DIGITAL CAMERAS

ENG cameras

Sony camera head with Betacam SP dock recorder.

Though by definition, ENG (Electronic News Gathering) video cameras were originally designed for use by news camera operators, these have become the dominant style of professional video camera for most productions, from dramas to documentaries, from music videos to corporate training. 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 shoulder stock on the cameraman's shoulder, taking the weight off the hand, which is freed to operate the lens zoom control. The weight of the cameras also helps dampen small movements.
• 3 CCDs are used instead of one, one for each primary color
• They have interchangeable lenses.
• All settings, white balance, focus, and iris can be manually adjusted, and automatics can be completely disabled.
• The lens is focused manually and directly, without intermediate servo controls. However the lens zoom and focus can be operated with remote controls in a studio configuration.
• Professional BNC connectors for video and at least two XLR input connectors for audio are included.
• A complete time code section is available, allowing time code presets; and multiple cameras can be timecode-synchronized with a cable.
• "Bars and tone" are available in-camera (the color bars are SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) 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 (or less compression) are used than in consumer devices.
• The camera is mounted on tripods and other supports with a quick release plate.
• 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, not in menu selections.
• Gain Select, White/Black balance, color bar select, and record start controls are all in the same general place on the camera, irrespective of the camera manufacturer.
• Audio is adjusted manually, with easily accessed physical knobs.

EFP Camera operator at a baseball game.

EFP Cameras

Electronic Field Production cameras are similar to studio cameras in that they are used primarily in multiple camera switched configurations, butoutside 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 triax, fibre optic or the virtually obsolete multicore cable.

Dock cameras

Some manufacturers build camera heads, which only contain the optical block, the CCD sensors and the video encoder, and can be used with astudio adapter for connection to a CCU in EFP mode, or various dock recorders for direct recording in the preferred format, making them very versatile. However, this versatility leads to greater size and weight. They are favored for EFP and low-budget studio use, because they tend to be smaller, lighter, and less expensive than most studio cameras.

A remote-controlled camera mounted on a miniature cable car for mobility.

Remote cameras

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.

"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.

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.