A few years ago when everybody played their video on a VHS player, picture quality was never very good when compared with, say, a BBC TV programme.

But now that most corporate video is played back through DVD, picture quality has literally zoomed right to the forefront.

The picture has to look right, as DVD shows every flaw. Picture quality matters.

And getting this quality right starts with the camera.

Good camera equals good picture.

Typically a good camera will cost £20,000 or more. And the difference shows.

So let's see what goes on inside the camera.

A camera has three main components: A lens, the camera, and the recorder.

the lens

A modern lens for a corporate video shoot will be a wide angle lens.

This is necessary as many corporate video shots take place in small spaces such as offices, or require close-up work such as a head and shoulders of a manager or operative talking to camera.

With a regular lens, the view is slightly telescopic and narrow looking. But with a wide angle lens (or wangle) the shot looks literally wider and more spacious. It makes people and places look better.

A good quality lens is made of glass not plastic, and can cost maybe £10,000 for a professional grade.

If these numbers boggle the mind, consider that pro television studio camera might well cost £250,000.

the camera

Today's video camera is more than just a camera. It's a computer too.

For example a before taking a shot, the camera operator will probably do a White Balance. This ensures the colour comes out correctly.

It works like this:

Before a shot is taken, the camera operator points at a white object such as a piece of paper. Based on this "white", the computer in the camera can then calculate what all the other colours of the spectrum should look like, for the particular lighting conditions.

This is quite an important feature as the lack of a white balance will result in poor colour, and poor colour is one thing that a DVD will definitely show up.

Auto-white balance is a feature of many prosumer camcorders, but this will often be the camera's best guess, and is no substitute for carrying out a true white balance.

variable shutter speed

For example, if there are computer monitors in the picture, as there often are in offices, the shutter speed of the camera has to match the sync of the computer screen, otherwise the screen will appear to be scrolling.

A variable shutter speed on the camera can be adjusted to compensate and a good quality picture will result.

Obviously, this only applies to CRT screens, and not flat screens.

lighting

Another feature of a good camera is the ability to work in ordinary lighting conditions, without lights, and still produce an exemplary picture.

For example there may not be the time to rig lights in an office or factory, as time is often tight on corporate video shoots.

A good modern digital camera shouldn't be phased by this. It will have sufficient pixels and technology in the camera element to compensate for ordinary light.

There are many other features on a good camera which set it apart from a camcorder, including sharpness control, light temperature and audio controls.

summary

Use the best camera you can afford.

You'll probably need a wide angle lens.

You'll need a camera with extras such as white balance, temperature, variable shutter speed.