Types of Video Cameras

 

The product line of professional video cameras can be overwhelming; especially considering each camera type may have a specific use. In buying video cameras consider your needs and budget. While all cameras share the same characteristics, such as lenses, focus, zoom and sound inputs, the technical details vary greatly.

Types of Professional Video Cameras

1. Studio Cameras - Studio cameras are designed for use within a TV production studio. They generally are attached to large, mechanical stands with wheels to be moved around, have no recording device and send their signal to the production control room, and can be used in conjunction with other cameras.

The stand is as much part of the camera as the camera is. It has controls to adjust the focus and zoom without touching the actual camera, the ability to be pushed around the studio and an attached monitor to see the image without a viewfinder.

2. ENG & EFP Cameras - An ENG camera, which stands for "electronic news gathering," is essentially an entire studio in one camera and the most popular camera type for general purpose shooting. These cameras can record to tape or digital, broadcast zoom, receive multiple sound inputs through XLR cables, set the focus and aperture controls manually and generate color bars. These cameras are usually used on a collapsible tripod or mounted to a shoulder harness.

An EFP camera is similar to an ENG and used for filming on location.

3. Prosumer Cameras - This category of cameras is made for users who want professional quality video at a reasonable, consumer price. These provide sufficient quality for small-scale projects and are the lowest priced traditional cameras for production purposes. They may have some technical drawbacks compared to higher-priced cameras, such as one sensor instead of three, standard definition instead of HD, interlaced instead of progressive and recording to tape instead of a digital format.

To label this category as low-grade would be a mistake, since these will still provide many features of professional shooting such as focus, gain, XLR sound input and long shooting duration. Models such as the Sony HVR-A1u and the Canon GL-2 are popular choices.

4. DLSR Cameras - The use of DSLR cameras, which stands for digital single-lens reflex, has risen dramatically. These cameras previously were used only for still photography. After HD video was added to their capabilities, they have become a simple way to create high-quality video.

These cameras don't offer many controls beyond focus, aperture, white balance and zoom, but can create HD-quality video relatively cheap. Smaller-scale productions may find these to be a perfect fit.

Camera Prices

Kodak Zi6 Flash Media Camcorder – $146.23

Pros: High Quality, High Def, Fits in a pocket, Easy to use, removable memory.

Cons: Zoom is mechanical

Nikon D3100 DSLR Camera - Twin Lens - $798.85

Features:

Supplied with Genuine Nikon 18-55 VR Lens
Supplied with Genuine Nikon 55-200 VR Lens
14.2 Megapixel
Large 3" Monitor
ISO Sensitivity 100-3200
Live View with Scene Auto Selector
Continuous 3 fps Shooting
11-point AF System
Built-In Pop-Up Flash
Full HD 1080p Movies

Samsung Galaxy S3 - $849.99

PROS: Has a massive 4.8'HD Super AMOLED touch screen with resolution 720 x 1280 pixels.

The phone runs on Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, powered by 1.4GHz Quad Core processor

The phone has an 8MP camera with auto focus, LED Flash and has a 1.9 MP secondary camera

CONS: Samsung achieved top position in mobile world due to best hardware at aggressive pricing 

 but HTC ONE-X is quad core too clocked at 1.5 GHz and available at lesser price.

What Makes Online Video So Compelling and Powerful

Online video marketing is proven effective to run a business campaign. Today video is no longer considered an experimental marketing and advertising method. Video content is important for marketing and advertising campaigns due to the size of the market's viewership, superiority to text and television ads, performance tracking and direct-response potential.

1. Evokes Dr. Robert Cialdini’s Persuasion principles

         

ü Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor, thus the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing.

ü Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self image. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy.

ü Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic.

ü Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts.

ü Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them.

ü Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.

Types of Videos

Videos are considered as one of the best methods for communicating with audiences. The visual impact created by videos can often be creatively used to reach out and capture the imagination of a wide audience. The impact created by the video not only depends on the quality of the created video, but the final quality of output that reaches the viewing audience through streaming off web pages. A good video, bundled with the right support material will definitely prove to be one of the most effective ways of reaching out to a worldwide audience 24×7.

Types

1. Full-Motion Video - Video transmission that changes the image 30 frames per second (30 fps). Motion pictures are run at 24 fps, which is the minimum frequency required to eliminate the perception of moving frames and make the images appear visually fluid to the eye.

2. Screen Capture - A screen dump, screen capture (or screencap), screenshot (or screen shot), screengrab (or screen grab), or print screen is an image taken by the computer user to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device. Usually this is a digital image using the host operating system or software running on the computer, but it can also be a capture made by a camera or a device intercepting the video output of the display such as a DVR. That latent image converted and saved to an image file such as to .JPG, .BMP, or .GIF format is also called a screenshot.

Online Video Marketing: Facts and Benefits

Video Marketing is crucial to any online marketing campaign and is one of the fastest growing marketing strategies currently available.

Facts

1.   60% of Internet traffic is generated by consumers who are watching online videos. 

2.   YouTube averages 100 million unique visitors per day, with a total of 6 billion videos being viewed daily. 

3.   68% of the top 50 Internet retailers utilize videos on their websites. 

4.   After viewing an online video ad, about 46% of viewers take some sort of action; whether it's visiting the company's website, requesting additional information or purchasing the product/service. 

5.   83% of marketers believe the effectiveness of online video will increase in the next three years.

Benefits

1.   Video marketing improved communication

ü Continuous Communication – Since videos are recorded, you can use it over and over again.  Your video will show you at your best, both day and night, and present you in a positive state even if you are sleeping!

ü Eliminate Confusion – Video allows you to include nonverbal cues such as body and facial expressions, which help your viewers understand the meaning of your message in ways that written words cannot.

ü Give Better Customer Service – Videos can be produced quickly and easily, but the perceived value is so much higher than a phone call or plain text email.  This results in happier and more impressed customers.

ü Connect with Clients and Prospects From Anywhere – Web videos and video email can be shared as easily with your next door neighbor as someone all away around the world with the click a button.

ü Lessen Calls to Customer Support –Web video is an effective communicate tool; responding to customer questions with video emails means you are giving them better answers, and your customers won’t need to contact you as often, saving you time and money.

ü Informs Your Audience – One of the best ways to sell is to provide information to your prospects.  Teach them about things that interest them and help them in their businesses and mix in content about how you fit into this without being pushy.  When done right, your prospect won’t even realize your selling them.

2.   Video marketing helps establish credibility.

3.   Video marketing allows you to get your point across, in any fashion you'd like. 

4.   Video marketing helps educate consumers on your company, employees, services, and/or products.

5.   Viral video marketing will create awareness and generate a substantial amount of traffic.

6.   Web pages with videos get better search rankings than pages that only have text. According to Forrester Research web pages with videos are 50 times more likely to get "organic first page ranking" than standard text pages.

Is your company utilizing videos? If so, share a link to your company video below and if not, tell us why your company hasn't joined in on this growing video trend.