The Multi-Lens Advantage: Capturing Tv's Complex Visual Storytelling

TV cameras, like smartphone cameras, have multiple lenses to serve different purposes. The different lenses are for different focal lengths, which determine how much of a scene is captured and how much it is magnified. A camera with a short focal length allows for a wider image, while a long focal length allows for magnification of details from far away.

TV cameras, like smartphone cameras, cannot have detachable lenses, so they have to have a number of lenses to provide photography for different focal lengths.

Multiple-camera setup: TV cameras with multiple lenses are used to simultaneously record or broadcast a scene

Multiple-camera setup, also known as multi-cam, is a method of filming, television production and video production. Multiple-camera mode involves using several cameras to simultaneously record or broadcast a scene. This setup is commonly used for live television, light entertainment, sports events, news, soap operas, talk shows, game shows, variety shows, and sitcoms.

In a multiple-camera setup, the two outer cameras typically capture close-up shots of the most active characters, while the central camera/s capture a wider master shot to provide context and establish the geography of the room. This approach allows for multiple shots to be obtained in a single take, eliminating the need to start and stop the action for each shot. This not only saves time but also simplifies the process of tracking continuity issues that arise when reshooting from different angles.

The multiple-camera setup is particularly advantageous for programs that need to be aired shortly after filming, as it reduces the time spent on editing. It is also ideal for productions that require a live audience, as the action can unfold chronologically without the need for retakes or shooting out of sequence.

The use of multiple cameras in television dates back to the earliest days of the medium. For instance, three cameras were used to broadcast "The Queen's Messenger" in 1928, the first drama performed for television. The BBC also routinely employed multiple cameras for their live television shows from 1936 onwards.

While the multiple-camera setup is commonly used in television, most films typically use a single-camera setup. However, in recent years, larger film productions have started to use two cameras simultaneously to film the same setup, although this is not considered a true multi-camera setup in the television sense.

Twin-lens reflex camera: One lens takes the picture, while the other is used for the viewfinder system

A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the lens that takes the picture, known as the "taking lens", while the other is used for the viewfinder system. This viewfinder is usually viewed from above at waist level.

The viewfinder consists of a 45-degree mirror, a matte focusing screen at the top of the camera, and a pop-up hood surrounding it. The two objectives are connected, so the focus shown on the focusing screen will be the same as on the film. The TLR camera was popular from the 1920s to the 1950s, with the legendary Rolleiflex being the choice of professionals in most fields.

The TLR configuration was popular for several reasons. The TLR was mechanically very reliable and quiet, without any blackout in the finder during an exposure. The taking lens incorporates a leaf-type shutter, so flash sync is possible at all speeds. The TLR was also ideal for candid camera shots where an eye-level camera would be too conspicuous.

However, the cons of the TLR eventually outweighed the pros. The boxy body was uncomfortable to handle and the image was always reversed. Most TLRs had fixed lenses and lacked depth-of-field preview, and it was impossible to preview the effects of filters.

Telephoto lens: This type of lens has a physical length shorter than its focal length, allowing for a more compact design

The use of multiple cameras in television production, also known as the "multicam" setup, is a method that employs several cameras to capture a scene simultaneously. This technique is commonly used for live television, including sports events, news, soap operas, talk shows, and sitcoms.

Now, when it comes to the topic of lenses within the context of television cameras, let's focus on the telephoto lens. This type of lens is characterised by having a physical length shorter than its focal length. This unique design is made possible by incorporating a special lens group known as the telephoto group, which extends the light path to achieve a long-focus lens within a much more compact overall design.

The telephoto lens is a specific type of long-focus lens used in both photography and cinematography. It is particularly useful when you want to bring distant scenes and subjects closer without having to move physically. This is achieved through its ability to create a narrow field of view, typically beyond 80mm.

Telephoto lenses are categorised into three types: short telephoto, medium telephoto, and super telephoto. Short telephoto lenses range from 85mm to 135mm and are ideal for everyday use due to their compact and lightweight design. Medium telephoto lenses offer focal lengths between 135mm and 300mm, making them bigger, longer, and heavier. Super telephoto lenses provide focal lengths beyond 300mm, delivering telescope-like magnification, but they are too heavy for handheld shooting.

The telephoto lens design has been further adapted for wide-angle applications. By inverting the telephoto configuration, photographers can create wide-angle lenses with increased back focal distance, known as retrofocus lenses or inverted telephotos. This modification allows for greater clearance for other optical or mechanical parts, such as the mirror components in a single-lens reflex camera.

In summary, the telephoto lens is a versatile tool in television production and photography, offering a range of focal lengths while maintaining a relatively compact form factor.

Wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses: These lenses have a lower focal length, allowing you to capture more of the subject in the image

The multiple-camera setup, or "multicam", is a method of filmmaking, television production, and video production that has been used since the earliest days of television. In a multicam setup, several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene. This is often used for live television, such as sports events, news, soap operas, talk shows, and sitcoms, especially those filmed before a live studio audience.

Advantages of Multicam

• More efficient for programs that will be shown shortly after being shot as it reduces time spent in film or video editing.
• Scenes may be shot more quickly as there is no need for relighting or the setup of alternative camera angles.
• Reduces the complexity of tracking continuity issues that crop up when the scene is reshot from different angles.

Disadvantages of Multicam

• Requires a less optimized lighting setup that needs to provide a compromise for all camera angles.
• Less flexibility in putting the necessary equipment on scene, such as microphone booms and lighting rigs.
• Uses up to four times as much film or digital storage space per take compared with a single-camera setup.

Wide-Angle and Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses

Wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses have a lower focal length, allowing you to capture more of the subject in the image. They are commonly used by architecture and landscape photographers, as they can fit much of the foreground, as well as the surrounding elements, in the photo.

Focal Lengths for Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses

• For a 1" sensor, any 9mm or shorter is considered ultra-wide-angle.
• For a 4/3" sensor, any 10mm or shorter lens is considered ultra-wide-angle.
• For APS-C, any lens shorter than 15mm.
• For 35mm film or a full-frame sensor, any lens shorter than 24mm.
• For 6x4.5 cm, any lens shorter than 41mm.
• For 6x6 cm and 6x7 cm, any lens shorter than 56mm.

Fisheye and Rectilinear Lenses

Ultra-wide-angle lenses come in two varieties: fisheye and rectilinear. Fisheye lenses have curvilinear barrel distortion, meaning the image appears very distorted and straight lines can also appear curved. Rectilinear lenses, on the other hand, are designed to make straight lines appear straight in the resulting images. Neither denotes a particular range of focal lengths, and the difference is only whether distortion is present or not. However, the shorter the focal length, the more difficult it is to implement rectilinear correction.

Benefits of Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses

• Larger depth of field, allowing the photographer to keep much or almost all of the scene in focus.
• Better aperture setting—thanks to the small focal length, these lenses can shoot longer exposures without fear of camera shake in the image.
• Exaggerate the difference between near and far, making exteriors and interiors seem more spacious.

Drawbacks of Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses

• Can be very difficult to keep undesired objects such as light sources out of the image.
• The sky often constitutes a very large portion of the frame and may need to be darkened for the image to appear balanced.
• Due to their big, bulbous front elements and built-in petal-shaped hoods, it is often impossible to use standard filters such as ND and polarizing filters.

Monochrome lens: This lens captures images in true black and white, creating more striking and dramatic photos

Monochrome photography involves creating images in different shades of a single colour. While black-and-white photography is a type of monochrome photography, the latter term also applies to images that use other colours, such as sepia or cyan.

Monochrome photography is created either in-camera or in post-production. In-camera, you can shoot in monochrome capture mode, which is available on mirrorless cameras. You can also use colour filters, but these only work with cameras that shoot in monochrome.

When editing colour photos to be monochrome, you can use software such as Lightroom, which has a monochrome profile that instantly converts colour images. You can also use Lightroom's Split Toning and HSL/Hue Saturation Luminance tools to fine-tune the colour and its strength in your images.

When shooting monochrome photography, it's important to:

• Find the right scene: Understanding the magical hours, such as the golden hour and blue hour, can enhance monochrome pictures.
• Use contrast: Monochrome photos rely on contrast within a single colour to deliver depth.
• Maximise subject separation: Create compositions where your subject is in stark contrast to your background.
• Work with long exposure: The combination of contrast and the feeling of movement in long exposure shots deliver admirable monochrome photographs.
• Highlight textures and patterns: With the absence of colour as a means of distraction, the contrast in a texture pops.
• Use the whole tonal range: There's an infinite range of tonal values between extreme black and white, and creating pictures that use the entire range can be valuable.
• What we do in the shadows: By leaving the details hidden in a shadow, the viewer builds their idea of what's in the darkness.

Frequently asked questions