoulder. Cameras can be mounted on a tripod, a
dolly or a crane, thus making the cameras much more versatile than
previous generations of studio cameras. These cameras have a tally light, a
small signal-lamp used that indicates, for the benefit of those being filmed as
well as the camera operator, that the camera is 'live' - i.e. its signal is
being used for the 'main program' at that moment.
= ENG cameras = ENG video cameras were originally
designed for use by news camera operators. While they have some
similarities to the smaller consumer camcorder, they differ in several
regards: ENG cameras are larger and heavier, and
usually supported by a camera shoulder support or shoulder stock on the camera
operator's shoulder, taking the weight off the hand, which is freed to operate
the zoom lens control. The camera mounts on tripods with Fluid
heads and other supports with a quick release plate.
3 CCDs or CMOS active pixel sensors are used, one for each of the primary colors
They have interchangeable lenses. The lens is focused manually and
directly, without intermediate servo controls. However the lens zoom and
focus can be operated with remote controls with a television studio
configuration operated by a camera control unit.
A rotating behind-the-lens filter wheel, for selecting an 85A and neutral density
filters. Controls that need quick access are on
hard physical switches, all in the same general place on the camera,
irrespective of the camera manufacturer, such as Gain Select, White/Black
balance, color bar select, and record start controls and not in menu
selection. All settings, white balance, focus, and
iris can be manually adjusted, and automatics can be completely disabled.
Professional BNC connectors for video out and genlock in.
Can operate an electronic viewfinder or external CRT viewfinder.
At least two XLR input connectors for audio are included.
Direct slot-in for portable wireless microphones.
Audio is adjusted manually, with easily accessed physical knobs.
A complete time code section is available, allowing time presets;
multiple-camera setups can be time code-synchronized or jam synced to a
master clock. "Bars and tone" are available in-camera
Bars, a reference signal that simplifies calibration of monitors and setting
levels when duplicating and transmitting the picture. )
Recording is to a professional medium like some variant of Betacam or DVCPRO
or Direct to disk recording or flash memory. If as in the latter two, it's a
data recording, much higher data rates are used than in consumer devices.
= EFP Cameras = Electronic Field Production cameras are
similar to studio cameras in that they are used primarily in multiple camera
switched configurations, but outside the studio environment, for concerts, sports
and live news coverage of special events. These versatile cameras can be
carried on the shoulder, or mounted on camera pedestals and cranes, with the
large, very long focal length zoom lenses made for studio camera mounting.
These cameras have no recording ability on their own, and transmit their signals
back to the broadcast truck through a fiber optic, triax or the virtually
obsolete multicore cable. = Others =
Remote cameras are typically very small camera heads designed to be operated by
remote control. Despite their small size, they are often capable of
performance close to that of the larger ENG and EFP types.
Block cameras are so called because the camera head is a small block, often
smaller than the lens itself. Some block cameras are completely self-contained,
while others only contain the sensor block and its pre-amps, thus requiring
connection to a separate camera control unit in order to operate. All the
functions of the camera can be controlled from a distance, and often
there is a facility for controlling the lens focus and zoom as well. These
cameras are mounted on pan and tilt heads, and may be placed in a stationary
position, such as atop a pole or tower, in a corner of a broadcast booth, or
behind a basketball hoop. They can also be placed on robotic dollies, at the end
of camera booms and cranes, or "flown" in a cable supported harness, as shown
in the illustration. Lipstick cameras are so called because
the lens and sensor block combined are similar in size and appearance to a
lipstick container. These are either hard mounted in a small location, such
as a race car, or on the end of a boom pole. The sensor block and lens are
separated from the rest of the camera electronics by a long thin multi
conductor cable. The camera settings are manipulated from this box, while the
lens settings are normally set when the camera is mounted in place.
See also References
= Notes = = Bibliography =
Zettl, H. 2006 "Television Production Handbook", Thomson Wadsworth, ISBN
0-534-64727-8 External links
Television's history through the eyes of its cameras. Over 3000 images and
largest site of its kind worldwide. History of RCA cameras