The History of Video Cameras and 3 Top Camcorder Brands

A camcorder is a camera that takes moving video pictures. Simply put, camcorders integrate both uses and functions. Digital camcorders are popular eletronic devices used by the public to record video and audio and also have still picture digital camera capability as well.

In the beginning, video camers were huge and the recorder was a separate unit. These were mainly used by the pros in television broadcasting and were not convenient for consumers.

Sony released the first professional camcorder in 1982. The Sony Betacam used small cassetes. This was revolutionary for the television industry and although it added to the typical cameraman’s job, it quickly became the standard for capturing the all important events, such as news.

Sony was the first company to make a camcorder for the consumer and every day use and that was in 1983. Too big to be held in one hand, it was still a dinosaur. By 1985 other companies were making VHS models of camcorders, including, RCA and Hitachi. The college TV studios and video fanatics made these very popular.

The digital era came into play around the mid-1990’s. The DV and mini-DV was quite a size reduction as well as a great improvement in video and audio quality over the regular analog camcorders.

As the camcorder got smaller in size so did it price tag. Back when it took two hands to wield the bulky camcorders when they were first introduced they carried a price tag of over $1500.00. Now, they are mini enough to fit in a pocket and priced as low as $100.00.

When purchasing a camcorder you will want the most features for a price you can afford.

3 Top Camcorder Brands:

Here are the three best consumer rated camcorders with quality features.

Canon HFS100

Canon, always a leader in camera technology has the HFS100 High Definintion Flash Memory camcorder with Full HD recording. For 2009 they have upgraded to 8 megapixels and have manual Audio Level Control.

Sony Camcorders

Next in line is Sony, which is true innovation at work with superior audio and digital media. They have their own HDR-CX100 Flash Memory High Definition model camcorder. It includes their BIONZ image processor that improves the speed and quality of video and saves valuable battery life. This one is unit because of it’s Smile Shutter feature that automatically detects smiles and knows to take a still shot.

Panasonic HMC150

Now to the Panasonic version, their HMC150 offers High Definition superior image quality. This camera exceeds professional videographers expectations and is as easy to use as any digital still camera.

Purchasing any of these camcorders will give you all the features you could ask for in camcorder technology and make you feel like a professional too. Learn more about the camcorders with a complete digital camcorders types guide.