Pan–tilt–zoom camera
A pan–tilt–zoom camera (PTZ camera) is a camera that is capable of remote directional and zoom control.
In television production PTZ controls are used with professional video cameras in television studios and referred to as camera robotics. These systems can be remotely controlled by automation systems. The PTZ controls are generally sold separately without the cameras.
PTZ is an abbreviation for pan, tilt, and zoom and reflects the movement options of the camera. Other types of cameras are ePTZ where a megapixel camera zooms into portions of the image and a fixed camera that remains in one position and does not move. Surveillance cameras of this type are often connected to a DVR to control the movement and record the video.
Auto tracking
An innovation to the PTZ camera is a built-in firmware program that monitors the change of pixels generated by the video clip in the camera. When the pixels change due to movement within the cameras field of view, the camera can actually focus on the pixel variation and move the camera in an attempt to center the pixel fluctuation on the video chip. This process results in the camera following movement. The program allows the camera to estimate the size of the object which is moving and distance of the movement from the camera. With this estimate the camera can adjust the cameras optical lens in and out in an attempt to stabilize the size of pixel fluctuation as a percentage of total viewing area. Once the movement exits the cameras field of view the camera automatically returns to a pre-programmed or "parked" position until it senses pixel variation and the process starts over again.