The professional video camera is a high quality camera which was once primarily used in television production. It records electronic moving devices and, in addition to television production, is also used in the development of educational films, corporate seminar material, music videos and direct-to-video movies. Since these cameras are designed to be mobile, a well constructed camera bag is a necessary investment.

The portable recording cameras are basically high-end camcorders that are used mostly in broadcasting the news on television and for filming such functions on location such as sporting events, political conventions and awards shows. The studio camera doesn't have recording capabilities and is frequently set up on a studio pedestal. Both cameras are almost always considerably larger than the camcorders that are available to the average shopper.

There are several features to consider when selecting a video camera. One most important feature in your equipment is the focus capability. Choosing a camera with manual focus places all the control with the operator. You don't have to be concerned about your subject going in and out of focus, which they can when you have a camera with automatic focus. And "racking focus", which is shifting the focus point of an image by changing the focus of the lens from a subject in the background to a subject in the foreground. This isn't possible with an automatic focus camera. Protect your lenses in your camera bag with a padded lens cradle.

Exposure, which is the amount of light allowed to enter the lens, is another feature many professionals prefer to maintain control over. If you're manually adjusting the iris, you're assured of having the correct amount of light as you film each subject and your entire film will be exposed precisely. When filming light from different sources, such as the sunshine and artificial light in the same shot, many professionals feel the need for manual white balance is critical. Automatic white balance is convenient and is very good in today's cameras, but for quality, professional films with complicated lighting situations, a manual white balance feature is a must.

A high quality, professional video camera will allow for interchanging lenses. A lens adapter can be used on the lower end models that don't have this feature.

The CCD, short for charged coupled device, are the chips inside the camera that determine the quality of the image. The higher the number of chips and pixels, the better the video image. Lower end cameras have one chip. The professional video camera will normally have 3 chips to provide the highest quality image.

Audio and sound control is equally as important to a film as the image. It's very important to maintain manual control over the volume of what's being recorded and regulate your background noise. An external microphone gives you more control than the built in mikes. In order to hear what is actually being recorded as it will sound on the film, you'll need to use headphones and not all cameras have headphone jacks, so check for that feature.

Select a camera bag that's designed to hold your video camera, plus extra lenses and accessories that is structurally strong and designed to protect your valued equipment.