GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester

: 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

Experiment-09

Aim: Study of camcorders electronic portion. Requirements: Training Kit and Accessories. Circuit Diagram:

Fig. 9.1

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GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester : 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

4.

STUDY:

4.1 MODERN VIEWFINDERS: Viewfinders can be optical or electronic. An optical viewfinder is simply a reversed telescope mounted to see what the camera will see. It has many drawbacks. It has advantages that it consumes no power. It does not wash out in sunlight. It has "full resolution" (i.e. the resolution of the photographer's eye). An Electronic View Finder (EVF) is a CRT, LCD or OLED based display device. Mainly the LCD is commonplace today due to its small size and weight. In addition to its primary purpose, an electronic viewfinder can be used to replay previously captured material. It can be used as an on screen display to browse through menus. A still camera's optical viewfinder typically has one or more small supplementary LED displays surrounding the view of the scene. On a film camera, these displays show shooting information such as the shutter speed and aperture. For autofocus cameras they provide an indication that the image is correctly focused. Digital still cameras will typically also display information such as the current ISO setting and the number of remaining shots which can be taken in a burst. Another display which overlays the view of the scene is often provided. It typically shows the location and state of the camera's provided auto focus points. This overlay can also provide lines or a grid which assist in picture composition. A digicam with view finder is shown in Fig. 9.2

Fig. 9.2 Typical film Single Lens Reflex (SLR) viewfinder information is shown in Fig. 9.3.

Fig. 9.3

It is not uncommon for a camera to have two viewfinders.

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GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester : 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

Example: A digital still camera may have an optical viewfinder and an electronic one. The latter can be used to replay previously captured material. It has an on screen display. It can be switched OFF to save power. A camcorder may have two viewfinders. Both are electronic. The first is viewed through a magnifying eyepiece. Due to a rubber eyepiece it can be viewed perfectly even in bright light. The second viewfinder would be larger, of a higher resolution. It may be mounted on the side of the camera. Because it consumes more power, a method is often provided to turn it OFF to save energy. Some special purpose cameras do not have viewfinders at all. Example: Web cameras and video surveillance cameras. They use external monitors as their viewfinders. 4.2 Electronic View Finder (EVF): EVF is a viewfinder where the image captured by the lens is projected electronically onto a miniature display. The image on this display is used to assist in aiming the camera at the scene to be photographed. The sensor records the view through the lens. The view is processed. Finally it is projected on a miniature display. It is viewable through the eyepiece. Electronic viewfinders in digital still cameras are very similar to those in video cameras. Cutaway of an old video camera is shown in Fig. 9.4

Fig. 9.4 NOTE: It has miniature CRT. Electronic View Finders have the following advantages over optical viewfinders:

Lack of parallax and ability to cope with high zoom ratio lenses, without the need for a bulky reflex mirror. Cameras with a separate optical viewfinder show the scene from a different viewpoint than that of the camera lens.
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GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester : 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

Information about the scene, such as a histogram, can be overlaid with the scene. EVFs can show approximately how the scene will look under the chosen exposure. EVFs can show a low-light scene brighter than it is when they are display priority. Most EVFs show 100% coverage of the final image. EVFs provide a more accurate depiction of the contrast and tonal qualities that will appear in the final image.

Electronic viewfinders have the following limitations:

There may be a noticeable lag between the changes in the scene and the electronic viewfinder display. The resolution of the display may be too low to allow for accurate manual focusing. Some cameras assist in this by magnifying the center of the image or by outlining the edges of in focus objects; even with this adaptation, manual focus using an EVF is more difficult than using a DSLR optical viewfinder. A very few EVFs do not have automatic gain control and become virtually blank in low light conditions. An EVF has high power consumption, usually comparable to the main LCD screen. For saving battery, Panasonic Lumix G1 and G2 both have automatic eye sensors which switch the display from the rear LCD to the EVF when we put the EVF to our eye. Whereas Panasonic Lumix G10 has a button to switch the display.

Electronic viewfinders have been in use with bridge cameras for some years, and later entered the field of compact cameras (with the Ricoh GX100) and of cameras such as the micro four thirds camera Panasonic DMC-G1 or the newer Nikon 1 V1, which are not actually DSLR, but have interchangeable lenses, and electronic viewfinder in place of an optical one. Many professional photographers and advanced amateurs prefer digital single lens reflex cameras. They have a true Optical through the lens View Finder (OVF). Some digital SLR camera models provide both through the lens viewing and a "live preview" on the LCD display (as distinct from an electronic viewfinder). These include the Olympus E-330, E-410, E-510 and E-3, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 and DMC-L10, the Leica Digilux 3, the Canon EOS 40D, EOS 50D, EOS 60D, EOS 7D and EOS-1D Mark III, and the Nikon D3, D300 and D90. 4.3 Hybrid View Finder: To get the advantage of both optical and electronic viewfinders some cameras have hybrid viewfinders. These display the image in an optical eyepiece view finder, or electronically on an LCD screen.

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GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester : 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

Example: Fujifilm FinePix X100 and X-Pro1. 4.4 Image Stabilization (IS): IS is a family of techniques used to reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera during exposure. Specifically, it compensates for pan and tilt (angular movement, equivalent to yaw and pitch) of a camera or other imaging device. It is used in image stabilized binoculars, still and video cameras, and astronomical telescopes. With still cameras, camera shake is particularly problematic at slow shutter speeds or with long focal length (telephoto) lenses. With video cameras, camera shake causes visible frame to frame jitter in the recorded video. In astronomy, the problem of lens shake is added to by variations in the atmosphere over time. It causes the apparent positions of objects to change. 4.5 Recording a Picture: The camcorder automatically focuses the object for picture.

Fig. 9.5 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Remove the lens cap. Attach the lens cap to the grip strap. Install the power source. Insert the cassette. Set the POWER switch to CAMERA while pressing the small green button. This sets the camcorder to the standby mode. (vi) Open the LCD panel while pressing OPEN. The viewfinder automatically turns OFF. (vii) Press START/STOP. (viii) Camcorder starts recording. (ix) The REC indicator appears on the screen. The camera recording lamp located on the front of camcorder lights up. (x) To stop recording, press START/STOP again.

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GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester : 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

(xi)

The recording lamp lights up in the viewfinder, when recording with viewfinder.

NOTE: The data code (date/time when recorded) are not displayed during recording. However, they are recorded automatically onto tape. To display the data code (date/time), press DATA CODE on the Remote Commander during playback. 4.6 Playing Back a Tape: Close the LCD panel. Monitor the playback picture in the viewfinder. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) Install the power source. Insert the recorded tape. Set the POWER switch to VCR/PLAYER while pressing the small green button. Open the LCD panel while pressing OPEN. Press to rewind the tape. Press to start the playback. To adjust the volume, press either of the two buttons on VOLUME. When LCD panel is closed, sound is MUTED. - : To turn the volume DOWN. + : To turn the volume UP.

Fig. 9.6.

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GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY KANIPLA (KURUKSHETRA) Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Laboratory Manual Semester : 8th Subject: Audio Visual Lab Subject Code: ECE-410E

STUDENTs ACTIVITY 5. OBSERVATIONS

6. RESULT

7. VIVA VOCE QUESTIONS (i) Describe Electronic View Finder. (ii) Explain Image Stabilization. (iii)Give the steps to record a picture in a camcorder. (iv) How to playback a recorded tape? ASSESS YOUR SELF . . ANY SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVEMENT .. .. REMARKS OF TEACHER ..

SIGNATURE OF TEACHER

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