Things really started to develop quickly on the camcorder front in the 1980s.

In February 1984, photo giant Kodak introduced a new camcorder format, 8mm, in its first 8mm camcorder, the KodaVision 2000. In 1985, Sony introduced the first chip-based camcorders. Called Video 8, it was also Sony’s first 8mm camcorder. The same year, JVC introduced VHS-C, a compact version of VHS cassettes. The next year, 1989, JVC introduced S-VHS. Still analogue video, it provided it separated the video signal into two distinct channels. This provided better colour and higher resolution, about 400 lines compared to VHS at 220 lines.  This higher resolution enabled users to actually edit and copy their videos without worrying that their second and third generation tapes would be of inferior quality. About the same time, Sony also joined the s-video movement and introduced their first Hi8 camcorder, the CCD-V99. This looked and felt like camcorders today, although it was still pretty bulky:

In 1992, Sharp became the first company to build in a colour LCD screen to replace the conventional viewfinder. In fact, their LCD screen was the main part of the camera and dwarfed the rest of it!   No longer did users have to squint and compose through a small eyepiece.  This was a revolutionary step and has become a standard feature of almost every consumer camcorder since.

What about digital? Digitalvideo technology first arrived in late 1995. Panasonic and Sony brought out the first Digital Video camcorders, soon followed by Sharp and JVC.

Today’s new camcorders incorporate the best of the evolution. Small and compact, large LCD viewfinders and high quality Digital Video recording. Go anywhere, shoot anywhere.

Camcorders have allowed everyone to get into the video recording game. You may want to record key events in your and your family’s life, such as weddings, parties, school plays, kids on holiday etc. You may want to shoot your own video to accompany a song you’ve composed and recorded. You may even want to shoot a short film, and pursue a career in cinematography or advertising. Why not? Camcorder technology these days is reliable, flexible, cheap, and fun!

It’s interesting to consider what next? Improvements in battery power and efficiency? Flash recording to a chip? Wireless video recording directly to the Internet? Perhaps a combination of camcorder and “Google glasses” so that you can switch on and record anything you see at anytime? There are many possibilities, and the biggest limitation is probably your imagination!

 
Check out the video below for more information on Panasonic’s range of camcorders

Loading a 8mm film camera required opening it up and threading in the film and not exposing it by mistake. When you were done shooting the brief 3 minutes of film, without any sound, you had to rewind it inside the camera, carefully take it out and put it in a special light proof canister, and then send it off to be developed.

My first standard 8mm camera was a Russian-made “Quarz”. It was clockwork. No, honestly. You had to wind it up using a big key at the side. And if you wanted a slow motion shot, then the mechanism would run twice as fast, and often wound down completely before the shot was completed. When you got it back in a week or so, you had to pull out your 8mm film projector and set it up in front of a big blank white wall or set up a projection screen. Then after threading the film onto the reels through the projector’s series of gears and pulleys, you could finally watch it back. Hopefully your projector was in good shape or you might rip or melt your precious film. Countless times, the projector burnt frames of the film because fluff in the gating mechanism caused the film to jam, and the powerful bulb burnt the film. No alternative then, but to get out the special contraption to slice the offending frames out, an splice the film back together again, and hope no-one minded the jump in the action!

In 1967, Sony introduced the first “PortaPak”, the Sony DV-2400 Video Rover (see picture above) The first ”portable” video system, this two-piece set consisted of a large B&W camera and a separate record-only helical ½” VCR unit. It required a Sony CV series VTR to play back the video. Even thought it was clunky and heavy, it was just about light enough for a single person to carry it around.  However, it was usually operated by a crew of two -  One shot the camera and one carried and operated the VCR part.  Bit like a machine gunner: one to shoot the bullets, the other to feed in the ammunition belt.

Soon after, other manufacturers like Panasonic and JVC began making and selling their own portapaks as well.  As time went on, the cameras got better and better, smaller and smaller. The tubes got more durable and soon added colour capabilities. My super 8mm camera had a link to a portable cassette player, so that you recorded the sound on the cassette and it was (supposedly) played back in synchronisation after development, using some non-digital starter and stopping tags on the film itself when running through the projector. As often as not it didn’t work, and home video shows to friends and family were an endurance test as to people’s tolerance of seeing the same bit of film over and over again until the sound was in sync!

In the early seventies, time code began appearing on professional editing decks and this greatly improved ease of editing. Not only could you lock in the frame number, you could also accurately do the required pre-rolls.

However there was only one master. And that was analogue. This meant that every time you made a dub or copy for editing, you lost image quality and resolution. In addition, these were two piece units – a camera with tube inside and separate recorder unit. You had to have the patience of a saint and plenty of time on your hands!

These new portapaks were also grabbed up by businesses of all sizes and types, athletic departments at schools and universities, and government agencies, including the military. Even psychologists were quick to pick up on the implications of videotaping sessions that could be played back later for review. Everyone was getting in on the act, including wannabe film directors who would shoot arty-farty psychedelic ramblings that your friends could grind their teeth to!  The mobile cameras were by now using batteries, but they got through these at an alarming rate- and reliable rechargeables were still a few years away!

In 1971, Sony introduced their new U-Matic concept to the world. A single cassette, with ¾ inch wide tape, it made loading the tape much easier. Just stick the tape cartridge in and the machine did the rest. Most of the time.  The first units were large table sized machines, but they got smaller, and eventually become portable enough to be carried by a production crew. Or you going out for a day with your actors (family) and a script. Maybe…

At the same time, Sony and JVC (a subsidiary of Panasonic) were working on smaller ½” formats for home users. Sony’s product was called Betamax. JVC’s was called VHS.  Both used videocassettes similar to the larger U-Matic. These units used 2 hour length VHS cassettes that were much easier to quickly insert and remove than the older helical VTRs with their 20 and 30 minute tape reels.  In 1976, JVC finally introduced colour VHS to the world. The battle between the formats was brutal and relatively brief. I had Betamax buddies who swore that the quality was better than VHS. But, like the 8-track cartridge, the Betamax was doomed.

(More in the final part, part 3)

Let us begin with the present: A camcorder today is light, packed with features, and can fit in the palm of your hand when being used, and in your coat pocket or handbag when not. It has a smooth zoom and the quality of what you shoot is such that it’s very difficult to tell a professionally shot video from what shot by an amateur on his or her camcorder in terms of the quality of the image and sound. It’s usually the lack of continuity, storyline, and characterisation that will show up an amateur production, not the equipment used.
Most camcorders provide a wide range of automatic and manual imaging modes, as well as a variety of input and output selections. Editing is a breeze and can often be done in-camera. You also can edit from camcorder to camcorder, you can use a dedicated editing box, or you can dump your video into your computer and edit using non-destructive technology that allows you to undo any changes you’ve made that you don’t like. I am told that you are also able to send your videos from your camcorder directly to the Internet… almost science fiction isn’t it?
But there’s been a journey to get to where we are now…

1955 video camera
You remember the massive cameras that were used to capture television broadcasts? Like the ones always seeming to get in people’s way during performances on Top of The Pops? Well the first videos were as big as that.

Television show producers used massive decks (about the size of a large chest freezer lying on its back) to record video onto 2-inch wide (yes, two whole inches!) videotape. Then, as the seventies rolled around, these monster machines evolved into smaller suitcase sized machines that used one inch or ¾ inch videotape to record video.
But they were still not particularly mobile- When you wanted to do some filming outside of the confines of the studio, you drove a truck full of the equipment, or lugged the decks, cameras, switching devices, tripods, and cables to the location and set it up, only took about four hours, so if you wanted a day’s shooting in natural light, then you had to be there in the wee small hours to set up!
The cameras were using electronic tubes to convert the light that came in through the lenses into electrical impulses. Not only did the tubes burnt out from use, they needed to be constantly adjusted, calibrated and mollycoddled. Even during a shoot, the cameras needed constant attention. The colours changed as tubes warmed up, cooled down, and that maybe why you see so many cameramen of the day with bald heads- they tore their hair out! In addition, the tubes were nowhere near as light sensitive as today’s camcorders. You had to have very powerful arc lights that near-roasted the actors and caused flowers in vases to wilt even during the shot!

While there are a number of contenders claiming to be the first home video system, a pioneer was was an Ampex in 1963. This system included a big camera, TV monitor, special furniture and was based around a heavy 100-pound Ampex VR-1500 video recorder. Available for just $30,000, an Ampex engineer would come out to your home and set it up for you. Phew!
Prior to the introduction of the cartridge film that you could slot into your camera there was no such thing as handheld video cameras. Most professional mobile and location work was shot on 16mm film. Home users who wanted to document their parties and special events had to use 8mm or Super8 film. And then getting it developed. I remember getting the film back a week later from Boots the Chemists and running it through my cine projector and only then realising that the shot was blurred, or someone was in the shot that shouldn’t have been, or the zoom shot was all wobbly!