ideo cameras, once a luxury, are relatively commonplace--especially
at youth sporting events. Your authors have countless hours of
long-forgotten high school baseball, football, track, cross-country,
swimming, and other events packed away somewhere. We've had a few
problems with video cameras over the years, so we know how to do some
basic repairs--and how to maintain them to avoid having to fix them.
How Does It Work?
Components of a typical video camera.
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A video camera, also called a camcorder, is a portable television
camera combined with a video recorder. The camera section has a lens and
special charge-coupled device or CCD (a microchip with thousands of
tiny light-sensitive elements containing photodiodes). The CCD separates
the picture into three color images using red, green, and blue color
filters over adjacent light-sensitive elements. In the recorder section,
the video signal from the CCD and sound signal from the video camera's
microphone are recorded on tape in the same way that a video recorder
records sound. The signal is either analog (older) or digital (newer).
The tape format may be VHS, VHS-C or 8 millimeter, but otherwise video
cameras are very similar in function, maintenance, and repair.
Fix-It Tip
Some so-called problems are caused by built-in safety devices. For
example, many video cameras will refuse to work if an internal sensor
says that the air is too moist or dusty. In fact, a warning image may
show up on the viewfinder or screen. If so, change conditions (if
possible) before attempting to video. Canned air can assist the process.
