Video camera

A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos, as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film. Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for many different purposes.

Video cameras are used in two main ways. The first is for live television, where the camera shows real time images straight to a screen. Some cameras still help with live TV, but most are now used for security, military, and industrial tasks where people need to see things from far away or secretly. The second way is by recording images onto a storage device for later use. For a long time, videotape was used, but now we use optical disc, hard disk, and flash memory instead.

Recorded video is used in making TV shows, but it is also very common for surveillance and monitoring places where people need to keep an eye on things without being there all the time. This helps people look back at what happened later if they need to.

Types and uses

Modern video cameras come in many different designs and are used for many purposes.

Professional video cameras are used for making television shows. They can be set up in a studio or taken to different places. These cameras let the person operating them make many adjustments by hand.

Camcorders are small cameras that are easy to carry. People used to use them a lot for making home movies and for news reporting. Today, most small video cameras are also camcorders because they record digitally. Some special small cameras, called action cameras, can record in every direction.

Some video cameras are used to keep an eye on places, like stores or offices. These are often small and can move or zoom in on things from far away.

Many computers have webcams that show live video on the screen. Also, most phones today have built-in video cameras and can even record very clear video.

Special video cameras are also used for scientific work, like on satellites or in hospitals. Some of these cameras can see heat or other kinds of light that people cannot see.

History

The earliest video cameras used a mechanical system called the Nipkow disk in the early 1900s. By the 1930s, all-electronic designs using special tubes replaced this method. These electronic cameras were used widely until the 1980s, when new solid-state sensors changed everything.

Today’s video cameras use tiny sensors made with advanced technology. These sensors began with the invention of the MOSFET at Bell Labs in 1959. Over time, they improved and allowed for digital video recording, which made video cameras much easier to use and more reliable. By the early 2000s, most video cameras were digital, and the difference between video and movie cameras became very small.

Recording media

Early video could not be recorded directly. In 1927, John Logie Baird tried a new way using discs called Phonovision, but it couldn’t be played back then. Later, in the 1980s, the video was finally recovered.

The first use of tape to record video began in 1951. In 1956, Ampex made the first system for selling video called Quadruplex videotape. Two years later, they made a system for colour video. In 1967, Sony made the DV-2400, the first portable system you could use outside a studio. In 1981, the Betacam system let the tape recorder be built right into the camera, creating the first camcorder.

Lens mounts

Some video cameras have lenses built in, while others use different lenses that can be changed. These lenses connect using special mounts. For example, Panavision PV and Arri PL are used for movie cameras, and Canon EF and Sony E are used in still photography. There are also mounts like S-mount used for things like security cameras.