A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in experimental broadcasts through the s. Allelectronic designs based on the cathode ray tube, such as Vladimir Zworykins Iconoscope and Philo T. Farnsworths Image dissector, supplanted the Baird system by the s and remained in wide use until the s, when cameras based on solidstate image sensors such as CCDs and later CMOS active pixel sensors eliminated common problems with tube technologies such as burnin and made digital video workflow practical.

Video cameras are used primarily in two modes. The first, characteristic of much early television, is what might be called a live broadcast, where the camera feeds real time images directly to a screen for immediate observation; in addition to live television production, such usage is characteristic of security, militarytactical, and industrial operations where surreptitious or remote viewing is required. The second is to have the images recorded to a storage device for archiving or further processing; videotape is traditional for this purpose, but optical disc media, hard disk, and flash memory are all used as well. Recorded video is used not only in television and film production, but also surveillance and monitoring tasks where unattended recording of a situation is required for later analysis.

These are the different types of close ciruit cameras. If the analogue signals are recorded to tape, then the tape must run at a very slow speed in order to operate continuously. 24 hours, it must be set to run on a time lapse basis which is usually about 4 frames a second. In one second, the camera scene can change dramatically. Analogue signals can also be converted into a digital signal to enable the recordings to be stored on a PC as digital recordings. In that case the analogue video camera must be plugged directly into a video capture card in the computer, and the card then converts the analogue signal to digital. It can, however, decrease the quality further. Such a device is similar in functionality to a PC with a capture card and appropriate video recording software.

Some DVRs also allow digital broadcasting of the video signal, thus acting like a network camera. If a device does allow broadcasting of the video, but does not record it, then its called a video server. Digital Video Cameras These cameras do not require a video capture card because they work using a digital signal which can be saved directly to a computer. Saving uncompressed digital recordings takes up an enormous amount of hard drive space, and a few hours of uncompressed video could quickly fill up a hard drive. Holiday uncompressed recordings may look fine but one could not run uncompressed quality recordings on a continuous basis. Motion detection is therefore sometimes used as a work around solution to record in uncompressed quality.

Network Cameras Looking at the inside of a network camera. From left to right: network adapter, power supply, CPU, image encoder, image sensor. Looking at the inside of a network camera. From left to right: network adapter, power supply, CPU, image encoder, image sensor. Due to the fact that network cameras are embedded devices, and do not need to output an analogue signal, resolutions higher than CCTV analogue cameras are possible. An analogue or digital camera connected to a video server acts as a network camera, but the image size is restricted to that of the video standard of the camera. DVRs, and CCTV monitors become computers with TFT screens and specialised software. Digital video manufacturers claim that turning CCTV installations into digital video installations is inherently better. Digital Still Cameras These cameras can be purchased in any high street shop and can take excellent pictures in most situations. CCTV can now be upgraded to use CCDP megapixel cameras which take large format images every second. CCTV can now be upgraded to use CCDP megapixel cameras which take large format images every second. Some point and shoot models like those produced by Canon or Nikon boast resolutions in excess of 6 million pixels. All that is necessary is for the camera to be mounted on a wall bracket with two screws and then pointed in the desired direction. The images themselves dont need to stay on the computer for long.

If the computer is connected to the Internet, then the images can automatically be uploaded to any other computer anywhere in the world, as and when the pictures are taken. The user doesnt need to lift a finger except to simply plug the camera in and point it in the desired direction. The direction could just as easily be the street outside a house, or the entrance to a bank or underground station. Most people who have used a 35mm camera or an APS camera are aware of only optical zoom. Digital zoom is an invention of digital video cameras. It is not uncommon to see digital videocams with 300x digital zoom. For our purpose, digital zoom is not really zoom, in the strictest definition of the term. What digital zoom does is enlarge a portion of the image, thus simulating optical zoom. In other words, the camera crops a portion of the image and then enlarges it back to size. In so doing, you lose image quality. If youve been regularly using digital zoom and wondered why your pictures did not look that great, now you know. So, as far as digital zoom is concerned, you can do it in camera or you can do it afterwards in an image editing software.

Any cropping and enlarging can be done in an image editing software, such as Photoshop. So, when a digital camera is advertised with 3x digital zoom, no big deal.

If you do it in camera, image quality is irreversibly lost. Someone in a digital camera forum once mentioned that he uses digital zoom because it might mean the difference between capturing a great shot or not at all. Umm, lets think about this a bit. True, if by zooming digitally in camera you get to see what your subject is doing and thus can capture the shot at the right moment. So, its really up to you, if you know what youre doing. Here it is: Always use optical zoom. If you do use digital zoom, use it only if it does not appreciably impact your image quality.

If you rarely print past 4x6 in. When comparing cameras, you should always use optical zoom. There is no point in comparing digital zoom with digital zoom or optical zoom with total zoom.

Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom. Resolution What about optical zoom vs. Now yall know that we cannot and should not be comparing apples n oranges, but we still try.

The megapixels resolution of a digital camera can be thought of as the number of pixels available to capture an image.

With a 2 megapixels camera, you have 2 million pixels to record an image. Whether you zoom or not does not affect how many pixels are used to capture the image. So, zoomed at its maximum, a 2 megapixels 3x optical zoom digital camera will still have captured a 2 million pixels image. Likewise, a 3 megapixels 2x optical zoom digital camera will always capture a 3 million pixels image.

With a 2 megapixels digital camera, you can make good 4x6 in. With a 3 megapixels digital camera, you can make good 8x10 in. So, as far as image quality is concerned, the 3 megapixels camera is better. Unless you are always going to take pictures at max. 3MP camera is better because at 2x optical zoom and less, it is always capturing images with more detail than the 2MP camera. What we are really trying to say is this: do not compare.

If the answer is both, then find a digital camera that has both. If its outside your pocketbook range, then choose a digital camera for what is more important to you.

We usually recommend buying a digital camera with at least 3 megapixels resolution because of the better image quality. 3x optical zoom is standard with most consumer digital cameras. We never bother to check how much digital zoom a camera provides, and ignore the marketing hype surrounding it. We always disable digital zoom in camera, choosing to do our own cropping and enlarging in an image editing software.

Only optical zoom matters when selecting a digital camera. Smart Zoom works only if you select an image size smaller than the full available image size. So, for example, if your digital camera is capable of producing a 5MP image, Smart Zoom is available only if you select to save your images as 4MP or less.

Say, your digital camera is 5MP and you select to save your images as 3MP. So, in effect, youve basically more or less retained the same image quality but you have to save your resulting simulated zoomed image in a smaller image size. 3MP image can be enlarged up to without image degradation. 3MP, which means that Smart Zoom is useful only in digital cameras with 4MP and above. So, our recommendation still holds. Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom. That solves one problem for you. Digital Camera Mumbai, Dealers Digital Camera India, Mumbai Foto Center India: Digital Camera Mumbai, Dealers Digital Camera India Mumbai. Digital Camera : Dealers of Digital Camera in Mumbai India. Digital Video Camera Available at : FotoCentre Trading Co. Your Search for Digital Camera Ends Here. This is not related to a Camcorder. Digital Camcorders in general come in 2 flavors: 1.

Ones that record to miniDV tape. As far as which is best, it all depends on what you want to do with the video you record.

As for still image options, pretty much ALL camcorders do a terrible job for still photos unless all you want to do is email them. Megapixel is enough in that case.

HUGE and IMPORTANT difference in what to get. Just because you want to record video, it doesnt mean you need a camcorder. This is MOST important to know. Sometimes a good digital camera with video features is more appropriate. Otherwise, it will determine not only how much you should spend, but whether you want a camcorder that records to DVD or miniDV tape, among other things. Ask her the above 2 questions. Number 2 is VERY important to answer. If you want good still photos, get a separate digital camera, if budget allows it.

But if the photos are going to be used for something 2.