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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Auto-focus is a common feature on consumer cameras that keeps only
the center of the picture in focus. Because the average consumer usually
places the most important portion of a picture in the center, this feature
allows them to get an image that is in focus without adjusting any of the
camera settings.
Auto-focus is not used on many professional cameras, because focus
is a creative tool and professionals prefer to have creative control over the
images. As the next chapter explains, the most important items in a shot
should never be placed in the center of a frame. Therefore, the auto-focus
feature keeps the wrong items in focus. Professionals should always turn
the auto-focus option off.
auto-focus: A common
feature on consumer cameras
that keeps only the center of
the picture in focus.
Many people misuse the word “focus;” they incorrectly use
it when they mean “zoom.” For example, “focus in on the
apple on the kitchen counter.” In this context, “focus” actually
communicates that the camera should zoom in on the apple
on the counter. Use “focus” only when dealing with a picture that is blurry
and in need of focus adjustment. Never say “focus” when you mean “zoom.”
To a professional, this misuse is the mark of an amateur.
Talk the Talk
Zoom Lens
A zoom lens assembly is a type of camera lens that can smoothly move
from a close-up shot to a wide-angle shot, stopping anywhere between, all
the while capturing usable footage. For example, a camera that is 15 feet
away from a person can capture a very tight shot of the person’s eyes. Most
television camera lenses are zoom lenses, in that they are capable of mag-
nifying an image merely by twisting one of the rings on the lens. A zoom
lens may be operated at any speed, from extremely fast to so slowly the
audience barely perceives that an object is getting larger or smaller. When
the zoom ring on a lens assembly is rotated, an individual glass lens inside
physically moves forward and back. The movement of this lens can be seen
with the naked eye if you look into the front of the lens assembly while
rotating the zoom ring. The movement of this single lens changes the type
of shot captured by the camera. Rotating the zoom lens so that the center of
the picture appears to be moving toward the camera is called
zoom in (ZI)
or tighten. Rotating the zoom lens so that the center of the picture appears
to be moving away from the camera is called
zoom out (ZO) or widen.
It is very important to understand that a zoom shot does not produce
the same effect for the audience as a shot where the camera physically
moves toward the subject, or a dolly shot. A dolly shot, discussed further
in the next chapter, takes the audience into the set in the same way a person
moves through his environment. A dolly actually changes the perspective.
The natural picture from a dolly shot, without a zoom, is three-dimensional
and more realistic. When zooming in, the center of the picture gets larger
because it is magnifi ed. It does not appear as though the camera moves
closer to the object, only that the center of the picture is larger. The zoom
makes it possible to get a close-up of an object without physically moving
the camera. With a zoom shot, however, the image takes on a fl at appear-
ance. A dolly shot provides more realism for the viewer than a zoom.
zoom lens assembly:
Camera lens assembly that
is capable of magnifying an
image merely by twisting one
of the rings on the outside
of the lens housing. Also
commonly called a variable
focal length lens.
zoom in (ZI): The act of
rotating a ring on the zoom
lens so that the center of the
picture appears to be moving
toward the camera. Also
called tighten.
zoom out (ZO): The act of
rotating a ring on the zoom
lens so that the center of the
picture appears to be moving
away from the camera. Also
called widen.