Video Camera Course - Week 2

• Minimises effects of small hand movements

• The round hole through which light enters the camera.
• Larger apertures let in more light(f/1.4) than smaller apertures(f/16).

• Macro mode allows you to capture extreme close-ups of nature - bugs, flowers, etc.

• Determines how light or dark the image will be.
• Controlled by Aperture and Shutter-Speed.
• Shutter-Speed controls how long light strikes the CCD for each frame.
• Aperture controls how much light strikes it.
• The more light that hits the CCD, the lighter the image.
• Standard exposure is about 1/60th of a second.
• Faster shutter-speeds are good for filming sports such as car-racing.

• Sets the shutter speed and aperture for you.
• There are also a set of pre-programmed modes such as Portrait that gives a shorter depth-of-field so that the background is out of focus,
• and Snow which may be shuttered down to eliminate harsh glare.

• Can set aperture and shutter manually.

• Can be manual or autofocus.
• It is better if the manual focus is around the lens.
• Autofocus is constantly searching for a spot to fix on.
• If you don't have manual , throw your vidcam away!

• Colors look different under different lighting conditions.
• Daylight has a bluish tint, lightbulbs have a warm orange glow, and
• fluorescent lights give a yellow/greenish tint.
• Most cameras allow Auto White Balance to correct these hues and
• your camera should have a manual override.

• Old batteries were NiCad and were notorious for having a memory effect,
• but newer Lithium batteries have solved this problem.
• Mark flat batteries with a sticker.
• Take battery off camera after use.

• Allows you to charge your battery and shoot using 240 Volt power.

• Most cameras have a varying degree of special effects built-in.
• These may include Sepia, which gives an olden feel ,
• Posterize, which gives a hippy look and
• Negative, strobe, ad nausem.
• Mostly they are over-used and can look quite tacky.
• Leave Special Effects off when filming. It is better to apply effects at the editing stage

• Allows transitions between scenes,
• fade in/out to black or white,
• Dissolves between shots,
• and/or a wipe.

• Can be enhanced with Infra-Red
• Typically it reduces the shutter speed, increases CCD gain and applies Noise Reduction
• However it can be low-quality with lots of noise and a bizarre appearance.
• It can make bight footage up to 16 times brighter(e.g. Sony DCR-IP220E)

• Allow you to superimpose titles or other text.