Studio Cameras & Camera Heads
As the name suggests, studio cameras normally reside in a controlled lighting environment - a recording studio. The cameras may broadcast live with or without an audience, or record to a separate medium located in the control room for later broadcast or distribution on DVD, CD or for a webcast.
Multiple Camera Control
A studio camera usually consists of a camera head, a lens with zoom and focus controllers, a studio viewfinder a back-end camera adapter that attaches onto the camera head enabling control of the camera functions via a multicore or triax cable to a Camera Control Unit (CCU). The CCU is usually rack mounted in the control room and allows master adjustment to each of the cameras' set up parameters such as iris, black balance, sub carrier phase, master gamma, shutter speed and detail levels etc. This enables picture uniformity of each of the cameras within the chain. A studio will usually have three or more cameras.
Studio Operation Systems
The camera and camera operator will typically operate with a pedestal tripod with dolly (wheels). These can be height adjusted by pneumatic or hydraulic mechanisms. The camera operator will then be wired for intercom communication to the control room. Remote head studio monitoring is also available for the studio with the latest joystick controlled pan and tilt heads available in the Tripods and Supports section of this website