Video Camera

VIDEO CAMERA

Video cameras are multipurpose devices, being able to capture images of any type. Modern video cameras have many designs and uses:-

1.         Professional video cameras (often called a television camera), such as those used in television and sometimes film production; these may be studio-based or mobile Figure 1. Early studio television camera -- Grey box on right is the lens as illustrated in Figure 2.

                  Figure 1                              Figure 2

2.       Camcorders(videocamera recorder), which combine a camera and a VCR or other recording device in one unit; these are mobile, and are widely used for television production, home movies, electronic news gathering (including citizen journalism), and similar applications. Some digital ones are Pocket video cameras.

Figure 3: Camcorders

Pocket Video camera: A pocket video camera is a tape less camcorder that is small enough to be carried in one's pocket (Figure 4). Most pocket video cameras resemble mobile phones in shape and size, unlike traditional cameras. A tape less camcorder is a camcorder that does not use videotape for recording video. Tapeless camcorders record video as digital files onto random access media such as optical discs, hard disk drives and solid-state flash memory.

Figure 4: Pocket video camera

3.       Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, generally used for security, surveillance, and/or monitoring purposes (Figure 5). Such cameras are designed to be small, easily hidden, and able to operate unattended; those used in industrial or scientific settings are often meant for use in environments that are normally inaccessible or uncomfortable for humans, and are therefore hardened for such hostile environments (e.g. radiation, high heat, or toxic chemical exposure).

Figure 5: Surveillance cameras on a corner

4.       Web Cam is a video camera which feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, Ethernet or Wi-Fi.  Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations.

Figure 6: Web Cam

5.       Digital Cameras which convert the signal directly to a digital output; such cameras are often small, even smaller than CCTV security camera. A digital camera (or digicam) is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography. Digital cameras can do things film cameras cannot: displaying images on a screen immediately after they are recorded, storing thousands of images on a single small memory device, and deleting images to free storage space. The majority, including most compact cameras, can record moving video with sound as well as still photograph.

Figure 7: Digital Camera

5.       Special Systems like those used for scientific research, e.g. on board a satellite or a space probe, or in artificial intelligence and robotics research. Such cameras are often tuned for non-visible radiation for Infrared photography (for night vision and heat sensing) or X-ray (for medical and video astronomy use