CAMERA CONTROLS

Color Temperature
Most light sources are not 100% pure white but have a certain "color temperature
expressed in Kelvin. The color of light is measured in Kelvin (K) degrees. On the
Kelvin scale the lower the color temperature the redder the light is, and, the higher the
color temperature, the bluer the color is.
For instance, the midday sunlight will be
much closer to white than the more yellow
early morning or late afternoon sunlight.
This diagram gives rough averages of
some typical light sources.

Type of Light

Color Temperature in
K

Candle Flame

1,500

Incandescent

3,000

3,500
Normally our eyes compensate for lighting Sunrise, Sunset
conditions
with
different
color Midday Sun, Flash
5,500
temperatures. A digital camera needs to Bright Sun, Clear
6,000
find a reference point, which represents Sky
white. It will then calculate all the other Cloudy Sky, Shade
7,000
colors based on this white point. For
9,000
instance, if a halogen light illuminates a Blue Sky
white wall, the wall will have a yellow cast, while in fact it should be white. So if the
camera knows the wall is supposed to be white, it will then compensate all the other
colors in the scene accordingly.

In the case of automatic white balance, the camera looks at the overall color of the
image and calculates the best-fit white balance. However these systems are often
fooled especially if the scene is dominated by one color, say green, or if there is no
natural white present in the scene.
Compared to sunlight, which has a color temperature of about 5,600K, the light from a
standard 100-watt light bulb is only about 2,800K. The light from the standard
portable lights used in video field production measures 3,200K.

Filter Selection Ring on the Camera

Most video cameras have this. By turning this ring, one can select an appropriate filter
required to colour balance the camera for a particular colour temperature of light. A
filter selection ring usually has four positions. The function of each filter is indicated
on the side panel of the camera.
Neutral Density Filters: Most cameras have one or two neutral density filters. A
neutral density filter uniformly reduces light of all wavelengths. It can therefore be
used to affect the quantity of light without changing the overall colour balance of the
picture. This can be used in very bright conditions. ND filters are made in a range of
about nineteen different densities for film cameras. Most location video cameras have
two in-built neutral density filters that can be selected by means of a switch.
Filter Setting
1 (3200)
2 (5600K + 1/8 ND)

3 (5600K)
4 (5600K + 1/64 ND)

Lighting Conditions
Studio halogen lighting (incandescent), sunrise and sunset.
Sunlight.
This setting includes a 1/8 neutral density filter (reducing
the exposure by the equivalent of three stops). Use it to
prevent hunting or to reduce the depth of field.
Cloudy or rainy outdoor shooting, and fluorescent lighting.
Sunlight.
This setting includes a 1/64 neutral density filter (reducing
the exposure by the equivalent of six stops). Use it to
prevent hunting or to reduce the depth of field.

W/B Black and White Balance

With the help of this switch one can perform the Black and White Balance.
Adjusting the white balance ensures that as the lighting conditions change white
objects remain white in the image and tones remain natural.
The colour of light emitted varies from one light source to another, and as the light
changes the apparent colour of an illuminated subject changes. It is therefore
necessary to adjust the white balance each time the principal light source changes.

White Balance Switch (A/B, Pre-Set)

Some cameras have two white balance memory positions for White Balance - position
A and position B. Camera can be White Balanced for two separate lighting
conditions. For example, in outdoor shooting one can White Balance the camera for
bright sunlight separately and the shadow areas separately; or one for outdoor sunlight
and another for indoor lighting conditions.
To colour balance a camera, first select an appropriate filter according to the lighting
conditions. Set the white Balance switch to A or B. Arrange a white sheet or card
under the same lighting conditions as for shooting. Zoom in on it so that as far as
possible the whole screen is white. Push the WHT/BLK switch to WHT direction and
release. The camera will now perform the white balance and then give the indication
AUTO WHITE OK on the viewfinder.
In the Pre-set position, camera is White Balanced to the pre-set colour temperatures
3000-3200 K or 5600 K or any other colour temperature chosen through the menu.
White balance can also be used to change the over all colour of the image. For
example if you white balance your camera on an orange card or through an orange
filter, the image will turn blue in colour when shot without filter.
ATW (Auto Tracing White Balance) Button and Indicator
The ATW function continuously adjusts the white balance automatically to adapt to
changes in lighting conditions.
The Black Balance
Correct adjustment of Black balance is important for optimum operation of the
camera. The Black Balance brings the black level of the three CCD chips to one level.
Black balance is performed in the condition of no light on the faceplate of the pickup
device. This is done by closing down the iris. Some cameras may close the iris
automatically.
If one observes a tint of colour in the shadow area, one reason for this could be that
the Black Balance has not been set properly.
In certain cameras one does not have to perform the black balance. In such cameras,
reference of Black is taken, by each scan line, from the masked area of the pickup
device.

APERTURE
The aperture or iris of a lens controls the amount of light entering the camera. The
aperture is the hole that allows light to come through when you release the shutter, to
expose the film or to allow the digital imaging chip to process and record the image.
The stop ring of the lens is marked with a series of f numbers.
1.4, 2, 2.8, 3.4, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22
The relative size of the aperture opening is indicated by the f-stop number. If the fstop were to have a value of "4", it would be shown as f/4. The "slash" in f/4 is there
intentionally because this value is fractional in nature.
The larger the f-stop number, the smaller the opening. An aperture of f/4 is larger
than an aperture of f/8, just as a value of 1/4 (0.250) is larger than 1/8 (0.125).
Changing the aperture by one full f-stop will allow exactly twice as much light to
come through (or exactly half as much, depending on which way you go with it). An
aperture of f/2.8 will allow twice the amount of light as f/4, while an aperture of f/5.6
will allow half the amount of light as f/4. This also means that an aperture of f/2.8
will allow 4 times the amount of light as f/5.6, just as f/5.6 allows 4 times the amount
of light as f/11. The aperture setting affects the depth of field throughout the setting
range of the focusing ring.
Iris Control: Auto / Manual Manual Over-ride
Iris function in video cameras is controlled either manually or automatically. Auto-iris
is essentially the cameras ability to adjust its lens iris automatically so that right
amount of light is falling on the camera tube or CCD sensor to give the correct
exposure. The auto-iris can create problems under certain circumstances. For example,
shooting someone against a bright sky, the camera will adjust the iris to give a correct
exposure on the sky resulting in a face that is grossly underexposed, and may look
little more than a silhouette. In this case it is necessary to fill the face with artificial
light or light from a reflector board, so that level of light more closely matches that
from the sky. The iris can be switched to manual and the shot correctly exposed to
favour the face and not the sky. In this case the sky will be over exposed.
For auto iris mode keep the switch in AUTO iris position.
Selecting BACK L gives more light to back-lit subjects,
Selecting SPOT L adjusts for high contrast in spot-lit subjects.
When it is set to manual position, one has to set the iris as per individual judgment and
aesthetic requirement. While working on manual iris, if one wants to check / compare
the exposure setting with the auto iris, Manual Over-ride control can be used. As long
as this switch is pressed, iris will be operated on auto mode, the moment it is released,
iris will move to manual control.

SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter speed is measured in seconds. The shutter speed dial provides the selection of
shutter speeds, and indicates the timing of the shutter open and closes. The shutter
speed determines how long the film or sensor is exposed to light. Normally this is
achieved by a mechanical shutter between the lens and the film or sensor, which opens
and closes for a time period determined by the shutter speed. For instance, a shutter
speed of 1/125 will expose the sensor for 1/125th of a second. Electronic shutters act
in a similar way by switching on the light sensitive photodiodes of the sensor for as
long as is required by the shutter speed.
This function is available on CCD cameras. When applied, changes accumulated
during the selected shutter time are only transferred to storage area and balanced
charges are drained out. The shutter speeds available are: 1/3, 1/6, 1/12, 1/25, 1/50,
1/60, 1/100, 1/120, 1/150, 1/215, 1/300, 1/425, 1/600, 1/1000, 1/1250, 1/1750, 1/2500,
1/3500, 1/6000, 1/10,000 (of a second). The sharpness of the picture is evident when
the tape is played back for slow motion. If an object is moving very fast and a shutter
speed of shorter duration is applied, one may get a strobe effect in the picture.
EZ (easy MODE Button and Indicator)
Press this button (EZ mode on) when you want to shoot immediately, with automatic
adjustment of the camcorder settings to standard values. When this function is used,
the iris and the white balance are adjusted automatically. Press this button again to
return the camcorder to the previous settings (EZ mode off).
Gain Control
In very low light conditions the cameras gain, can be increased. The most common
gain positions are -6db, -3db, 0db, 3db, 6db, 9db, 12db, 18db. Gain of 6dbB is equal
to increase in one stop of exposure
GAIN Switch
This selects one of the three gain settings, high, medium or low. You can choose the
gain values assigned to the H, M and L settings from values from -3 dB to 24 dB
Auto Gain
Some cameras provide the facility to set its gain at Auto mode. In this condition, video
gain will be boosted up to 18db if the light level received by the pickup device falls
short.
But there is a problem here. Gain is like a multiplying factor. When positive Gain is
applied, the overall signal, even the portion of the signal, which was not generated by
the light, is amplified. When amplifying the signal the noise is also amplified. This
results in an obtrusive granular pattern on the picture. So the gain switch should be
used with extreme discretion.

Negative gain can be used to bring down the exposure of a bright scene. It can also be
used for reducing the noise and for controlling the depth of field.
Colour Bars: All video cameras have a provision to generate colour bars. This
standard test signal is required for aligning and adjustment of the equipment. A
Cameraman uses this to set the brightness and contrast of his viewfinder and the
picture monitor. The signal recorded at the beginning of each tape is used to set the
video level and adjustment of the colour phase during the post production or
broadcast.
When the camera is put to Colour Bar position, one cannot use it for imaging. To view
the scene, this switch must be put to Camera position. In some cameras the lens iris
automatically gets closed when the switch is put to Colour Bar position.
ZEBRA Button and Indicator
Depress this button to display a zebra pattern (diagonal stripes) in the viewfinder.
Depending on the zebra setting in advanced menu, the zebra 1 for video levels
between 70 to 90 IRE (or 70 to 90%) and the zebra 2 for video levels 100 IRE or more
(or 100% or more) can be displayed independently or simultaneously.
ZOOM Selector: This selects the mode of zoom operation.
SERVO: power zoom
MANU (manual): manual zoom

LENS CONTROL
Focus
Focus ring adjusts the sharpness of the image. There are two ways to focus - auto and
manual. When you focus in "manual", you control the focus. To make sure your shots
are in focus, zoom in and focus up close first, then zoom back. This insures that what
you are shooting is focused to the greatest extent possible. Manual focus is good to
use when there is a lot of movement of dominant figures. When the camera is in "auto
focus" it will automatically focus on the dominant figure in the center of the
viewfinder. Because it focuses automatically on the dominant figure, it will adjust to
whatever becomes dominant. For example, if you have focused on a person several
feet away, and someone walks in between the camera and the other person, the camera
will adjust to focus on the new dominant figure - the person who walked in front of
the camera.

Depth of field
The depth of field (DOF) is the distance in front of and behind the subject which
appears to be in focus. For any given lens setting, there is only one distance at which a
subject is precisely in focus, but focus falls off gradually on either side of that
distance, so there is a region in which the blurring is tolerable. This region is greater
behind the point of focus than it is in front.
Depth of field is affected by the aperture, subject distance, and focal length.
A larger aperture (smaller f-number, e.g. f/1.4) has a shallow depth of field. Anything
behind or in front of the main focus point will appear blurred. A smaller aperture
(larger f-number, e.g. f/11) has a greater depth of field. Objects within a certain range
behind or in front of the main focus point will also appear sharp.
Coming closer to the subject (reducing subject distance) will reduce depth of field,
while moving away from the, subject will increase depth of field.
Lenses with shorter focal lengths produce images with larger depth of field. For
instance, a 28mm lens at f/5.6 produces images with a greater depth of field than a
70mm lens at the same aperture.
Depth of field is directly related to the focal length of a lens. When parallel rays of
light strike a lens focused at infinity, they converge to a point called the focal point.
The focal length of the lens is then defined as the distance from the middle of the lens
to its focal point. It is the distance from the lens to the film or camera sensor.
The SHORTER the focal length

the WIDER the angle of view

THE GREATER THE DEPTH OF FIELD

The LONGER the focal length

the NARROWER the angle of view

THE LESSER THE DEPTH OF FIELD

The SMALLER aperture

The LARGER the aperture

the GREATER the depth of field

the LESSER the depth of field

Greater subject distance gives greater depth of field

Lesser subject distance gives Less depth of field
Depth of field is GREATER behind the subject than in front of it.

Viewfinder
Through a viewfinder, a cameraman works to compose his shots. With proper setting
of brightness and contrast he can evaluate the luminous quality of his picture. Thus,
setting the brightness and contrast of viewfinder becomes a crucial task for a
cameraman.
Viewfinder Controls
Most video cameras are fitted with black and white viewfinders. A typical viewfinder
may have the following controls:
Brightness
Contrast
Sharpness / Peaking
Eye piece focus
Zebra

Audio in Video
MIC (microphone) IN +48 V connector (XLR 3-pin female)
Connect the supplied microphone or an optional microphone (operable with a 48 V
supply).
AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2 (audio input channel 1 and 2) connectors (XLR 3-pin,
female) and input selection switches
Connect a microphone or other external audio equipment. Set the input selection
switches as shown below according to the microphone or equipment.
MIC+48V ON (right position)
MIC (center position)
LINE (left position)

: For connecting to a 48-V microphone.

: For connecting any microphone other than 48-V
microphone
: For connecting an external audio signal source
such as a stereo amplifier

AUDIO In (CH-1/CH-2) (audio input selection for channels 1 and 2) Switches

AUDIO SELECT (CH-1/CH-2) (audio recording level adjustments manual/auto
selection for channels 1 and 2) switches
These select the audio recording level adjustment method.
AUTO

: Use the AGC (automatic gain control) circuit to automatically adjust

the audio level.

MAN

: Enables users to manually adjust the AUDIO LEVEL (CH-1/CH-2)

knobs for each channel. Select AUTO if excess input levels are likely
to occur.