By helmsm | Wed, 01/26/2022 - 17:11

Camera Supports

Published 2/1/2022

Professional video cameras often need to perform under a range of demanding shooting conditions that require special camera support capabilities.

Hollywood or episodic production usually has larger budgets, larger crews and longer shooting schedules than a typical TV commercial, local program, live event or small-budget series. Regardless of the production, cameras may be required to shoot with specialized camera support equipment.

Pan head designs include cradle, spring, and cam heads, most with fluid damping. The weight of the camera, lens, viewfinder and accessories most often determines the type and cost of a pan head.

The tripod is the most common mount for the pan head, but applications and camera movement may require more specialized camera support like a jib/boom, crane, dolly, pedestal, Steadycam or Skycam systems.

Here are a few of the unique camera support options for typical production cameras:

  1. Jib/ boom/ crane are somewhat similar in function but differ in size, length and capacity. Jibs can be small and light. Or it can be big and heavy cranes that carry the camera and operator and are usually rented. They can both be manually or robotically controlled.
  2. Pedestals are most often used in TV studios. They can move or steer manually by the cameraman or by remote robotics. The center column can raise or lower using counter-weights, springs or air pressure.
  3. Dollies are used for traveling shots following a subjects movement. The dolly is a wheeled platform that the camera and operator sit on. For smooth and quiet dolly shots, pre-laid and leveled tracks are used.
  4. Steadycam is a brand name, but often used generically. It allows a very steady and smooth hand-held shot, better than when shoulder mounted. Its often body-mounted and uses various methods to offset and balance the camera weight. As cameras play a more active part in the scene, they have become increasingly popular.
  5. Skycam is one of the many types of wire, line or cable-suspended camera mounts. This type of system is used for live venue events, like NFL games. They are supplied as a service, usually with operators. They are maneuvered through multiple dimensions by a computer-controlled cable-drive system.

This short blog can only cover the most common types of production camera mounting options. For our system cameras there is a huge range of camera mounts available for a variety of different video applications.

Count on Hitachi Kokusai to keep you informed about the latest industry advancements. Check out our top-of-the-line camera systems, such as the Hitachi SK-HD1800.