Camera Lesson 1

Today, we had our first camera lesson where we learnt about the different types of cameras and how they operate and what they can do. We had previously learnt about the different camera angles and camera movements and so it was really interesting learning about how these are actually achieved and learning about the various bits of equipment and how to go about using them productively.

We were firstly introduced to the tripods and how to set them up. We had to take the tripod out of the bag and place it on the floor making sure that the florescent green dot was facing towards us. This ensured that the tripod was facing the correct way. We then had to set up the tripod by adjusting the heights of each of the legs. I didn't find this part too difficult and I was able to follow the instructions on how to adjust the legs individually ensuring that the tripod was set up correctly.

We then had to attach the panning arm to the tripod which would enable us to move the camera lens from one side to another; pan. 

We were then introduced to the three different types of camera which all had different features enabling different angles and movements. My group used the Sony NX5 camera which was a very professional looking camera with many features which appeared daunting at first but I soon adjusted to the new technology and by the end of the lesson I understood the basics of how to use the camera effectively and correctly.

We were then shown how to place the camera onto the grid on top of the camera properly and we did this by pushing in a small lever on the left hand side and then placing the camera on top of the grid and sliding it forward until the camera was in place. We then had to adjust a few things to ensure that the camera would stay in place and wouldn't tilt; move up or down whilst keeping the horizontal axis constant. This was quite difficult as I had to figure out how to make sure that the camera was slotting into the appropriate place on the grid and ensure that the camera would stay in place. It took me a few attempts to achieve this but I soon got there!

Following on from this we were shown how to place the battery in the camera and where the battery release button is situated on the camera. For the particular camera we were suing, the Sony NX5, you had to make sure that the arrow was facing the correct way (down) and that the metal bands were in the correct place to ensure that an electric current would form making the camera work. In order to get the battery into the correct place we had to place the battery into the slot making sure that it was going up and then push it down until it provided us with a satisfying click. I soon established that if you had done something correctly that the camera would respond with a satisfying click and this pleased me immensely! 

After correctly placing the battery in the camera we were able to turn the camera on by pressing down the small green button on the right hand side whilst turning the dial until the white mark matched up with the word 'on.' This was a very simple step and I feel like the location of the power on/off button was placed very well and was easy to find for someone who had previously never used this particular camera.

We then used the view finder to help us with the next step of learning about the focus, zoom, and exposure dials.  We had to turn the dials each way to figure out what they did and how this affected the shot. We were then given a tip which was that when trying to focus on something you should always zoom in all the way to the image then focus the lens on the image at that short focal length and then zoom out and it will be focused properly. This was a very useful tip as it helped me to realise that although the image appeared to be focused from the zoomed out angle, when you are zoomed in it can appear out of focus so you must always check that the image is focused from all focal lengths. Once we had worked with the zoom and focus dials we were introduced to the exposure dial which changed the amount of light intensity on the image. We had to figure out what exposure would best suit the image depending on the surroundings; in a studio or in daylight and how much light would be appropriate to show the image clearly.

This was then followed with making sure that the camera was balanced on the tripod and that the weight of the camera was evenly distributed across the tripod. We did this by adjusting a dial on the bottom of the tripod and as we did this we held onto the camera and moved it around until the bubble was in the circle shown on the right hand side of the camera. When the bubble was inside the circle this meant that the camera was balanced and so the horizontal axis would be accurate and exactly straight. In order to see the bubble and the circle there was a small light which was placed above the bubble/circle for convenience. I enjoyed this part of the process as it helped me to be precise and ensure accuracy when using a camera. We had to be very careful and this process involved us helping each other out, so one person would adjust the dial beneath the tripod and then tighten it when the bubble was in the correct pace and the other person would move the camera accordingly to ensure the bubble was inside the circle. This helped us to communicate together in order to achieve this and also helped us work together as a team.

Following on from this, we learnt about the white balance feature of the camera. The white balance ensures that the colour balance is correct in order to make the image appear natural by adjusting the amount of light. We used a white reflector to do this, which is essentially just a large white circle which the camera can focus on and can be used to achieve the white balance of the image. However, you could use any white object to achieve this, such as a piece of blank white paper. The white balance is achieved by pressing a button on the camera and allowing the camera to figure out how much light is needed in order to make the image appear natural. The white balance is different depending on your surroundings and can make a impact on how other colours are seen on the screen. The white balance varies depending on whether you are in the studio with artificial lights or outside in nature with the natural light of the sun. Underneath the white balance button on the camera there is a little switch which enables the camera man to switch between white balance settings without having to repeat the process of using the reflector. This is particularly useful when filming changes from in a studio setting to outside and it enables the camera man to save time and also it allows the light balance to be effective and appropriate for each location.

Going into this lesson I was a bit apprehensive as I had never used any of the equipment before. But I felt like I had achieved something when the lesson finished as although it was all very daunting, I just got myself stuck into it and had a go as that was the only way I was going to learn how to use it. I thoroughly enjoyed using the technology and I feel as though I understand how a camera works now and I also learned a lot of camera terminology in this lesson. I am looking forward to using the cameras again in the near future and also learning more about the different features that the cameras possess.