Professional video cameras are commonly used in electronic news gathering (ENG), electronic field production (EFP) and studio applications. They are typically used in professional cinematographic production provide the camera operator with an optical image corresponding to the image exposed on film. Professional video cameras transmit a maximum of video information to a control room so as to obtain the best possible image quality. A professional video camera is generally constituted of main components including a camera head (image pickup unit) and a camera control unit (CCU). The camera head has an image pickup lens for condensing an image light of an object, an image pickup element for photoelectrically converting light incident from the image pickup lens into video signals, a pre-amplifier for amplifying a video signal supplied from the image pickup element to a predetermined signal level, a gamma correction circuit for correcting the video signal to have a gamma value specific to a television system, and a video signal processing circuit for subjecting the gamma corrected video signal to necessary processes, including a knee process, a white clip process, a white balance adjusting process, a black balance adjusting process, a masking process and the like, to thereafter output the processed video signal having a desired level which is then supplied via a cable to the camera control unit. Professional video cameras employ a video pickup (video tap) built into the film camera in order to facilitate certain cinematic decisions about the captured image and to allow other people to view the image seen by the camera operator through the viewfinder eyepiece. Professional video cameras require the use of different lenses, depending on the object to be photographed and the conditions. Professional video cameras use a relatively compact viewfinder having plastic components for minimizing the weight for shoulder supported use of the video camera, even though the video camera often is used on a tripod, a dolly, a crane or other camera support where minimizing weight is not an important factor.

Professional video cameras serve to film a live image sequence so as to replay it generally on a television. To be able to supply live images, the most video camera system is a camera linked to a camera control unit by way of a triaxial cable better known as a triax. The camera control unit processes the video signal having a desired level sent from the camera head via the cable in predetermined manners, and outputs the processed video signal having a predetermined level to various apparatuses such as a video monitor and a video tape recorder. The camera control unit allows remote monitoring of most of the parameters of the camera so as in particular to be able to inter-calibrate the cameras during picture shots. The camera control unit also receives a control signal supplied from a remote controller, and outputs a necessary control signal to the camera head via the cable to thereby remotely control the necessary characteristic values to be used during the processes by the camera head, the values including a gamma characteristic value, a white balance value and the like. A video camera typically forms an analog composite video signal which is representative of a moving optical image received by the camera. To form the video signal, a sensing spot moves across an image area according to a series of horizontal scan lines arranged from the top of the image area to the bottom of the image area. In a video camera apparatus according to a standard television system such as NTSC or PAL, an interlace-scanned image sensing signal is obtained from an image sensing section and is outputted as a video signal according to a predetermined standard television system. A complete scan of the image area represented by the video signal is referred to as a frame. When the bottom of the image area is reached, the process begins again at the top thereby forming a series of frames.

The use of camcorders has increased dramatically over recent years as a result of decreasing cost, increasing performance, and convenience. Generally speaking, a camcorder is a portable electronic device for recording on magnetic tape the image of an object to be photographed, equipped with a display through which the object photographed can be confirmed. For this display, a view finder or liquid crystal monitor is used. Camcorders consists three major components: a lens that gathers and focuses light on the imager, an imager (usually a CCD or CMOS sensor) that converts incident light into an electrical signal, and a recorder that encodes the video signal into a storable form. Camcorders have built-in microphones which allow for the simultaneous recording of ambient sound and video images onto a video tape, which can be played back at a later date. Digital video camcorders are becoming more popular with consumers. In digital and analog camcorders, audio signals may be recorded on a recording media during a shooting mode and during a dubbing mode. During the shooting mode, video signals are shot and audio signals in the shooting area are recorded at the same time. During the dubbing mode, audio signals, in addition to the audio signals recorded during the shooting mode, are artificially recorded. The digital camcorder is designed to have a different construction from the MPEG considering the characteristics in that both an encoder and a decoder should be included in the camcorder. Digital video camcorders can interface with a personal computer via a personal computer interface unit for digital video camcorders. Camcorder is powered by a rechargeable battery pack such as a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Compared with television cameras, camcorders are less advanced video cameras as they're consumer electronics which require easy operation as portability, while television cameras are used by skilled professionals for providing better audio and video qualities.

Surveillance and monitoring systems have been widely employed in many different places to monitor activities to ensure the safety of the general public. Video surveillance is one of the most reliable and most common methods for maintaining security in government and industry. The field of surveillance cameras includes a wide variety of different camera sizes, types, styles, configurations and combinations. There are cameras ranging from simple black-and-white cameras to highly complex color cameras. These cameras are generally designed to work in an auto-exposure mode, where a device called an electronic shutter varies the integration time of each video frame to match the ambient lighting conditions. Closed-circuit television or CCTV is widely used for video security/surveillance, video distribution, distance learning and other applications. Video cameras are commonly used in CCTV systems associated with the operation and control of industrial processes. Video surveillance cameras usually include devices for camera control. Such devices include stepping motors or other mechanisms configured to point the camera or an image capturing device toward a scene or point of interest. Normally, cameras are manually operated by a human operator on site, or remotely controlling the camera via a steering input (joystick or mouse, for example). Video surveillance systems often monitor relatively large areas by means of several domes. A dome may include one or more cameras, the operation of which can be remotely controlled. A camera in such a dome is typically equipped with a zoom lens which has a limited field of view. The camera can also be panned and tilted by remote control. Surveillance cameras may have optical lenses ranging from very small to very large, depending upon the application. Most cameras include one or more printed circuit boards to control such camera functions as zoom, focus and adjustments for lighting. Rmote CCTV cameras are wired to a monitoring station which may comprise one or more monitors for watching the video stream, and recording equipment for capturing and storing the surveillance signals.

In general, a video camera apparatus include a solid image sensor for outputting an image sensing signal, image sensing signal processing means supplied with the image sensing signal from the solid image sensor, scan converter means for converting the image sensing signal into an interlace scan signal, control means for performing control of switching an input to recording means, and the recording means for recording the image sensing signal. Many cameras are provided with a viewfinder for viewing an object image. The viewfinder includes optical types and electronic types (EVF). Two types of zoom lens devices are used in video cameras. They are a front-focus zoom lens device and a rear-focus zoom lens device. In the front-focus zoom lens device, focusing is carried by a focusing lens disposed at an end of a lens barrel, and zooming is carried out by a zooming lens disposed rearward of the focusing lens. In the rear-focus zoom lens device, zooming is carried by a zooming lens disposed at an end of a lens barrel, and focusing is carried out by a focusing lens disposed rearward of the zooming lens. Color motion pictures are often made by shooting the action with a film camera, converting the images to digital form, computer processing the digital images, and then scanning the processed images back onto film for release. Video camera apparatuses with employing CCDs (charge-coupled devices) are equipped with various functions, for instance, auto-iris control (automatic diaphragm control), auto-focus control, auto-white balance control, and the like. These functions are automatically controlled by employing the feedback loops. In some video cameras, a number of video effects may be incorporated during the capture process to achieve artistic effects and to provide emphasis on particular features.