Professional Camera Operator Interview Questions & Answers:

1. Tell us what hours do you work?

Anything is possible. Some days can be as short as five hours, but 14-hour days are not unusual. I could work during the day, at night or during weekends and bank holidays.

2. Tell me how do I connect an Auto Iris lens to a camera?

This is usually performed by a simple plug-in connection to the rear or side of the camera. However you should always refer to the relevant camera handbook.

3. What is digital Video Recorders?

A Digital CCTV Video Recorders, (DVR), are stand-alone units that are capable of saving digital CCTV images to a PC. DVR look similar to a standard Video Cassette Recorders (VCR's).

4. Tell me what type of illumination can I use with color cameras?

Only lighting within the visible wavelength should be used with color cameras. Tungsten Halogen is often the recommended source of lighting.

5. Tell me how can I eliminate ground loop faults?

This can be achieved in a number of ways, the easiest of which is the installation of a Ground Loop Isolation Transformer. This is best installed at the monitor or recording end of the system.

6. Tell me what is the difference between Auto Iris and Direct Drive Lenses?

An Auto Iris lens is one that automatically adjusts its iris for changes in the scene lighting levels. The motor that opens and closes the iris is driven by an Amplifier that processes a small electronic signal changing with the light level.

7. Tell us what kind of expectations do you have for yourself and your work?

Get rewarded what job you produce and work with sincerity loyalty and with enthusiasm using yours years of experience to get best of it.

8. Tell me does the 'f' stop matter when choosing a lens?

Yes, lenses are usually specified as having a minimum and maximum 'f' stop rating; the 'f' stop is a measure of how efficiently the lens allows light from the scene, to pass through the lens and onto the camera CCD sensor. The maximum aperture (when the lens is fully open), is the minimum 'f' stop number and the minimum aperture, (just before the lens completely closes) is the maximum 'f' stop number.

9. What is digital CCTV?

Currently the majority of CCTV systems use Digital technology. Digital CCTV Surveillance uses current PC technology to digitize the CCTV camera images and compress them into a PC friendly format. These digital images can then be stored on a PC's Hard Disk Drive. As the digital cctv images are stored on computers Hard Drives it is possible to save digital cctv footages and access them speedily and easily. Digital CCTV also has the advantage over Analogue CCTV systems that the image is of a far higher resolution.

10. Tell me who else do you work with?

On location, I am usually part of a team of four or five people, including a sound operator, a producer, possibly an assistant producer and a presenter. In the studio I work as part of a team or three or more camera operators, as well as director, a producer, one or more presenters and lots of other technical operatives such as lighting, sound and videotape technicians.