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92-516: The CVC format used a cassette similar in size to a 8-mm videocassette and was loaded with magnetic tape 6.5 mm wide. Unlike most other video cassette formats that enclose reels with flanges, the CVC cassette employed tape hubs without flanges similar to compact cassette , which made the design more space-efficient. Initially only V30 tapes were available which ran for 30 minutes, then later V45 (45 minute) and V60 (60 minute) models were introduced. The format

184-405: A de facto standard for home video production, independent filmmaking and citizen journalism . That year, Ikegami introduced Editcam (the first tapeless video recording system). Camcorders using DVD media were popular at the turn of the 21st century due to the convenience of being able to drop a disc into the family DVD player ; however, DVD capability, due to the limitations of the format,

276-424: A CCD , or a photodiode array which may be an Active Pixel Sensor , converts light into an electrical signal. The camera lens projects an image onto the imager surface, exposing the photosensitive array to light. This light exposure is converted into an electrical charge. At the end of the timed exposure, the imager converts the accumulated charge into a continuous analog voltage at the imager's output terminals. After

368-418: A helical-scan head drum (it having a small 40mm head) to read from and write to the magnetic tape. The drum rotates at high speed (one or two rotations per picture frame—about 1800 or 3600 rpm for NTSC, and 1500 or 3000 rpm for PAL) while the tape is pulled along the drum's path. Because the tape and drum are oriented at a slight angular offset, the recording tracks are laid down as parallel diagonal stripes on

460-504: A viewfinder (usually digital), a pressure-sensitive knob for zooming at a controllable speed, LED lamp for illuminating in darkness – possibly with an option to adjust automatically, night vision which may be assisted by an infrared lamp , still photography, the ability to capture still photos while filming – usually at a higher resolution than the video, the ability to lock the OIS on far subjects while zoomed in (named "OIS Lock" by Panasonic),

552-478: A 3-step ND filter switch allowing greater control of how much light can enter the camera for maintaining a shallow depth of field or giving a softer appearance to motion. For one hour video shooting in 4K the camera needs about 32 GB to accommodate a data transfer rate of 50 Mbit/s. The camera's MSRP in the US is USD $ 2,000. In 2015, consumer UHD (3840x2160) camcorders below USD $ 1000 became available. Sony released

644-460: A camcorder offers inferior handling, audio and video performance, which limits its utility for extended or adverse shooting situations. The camera phone developed video capability during the early 21st century, reducing sales of low-end camcorders. DSLR cameras with high-definition video were also introduced early in the 21st century. Although they still have the handling and usability deficiencies of other multipurpose devices, HDSLR video offers

736-478: A computer where large files (for DV, 1 GB for 4 to 4.6 minutes in PAL / NTSC resolutions) can be edited , converted and recorded back to tape. The transfer is done in real time , so the transfer of a 60-minute tape requires one hour to transfer and about 13 GB of disk space for the raw footage (plus space for rendered files and other media). A tapeless camcorder is a camcorder that does not use video tape for

828-524: A computer. Professional models include other options like Serial digital interface (SDI) or HDMI . Some tapeless camcorders are equipped with a FireWire (IEEE-1394) port to ensure compatibility with magnetic tape -based DV and HDV formats. Since the consumer market favors ease of use, portability and price, most consumer-grade camcorders emphasize handling and automation over audio and video performance. Most devices with camcorder capability are camera phones or compact digital cameras , in which video

920-549: A current proportional to the light striking them. The current is then digitised before being electronically scanned and fed to the imager's output. The main difference between the two devices is how the scanning is done. In the CCD the diodes are sampled simultaneously, and the scan passes the digitised data from one register to the next. In CMOS devices, the diodes are sampled directly by the scanning logic. Digital video storage retains higher-quality video than analog storage, especially on

1012-623: A different, incompatible recording format. It became standard equipment for broadcast news . Sony released the first consumer camcorder in 1983, the Betamovie BMC-100P. It used a Betamax cassette and rested on the operator's shoulder, due to a design not permitting a single-handed grip. That year, JVC released the first VHS-C camcorder. Kodak announced a new camcorder format in 1984, the 8 mm video format . Sony introduced its compact 8 mm Video8 format in 1985. That year, Panasonic , RCA and Hitachi began producing camcorders using

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1104-466: A flip-up screen meant for video playback and limited recording. These have been adapted for Digital8 as well as MiniDV formats, even as portable DVD players have become popular in this application. Such players saw use in professional applications, particularly with airlines, which, during the 1980s, adopted 8mm as the format for in-flight movies . They remained in use among some airlines until at least 2015. Among home and amateur videographers, Video8/Hi8

1196-452: A full-size VHS cassette with a three-hour capacity. These shoulder-mount camcorders were used by videophiles , industrial videographers and college TV studios. Full-size Super-VHS (S-VHS) camcorders were released in 1987, providing an inexpensive way to collect news segments or other videographies . Sony upgraded Video8, releasing the Hi8 in competition with S-VHS. Digital technology emerged with

1288-533: A hard-shell cassette. These cassettes share similar size and appearance with the audio cassette , but their mechanical operation is far closer to that of VHS or Betamax videocassettes. Standard recording time is up to 90 minutes for PAL and 120 minutes for NTSC. These times are doubled for Long Play (LP) recording mode. (The cassette holds the same length tape; tape consumption is different between PAL and NTSC recorders.) Longer tapes were available, but were less common. Like most other videocassette systems, Video8 uses

1380-807: A higher resolution than the recorded video, allowing for lossless digital zoom by cropping the area read out from the image sensor. The video player may allow for navigation between individual frames and extraction of still frames from footage to standalone pictures. Camcorders are often classified by their storage device ; VHS , VHS-C , Betamax , Video8 are examples of late 20th century videotape -based camcorders which record video in analog form . Digital video camcorder formats include Digital8 , MiniDV , DVD , hard disk drive , direct to disk recording and solid-state, semiconductor flash memory . While all these formats record video in digital form, Digital8, MiniDV, DVD and hard-disk drives have no longer been manufactured in consumer camcorders since 2006. In

1472-447: A mode called "PCM Multi Audio Recording". While other 8mm decks support only a single stereo PCM recording, these units provide five additional stereo PCM tracks that are recorded in the video area of the signal. This allows 8mm tapes to hold 6 parallel tracks of audio, each up to 4 hours long (in LP mode). Only one stereo track can be recorded or listened to at a time, and tracks are selected with

1564-511: A more recent digital recording format known as Digital8 . Their user base consisted mainly of amateur camcorder users, although they also saw important use in the professional television production field. In 1982, five companies – Sony , Matsushita (now Panasonic) , JVC , Hitachi , and Philips – created a preliminary draft of the unified format and invited members of the Electronic Industries Association of Japan,

1656-495: A recording medium for DVCPRO-HD video. In 2006 Panasonic and Sony introduced AVCHD as an inexpensive, tapeless, high-definition video format. AVCHD camcorders are produced by Sony, Panasonic, Canon, JVC and Hitachi. About this time, some consumer grade camcorders with hard disk and/or memory card recording used MOD and TOD file formats, accessible by USB from a PC . In 2010, after the success of James Cameron 's 2009 3D film Avatar , full 1080p HD 3D camcorders entered

1748-566: A recording medium, such as magnetic videotape. Since the record function involves many signal-processing steps, some distortion and noise historically appeared on the stored video; playback of the stored signal did not have the exact characteristics and detail as a live video feed. All camcorders have a recorder-controlling section, allowing the user to switch the recorder into playback mode for reviewing recorded footage, and an image-control section controlling exposure, focus and color balance . The image recorded need not be limited to what appeared in

1840-475: A separate subtitle track . The former allows measuring the exact and undistorted recording time of scenes even if intermittently paused, and the latter may encompass aperture, frames' exposure duration, exposure value, and photosensitivity. On digital camcorders, the video resolution, frame rate, and/or bit rate may be adjustable between higher quality but larger file sizes and lower quality but extended recording time on remaining storage. The image sensor may have

1932-469: A significant manufacturing challenge. However some camcorders, even consumer grade devices such as the JVC GZ-HD3 , introduced around 2007, are triple sensor cameras , usually CCD but could be CMOS. In this case the exact alignment of the three sensors so that the red, green and blue components of the video output are correctly aligned, is the manufacturing challenge. The recorder writes the video signal onto

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2024-449: A similar dual-deck machine. Ultimately, Video8's main rival in the camcorder market turned out to be VHS-C, with neither dominating the market completely. However, both formats (along with their improved descendants, Hi8 and S-VHS-C) were nevertheless very successful. Collectively, they dominated the camcorder market for almost two decades before they were eventually crowded out by digital formats, such as MiniDV , 8cm DVD . To counter

2116-400: A single unit. The Sanyo Xacti HD1 was the first such unit, combining the features of a 5.1 megapixel still camera with a 720p video recorder with improved handling and utility. Canon and Sony have introduced camcorders with still-photo performance approaching that of a digicam, and Panasonic has introduced a DSLR body with video features approaching that of a camcorder. Hitachi has introduced

2208-441: A tape-protecting mechanism built into the shell. Unlike the ones on VHS and VHS-C shells, which consist of only a single piece of plastic that protects the part of the tape that is read by the player/recorder, Hi8's tape-protection mechanism consists of two pieces of plastic at the top of the shell that come together and form a casing that protects both sides of the tape, and a latch that prevents this casing from opening and exposing

2300-637: A while; but by 2005 only Sony sold Digital8 consumer equipment. Digital8's main rival is the consumer MiniDV format, which uses narrower tape and a correspondingly smaller cassette shell. Since both technologies share the same logical audio/video format, Digital8 can theoretically equal MiniDV or even DVCAM in A/V performance. But by the year 2005, Digital8 had been relegated to the entry-level camcorder market. Digital8 recordings are not interchangeable with analog recordings , although many models of Digital8 equipment are able to play Hi8/Video8 analog recordings. By 2009,

2392-629: Is a secondary capability. Some pocket cameras, mobile phones and camcorders are shock-, dust- and waterproof. The consumer camcorder was generally still very expensive throughout the early to mid 1990s, but prices compared to the 1980s had halved for an entry-level model and fell even further at the turn of the millennium, placing them in easier reach of basic-income consumers with the addition of available and more easy to obtain credit to spread payments. This market has followed an evolutionary path driven by miniaturization and cost reduction enabled by progress in design and manufacture. Miniaturization reduces

2484-463: Is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swappable battery facing towards the user, hot-swappable recording media, and an internally contained quiet optical zoom lens. The earliest camcorders were tape-based, recording analog signals onto videotape cassettes. In

2576-512: Is able to operate silently with no throttled speed, whereas cameras with protracting zoom lenses commonly throttle operation speed during video recording to minimize acoustic disturbance. Additionally, dedicated units are able to operate solely on external power with no battery inserted. Video cameras originally designed for television broadcast were large and heavy, mounted on special pedestals and wired to remote recorders in separate rooms. As technology improved, out-of-studio video recording

2668-536: Is achieved by a detachable conversion lens. Sony released a 3D camcorder, the HDR-TD10, with two lenses built in for 3D filming, and can optionally shoot 2D video. Panasonic has also released 2D camcorders with an optional 3D conversion lens. The HDC-SD90, HDC-SD900, HDC-TM900 and HDC-HS900 are sold as "3D-ready": 2D camcorders, with optional 3D capability at a later date. JVC also released a twin-lens camcorder in 2011, JVC Everio GS-TD1. In CES (January) 2014, Sony announced

2760-454: Is in the quality of the tape itself, but the main differences lie in the encoding of the video when it is recorded onto the tape. Video8 was the earliest of the three formats, and is entirely analog. The 8mm tape width was chosen as smaller successor to the 12mm Betamax format, using similar technology (including U-shaped tape loading) but in a smaller configuration in response to the small configuration VHS-C compact camcorders introduced by

2852-478: Is largely limited to consumer-level equipment targeted at people who are not likely to spend any great amount of effort video editing their video footage. Hitachi released the world's first DVD-RAM camcorder in 2000, using the more compact 8 cm MiniDVD . The Sony HDVS system, launched in 1984, allowed 1080i recording in the early 1990s. Sony later released a HD version of Betacam called HDCAM in 1997. Panasonic launched DVCPRO HD in 2000, expanding

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2944-508: Is more vulnerable to wrinkles or stretches in the tape which could erase data, but tracking and error-correction code on the tape compensates for most defects. On analog media, similar damage registers as "noise" in the video, leaving a deteriorated (but watchable) video. DVDs may develop DVD rot , losing large chunks of data. An analog recording may be "usable" after its storage media deteriorates severely, but slight media degradation in digital recordings may trigger an "all or nothing" failure;

3036-402: Is recorded along a narrow linear track at the edge of the tape, where it is vulnerable to damage. Coupled with the slow horizontal tape speed, the sound was comparable with that of a low-quality audio cassette. By contrast, all Video8 machines used audio frequency modulation (AFM) to record sound along the same helical tape path as that of the video signal. This meant that Video8's standard audio

3128-499: Is used by bridge cameras , the camcorder has 20x optical zoom in a compact body with dual XLR audio inputs, Internal ND filters and separate control rings for focus, iris and zoom. In HD capture, the camcorder enables in-camera downscaling of the 4K image to HD to reduce noise inherent in the smaller sensor. As of January 2017, the only major manufacturer to announce new consumer camcorders at CES ( Consumer Electronic Show ) in Las Vegas

3220-404: Is used on semi-pro and high-end professional video cameras for ultrafast transfer of high-definition television (HDTV) content. Most consumer-level tapeless camcorders use MPEG-2 , MPEG-4 or its derivatives as video coding formats. They are normally capable of still-image capture to JPEG format additionally. Consumer-grade tapeless camcorders include a USB port to transfer video onto

3312-402: The digital recording of video productions as 20th century ones did. Tapeless camcorders record video as digital computer files onto data storage devices such as optical discs , hard disk drives and solid-state flash memory cards. Inexpensive pocket video cameras use flash memory cards , while some more expensive camcorders use solid-state drives or SSD; similar flash technology

3404-487: The "PCM Multi Audio" selector button. Introduced in 1999, Digital8 is a form of the industry standard DV codec , recorded on Hi8 media. In engineering terms, Digital8 and MiniDV are indistinguishable at the logical format level. To store the digitally encoded audio/video on a standard NTSC Video8 cassette, the tape must be run at double the Hi8 speed. Thus, a 120-minute NTSC Hi8 tape yields 60 minutes of Digital8 video. Most Digital8 units offer an LP mode, which increases

3496-451: The "door" is open and in the "SAVE" position when it is closed. (Not all tape cases have markings for this information.) The tape can only be recorded onto (or recorded over) when this tab is in the "REC" position. This is an improved version of the VHS write-protect tab, which prevents erasure after it has been broken off, requiring covering with adhesive tape or filling with an obstruction to remove

3588-401: The 1986 Sony D1 , a device which recorded uncompressed data and required a large amount of bandwidth for its time. In 1992 Ampex introduced DCT , the first digital video format with data compression using the discrete cosine transform algorithm present in most commercial digital video formats. In 1995 Sony, JVC, Panasonic and other video-camera manufacturers launched DV , which became

3680-457: The 2000s, digital recording became the norm, and additionally tape was replaced by storage media such as mini- HDD , MiniDVD , internal flash memory and SD cards . More recent devices capable of recording video are camera phones and digital cameras primarily intended for still pictures, whereas dedicated camcorders are often equipped with more functions and interfaces than more common cameras, such as an internal optical zoom lens that

3772-498: The 212E but smaller. The VP100 weighed only 2.3 kg with battery , and had a separate power pack. Despite some references suggesting otherwise, the VP100 did not support multiple recording speeds, and only recorded at the standard CVC speed. Still-frame and variable speed playback were supported in common with other CVC machines. Model 212 was also available in France as a SECAM recorder,

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3864-577: The 21st century, video editing required two recorders and a desktop video workstation to control them. A typical home personal computer can hold several hours of standard-definition video, and is fast enough to edit footage without additional upgrades. Most consumer camcorders are sold with basic video editing software , so users can create their own DVDs or share edited footage online. Since 2006, nearly all camcorders sold are digital. Tape-based (MiniDV/HDV) camcorders are no longer popular, since tapeless models (with an SD card or internal SSD) cost almost

3956-509: The ATF system was that unlike in the case of a control track, an 8mm camera or player cannot keep track of where the tape is during fast forward and rewind (though it could during shuttle search). This made editing using a linear editing system problematic. Some later cameras and players attempted to derive the tape position from the differential rotation of the spools with limited success. As with many other video cassette formats, 8mm videocassettes have

4048-512: The CCD-M8, which at one kilogram was half the mass of the CCD-V8, though it had no zoom and supported only manual focus with three focus settings. In April 1986 six Japanese electronics companies—Matsushita, Hitachi, Pentax, Minolta, Mitsubishi, Sharp and Toshiba—announced their lack of plans to embrace eight millimeter in the foreseeable future and instead adopted VHS-C format. Yet, several months later at

4140-608: The DV codec to support high definition (HD). The format was intended for professional camcorders, and used full-size DVCPRO cassettes. In 2003 Sony, JVC, Canon and Sharp introduced HDV as the first affordable HD video format, due to its use of inexpensive MiniDV cassettes . Sony introduced the XDCAM tapeless video format in 2003, introducing the Professional Disc (PFD) . Panasonic followed in 2004 with its P2 solid state memory cards as

4232-542: The DZHV 584E/EW, with 1080p resolution and a touch screen. The Flip Video was a series of tapeless camcorders introduced by Pure Digital Technologies in 2006. Slightly larger than a smartphone , the Flip Video was a basic camcorder with record, zoom, playback and browse buttons and a USB jack for uploading video. The original models recorded at a 640x480-pixel resolution; later models featured HD recording at 1280x720 pixels. The Mino

4324-651: The FDRAX33, and Panasonic released the HC-WX970K and the HC-VX870. In September 2014 Panasonic announced and claimed 4K Ultra HD Camcorder HC-X1000E as the first conventional camcorder design that can capture up to 60fps at 150 Mbit/s or alternatively standard HD recording at up to 200 Mbit/s in ALL-I mode with MP4, MOV and AVCHD formats all offered depending on the resolution and frame rate. With use 1/2.3" small sensor as commonly

4416-665: The Magnetic Tape Industry Association, the Japan Camera Industry Association and other related associations to participate. As a result, a consortium of 127 companies endorsed 8-mm video format in April 1984. In January 1984, Eastman Kodak announced the new technology in the U.S. In 1985, Sony of Japan introduced the Handycam , one of the first Video8 cameras with commercial success. Much smaller than

4508-519: The ability to buffer footage before pressing the "record" button to avoid missing moments without having to be constantly recording (named "PRE-REC" by Panasonic), the ability to keep the lens cover open for few minutes into stand-by mode for rapid restarting, internal storage for recording when the inserted memory card's space is exhausted, autofocus able to track objects, and optional visual effects during video recording and playback. Metadata such as date/time and technical parameters may be stored in

4600-515: The audio recording systems of their base formats; VHS HiFi Stereo outperforms Video8/Hi8 AFM, but was rarely available on camcorders. In the late 1980s, digital (PCM) audio was introduced into some higher-grade models of Hi8 recorders. Hi8 PCM audio operates at a sampling rate of 32 kHz with 8-bit samples and DBX dynamic range expansion. This was higher fidelity than the monaural linear dubbing offered by VHS/S-VHS camcorders. PCM-capable Hi8 recorders can simultaneously record PCM stereo in addition to

4692-506: The competition's VHS and Betamax video cameras, Video8 became very popular in the consumer camcorder market. Video8 was launched in 1984, into a market dominated by the VHS-C and Betamax formats. The first two models were the Kodak Kodavision 2200 and 2400, both over US$ 1,500. The Kodak machines were produced by Matsushita Electric, but Matsushita itself had shown no interest in selling

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4784-409: The competition. It was followed by Hi8, a version with improved resolution. Although this was still analog, some professional Hi8 equipment could store additional digital stereo PCM sound on a special reserved track. Digital8 is the most recent 8mm video format. It retains the same physical cassette shell as its predecessors, and can even record onto Video8 (not recommended) or Hi8 cassettes. However,

4876-554: The consumer market emphasizes user control and advanced shooting modes. More-expensive consumer camcorders offer manual exposure control, HDMI output and external audio input, progressive-scan frame rates (24fps, 25fps, 30fps) and higher-quality lenses than basic models. To maximize low-light capability, color reproduction and frame resolution, multi-CCD/CMOS camcorders mimic the 3-element imager design of professional equipment. Field tests have shown that most consumer camcorders (regardless of price) produce noisy video in low light. Before

4968-541: The conversion is complete, the photosites reset to start the exposure of the next video frame. In many cases the photosites (per pixel ) are actually reset globally by charging to a fixed voltage, and discharged towards zero individually proportionally to the accumulated light, because it is simpler to manufacture the sensor that way. Most camcorders use a single imaging sensor with integrated colour filters, per pixel, to enable red, green and blue to be sensed, each on their own set of pixels. The individual pixel filters present

5060-829: The digital recording will be unplayable without extensive restoration. Older digital camcorders record video onto tape digitally, microdrives , hard drives, and small DVD-RAM or DVD-Rs . Newer machines since 2006 record video onto flash memory devices and internal solid-state drives in MPEG-1 , MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 format. Because these codecs use inter-frame compression, frame-specific editing requires frame regeneration, additional processing and may lose picture information. Codecs storing each frame individually, easing frame-specific scene editing, are common in professional use. Other digital consumer camcorders record in DV or HDV format on tape, transferring content over FireWire or USB 2.0 to

5152-456: The earliest analog camcorders the imaging device is vacuum-tube technology, in which the charge of a light-sensitive target was directly proportional to the amount of light striking it; the Vidicon is an example of such an imaging tube. Newer analog, and digital camcorders use a solid-state charge-coupled imaging device (CCD) or a CMOS imager . Both are analog detectors, using photodiodes to pass

5244-516: The early-evening news, since it was no longer necessary to develop film. In 1983, Sony released the first camcorder, the Betacam system, for professional use. A key component was a single camera-recorder unit, eliminating a cable between the camera and recorder and increasing the camera operator's freedom. The Betacam used the same cassette format (0.5 inches or 1.3 centimetres tape) as the Betamax, but with

5336-466: The electrical signal to video, encoding it in a storable form. The lens and imager comprise the "camera" section. The lens is the first component of the light path. Camcorder optics generally have one or more of the following controls: In consumer units these adjustments are often automatically controlled by the camcorder, but can be adjusted manually if desired. Professional-grade units offer user control of all major optical functions. The imager, often

5428-520: The first consumer/low-end professional (" prosumer ") camcorder Sony FDR-AX100 with a 1" 20.9MP sensor able to shoot 4K video in 3840x2160 pixels 30fps or 24fps in the XAVC-S format; in standard HD the camcorder can also deliver 60fps. When using the traditional format AVCHD, the camcorder supports 5.1 surround sound from its built-in microphone, this is however not supported in the XAVC-S format. The camera also has

5520-460: The format in which video is encoded and stored on the tape itself is the entirely digital DV format (and thus very different from the analog Video8 and Hi8). Some Digital8 camcorders support Video8 and Hi8 with analog sound (for playback only), but this is not required by the Digital8 specification. In all three cases, a length of 8mm-wide magnetic tape is wound between two spools and contained within

5612-474: The head mistracked. The system automatically adjusted the tracking such that the two frequencies produced were of equal magnitude. This system was derived from the dynamic track following (DTF) used by the Philips Video 2000 system. Sony rechristened the system as automatic track following (ATF) as the 8mm system lacked the ability of the heads to physically move within the head drum. The main disadvantage of

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5704-706: The imager's ability to gather light; designers have balanced improvements in sensor sensitivity with size reduction, shrinking the camera imager and optics while maintaining relatively noise-free video in daylight. Indoor or dim-light shooting is generally quiet, and in such conditions artificial lighting is recommended. Mechanical controls cannot shrink below a certain size, and manual camera operation has given way to camera-controlled automation for every shooting parameter (including focus, aperture, shutter speed and color balance). The few models with manual override are menu-driven. Outputs include USB 2.0, Composite and S-Video and IEEE 1394/FireWire (for MiniDV models). The high end of

5796-531: The introduction of the Super-VHS format, Sony introduced Video Hi8 (short for high-band Video8 ). First demonstrated in February 1989, it was initially endorsed by ten other manufacturers — Aiwa, Canon, Fuji, Hitachi, Konica, Matsushita, Maxell, Ricoh, Sanyo and TDK. Like S-VHS, Hi8 uses improved recorder electronics and media formulation to increase the recorded bandwidth of the luminance signal. The luminance carrier

5888-434: The legacy (analog AFM) stereo audio tracks. All Hi8 equipment can record and play in the legacy Video8 format. The reverse is not usually the case though there are a few late-entry Video8 systems that recognize and play Hi8 recordings. Besides the brands listed above, Hi8 equipment was also offered by Nikon, Samsung, Sharp and TEAC. The Sony EV-S900 (Hi8), Sony EV-S800, Sony EV-S700U, and Pioneer VE-D77 (Video8) all support

5980-487: The market for traditional camcorders as more and more consumers prefer to record video with their 4K-capable smartphones , DSLRs , and action cameras from GoPro , Xiaomi , Sony, Nikon , and many others. Camcorders have three major components: lens, imager and recorder. The lens gathers light, focusing it on the imager. The imager (usually a CCD or CMOS sensor ; earlier models used vidicon tubes) converts incident light into an electrical signal. The recorder converts

6072-537: The market. With the proliferation of file -based digital formats, the relationship between recording media and recording format has declined; video can be recorded onto different media. With tapeless formats, recording media are storage for digital files. In 2011 Panasonic, Sony, and JVC released consumer-grade camcorders capable of filming in 3D . Panasonic released the HDC-SDT750. It is a 2D camcorder which can shoot in HD; 3D

6164-459: The model 335 Technicolor Video Showcase, which included a colour video monitor , speaker and contained an internal 12V battery. A lightweight television tuner pack was available to enable the 212 to record off-air television programming , but since it contained no timer it was not possible to set it for unattended recordings. Grundig also produced a CVC-format VCR for the PAL market, the VP100, based on

6256-467: The palm of the user's hand. This was impossible with Betamax and full-sized VHS camcorders, with all of them having shoulder-mount form factor. Video8 also has an advantage in terms of recording and playback time over VHS-C – 180 minutes vs 45 minutes in SP mode for standard cassettes for each format. Video8/Hi8's main drawback is that tapes made with Video8 camcorders cannot be played on VHS hardware. Instead it

6348-460: The popularity of the analog 8mm formats had dwindled considerably and new camcorders that support the format were unobtainable, having been superseded by digital formats, mainly MiniDV and 8 cm DVD . These in turn have been largely displaced by high-definition camcorders that record to flash storage cards. Both Video8 and Hi8 blank media remain available and affordable but are increasingly rare. Tape-based camcorders are still readily available in

6440-608: The prosumer and strictly consumer levels. MiniDV storage allows full-resolution video (720x576 for PAL , 720x480 for NTSC ), unlike analog consumer-video standards. Digital video does not experience colour bleeding , jitter, or fade. Unlike analog formats, digital formats do not experience generation loss during dubbing ; however, they are more prone to complete loss. Although digital information can theoretically be stored indefinitely without deterioration, some digital formats (like MiniDV) place tracks only about 10 micrometers apart (compared with 19–58 μm for VHS). A digital recording

6532-455: The recording time on an NTSC P6-120 tape to 90 minutes. For PAL, the Digital8 recorder runs 1½ times faster; thus, a 90-minute PAL Hi8 tape yields 60 minutes of Digital8 video. PAL LP mode returns the tape speed to the Hi8 SP speed, so a Hi8 90-minute tape yields 90 minutes of Digital8 video. Sony has licensed Digital8 technology to at least one other firm (Hitachi), which marketed a few models for

6624-802: The same but offer greater convenience; video captured on an SD card can be transferred to a computer faster than digital tape. None of the consumer-class camcorders announced at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show recorded on tape. Video-capture capability is not confined to camcorders. Cellphones , digital single-lens reflex and compact digicams , laptops and personal media players offer video-capture capability, but most multipurpose devices offer less video-capture functionality than an equivalent camcorder. Most lack manual adjustments, audio input, autofocus and zoom. Few capture in standard TV-video formats (480p60, 720p60, 1080i30), recording in either non-TV resolutions (320x240, 640x480) or slower frame rates (15 or 30 fps). A multipurpose device used as

6716-515: The same product under its own name. The first Sony camcorder capable of recording to standard 8mm videotape was the Sony CCD-V8, with 6x zoom but only manual focus, released in 1985 with an MSRP of approximately $ 1,175, ($ 3,329 in 2023) and a mass of 1.97 kg. The same year, Sony released the CCD-V8AF which added autofocus. Also in 1985, Sony released the first of their compact Handycam range:

6808-576: The secondhand market. The last Hi8 camcorder (the Sony CCD-TRV238) and the last Digital8 camcorder (the Sony DCR-TRV285) were both discontinued in 2007, ending the 8mm format's 22 years on the market. The three formats are physically very similar, featuring both the same magnetic tape width and near-identical cassette shells, measuring 95 × 62.5 × 15 mm. This gives a measure of backward compatibility in some cases. One difference between them

6900-543: The shallow depth-of-field and interchangeable lenses lacking in consumer camcorders. Professional video cameras with these capabilities are more expensive than the most expensive video-capable DSLR. In video applications where the DSLR's operational deficiencies can be mitigated, DSLRs such as the Canon 5D Mark II provide depth-of-field and optical-perspective control. Combo-cameras combine full-feature still cameras and camcorders in

6992-421: The summer 1986 Consumer Electronics Show Olympus introduced an eight-millimeter camcorder manufactured by Matsushita, and Hitachi was reported to be making eight-millimeter machines for Minolta & Pentax. In terms of video quality, Video8 offers similar performance to Beta-II and VHS in their standard-play modes. In terms of audio, Video8 generally outperforms its older rivals. Audio on Standard VHS and Beta

7084-402: The tape. The heads on the drum of a Video8 recorder move across the tape at (a writing speed of) 3.75 meters per second. Unlike preceding systems, 8mm did not use a control track on the tape to facilitate the head following the diagonal tracks. Instead 8mm recorded a sequence of four sine waves on each video track such that adjacent tracks would produce one of two heterodyne frequencies if

7176-403: The tape. The playback/recording unit can depress this latch to open the casing and gain access to the tape. To prevent the recording on the tape from being erased, there is a small write-protect tab that can be moved to one of two positions, labeled "REC" and "SAVE" (sometimes marked as "ERASE ON" and "OFF", respectively). Comparing the sliding tab to a door, the tape is in the "REC" position when

7268-460: The variant letter for this model is unknown. SECAM tapes play in monochrome on PAL players. Around 1990 TEAC produced CVC format machines in both PAL and NTSC for military use. Technicolor hoped that CVC would compete with 8mm film , but the Vidicon tube used for the bundled camera had poor low-light sensitivity, limiting its usefulness for home indoor use. An even worse attribute of the cassettes

7360-519: The viewfinder. For documenting events (as in law enforcement), the field of view overlays the time and date of the recording along the top and bottom of the image. The police car or constable badge number to which the recorder was given, the car's speed at the time of recording, compass direction and geographical coordinates may also be seen. Dedicated camcorders are usually equipped with optical image stabilization , optical zoom , stereo microphone, and touch screen. Additional possible features include

7452-412: The write protection. Efforts were made to expand Video8 from only the camcorder market into mainstream home video. But as a replacement for full-size VCRs, Video8 failed. It lacks the long (5+ hours) recording times of both VHS and Betamax, offers no clear audio/video improvement, and cost more than equivalent full-size VCRs. Even with all of the advanced features offered in high-end Video8 machines, there

7544-468: Was Canon with its entry-level HD models. Panasonic only announced details regarding their Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera called the LUMIX GH5, capable of shooting 4K in 60p. This is the first time in decades that Panasonic and Sony have not announced new traditional camcorders at CES, and instead carried over 2016's models, such as Sony's FDR-AX53. This is due to there being far less demand in

7636-510: Was also adapted for professional broadcast and ENG use by Bosch for their "Quartercam" (aka "Lineplex") format in 1982, much like how Betamax was adapted by Sony for the same professional & industrial uses as Betacam , as well as the M format from Panasonic, adapted from VHS . Nippon TV (NTV) in 1981 also had a camcorder developed for them called the "CV-One" that also used CVC videocassettes, but using component video recording instead, much like Betacam, Lineplex, and M. The CV-One

7728-450: Was assumed that the camcorder would be directly plugged into one's TV. Although it is possible to transfer tapes (using the VCR to rerecord the source video as it is played back by the camcorder), the VHS copy would lose some quality compared to the 8mm original. During the 1990s Sony did market a few VHS VCRs that also feature an 8mm deck to allow convenient transfer to VHS. GoldStar also made

7820-569: Was followed by a newer model, developed by Hitachi under contract to NTV in 1982, called the SR-1. Compact Video Cassette (CVC) (1980 – 1983) at the Museum of Obsolete Media 8 mm video format The 8mm video format refers informally to three related videocassette formats. These are the original Video8 ( analog recording ) format and its improved successor Hi8 ( analog video and analog audio but with provision for digital audio ), as well as

7912-422: Was no compelling reason to switch to Video8 for the home application. Initially, many movies were prerecorded in 8mm format for home and rental use, but the rental market for Video8 never materialized. Sony maintained a line of Video8 home VCRs well into the 1990s, but unlike VHS, 8mm VCRs with timers were very expensive. Sony also produced a line of Video8 Walkman -branded players and recorders, with and without

8004-478: Was of a far higher quality than that of its rivals. Early Video8 camcorders used mono AFM sound, but this was later made stereo. This cost less than including 8mm's optional digital stereo audio track. Linear audio did have the advantage that (unlike either AFM system) it could be re-recorded without disturbing the video, doing this in 8mm required a deck that supported digital audio. The small size of media means that many Video8 camcorders are small enough to hold in

8096-536: Was popular enough for Sony to make equipment for video editing and production. The format also saw some use in professional electronic news gathering and electronic field production . Hi8 tapes were also used for an 8-track professional digital audio format called DTRS , including the Tascam DA-88 and similar models. While the cassettes are physically interchangeable, these recordings are not interchangeable with 8mm video formats. Camcorder A camcorder

8188-474: Was possible with compact video cameras and portable video recorders ; a detachable recording unit could be carried to a shooting location. Although the camera itself was compact, the need for a separate recorder made on-location shooting a two-person job. Specialized videocassette recorders were introduced by JVC ( VHS ) and Sony ( U-matic , with Betamax ) releasing a model for mobile work. Portable recorders meant that recorded video footage could be aired on

8280-475: Was released for NTSC , PAL and SECAM television systems (with cassettes labelled "VExx") and, like most analogue systems, tapes had to be played on machines using the same TV system as the recording. Funai 212 came with a JVC model GX-44E hand held Vidicon tube camera with a zoom lens . Model 212D was the NTSC version and 212E was PAL for Europe. The deck and electronics from the 212 were also used to build

8372-436: Was shifted from 4.2 MHz for regular 8-mm up to 5.7 MHz for Hi8, and the frequency deviation was increased to 2 MHz from the 1.2 MHz of standard 8-mm. Both Hi8 and S-VHS were officially rated at a luminance resolution of 400 lines , a vast improvement from their respective base formats and are roughly equal to LaserDisc quality. Chrominance resolution for both remain unchanged. Both S-VHS and Hi8 retain

8464-425: Was the low quality of the tape stock which was prone to dropouts (appearing as lines of white snow) during video playback. These dropouts would show much more prominently than on wider tape formats. A drawback of the CVC player resulted in the mechanism's loading ring frequently failing to complete its intended travel as the decks aged. The load ring failure would render the unit unusable. The CVC videocassette format

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