ABSTRACT
The acquisition of moving pictures and sound for television is now entirely digital. A video camera records in a digital domain, and this digital information is stored in a digital tape format such as DV or DVCAM, or on hard disc, or on a memory card. Virtually all programmes are now made in HD (High Definition) widescreen formats recorded with a resolution of 1080 lines. Professional cameras can record pictures and sound onto a 240GB (or smaller) internal hard disk or external SDXC, SDHC or SD memory card media. A typical video camera for under £900 can record in HD on to a 32GB internal solid state memory or an external memory card giving approximately twelve hours of HD recording. Many news organisations still use the DVCAM or the mini DV tape format because of its robust qualities and easy transfer to editing on Apple’s Final Cut Pro, which is the preferred software for most companies. To take steady, well-framed pictures a camera needs a goodquality tripod. Spare batteries are required for the video camera, and a charger to keep them topped up ready for use.
