Camcorder Background

Video recording systems for the public were available as early as 1963. Made by a company called Ampex, they consisted of a large camera, monitor, special furniture, and a 100 lb. video recorder. The bulky equipment came with a bulky price tag-- $30,000. Portable recording was made possible with the use of Portapaks. Although innovative, they still presented a filming problem: the film they used was undeveloped and could not be exposed to light. Once the three minutes of film was complete, the user had to wind the film up and send it off to be developed in 8mm reels.

These reels required a projector and screen to view at home. To add to the inconvenience, if the light from the projector overheated, the film could melt. In 1967, Sony improved the portability problem as well as the messiness of editing. Other manufacturers followed suit, and by the 70s, time coding made editing more straightforward. Recording systems also became lighter, around thirty pounds as opposed to hundreds of pounds, and the tape used was narrower. Finally, camcorders utilizing VHS or Betamax tapes appeared on the market in the early 80s.

During the 80s, electronics giants such as Sony and JVC competed constantly for the camcorder market, improving things such as camcorder size, color and picture resolution, and sound quality. Mini-VHS camcorders permitted the overall body size to be more compact without compromising film quality. Higher resolution, made possible by dual analog channel recording, meant that copies of a video could be made without the worry of quality degradation with each replica. By the 1990s, the technology race was getting tighter and more frantic. No longer just a tool for professionals, cameras and camcorders alike became an enjoyable tool for the novice videographer. LCD screens replaced viewfinders.

Electronic sensor technology (also known as CCD) had fully replaced chemical image development. Then, in the mid-90s, video technology reached the next level: digital recording. Modern camcorders are made up of a lens, viewfinders and LCD screens, an imaging chip, the recorder, a battery, connection cables, and the storage device. All components should be examined when choosing the right camcorder.