Camcorders

A camcorder is closely related to the film camera with one major enhancement. A camcorder contains both, a video camera as well as a storage unit for the data recorded such as a videocassette recorder in early versions or data storage in newer digital camcorder versions.
Companies like Kodak, Sony and JVC developed the first camcorders in the early 1980s. Those camcorders back then used analog videotape, which was exchanged to digital tape in the mid 1990. Camcorders usually have three major components, a lens, an imager and a recorder. The imager is usually a light sensitive sensor and light comes to sensor from a focusing lens. The sensor transfers the incoming light into an electrical signal that then is recorded for storage.

Often camcorders are classified by the storage format used in the camera. Formats like VHS, Betamax and Video8 are older camcorders with videotape storage and record the data analog. Newer formats include Digital8, miniDV, DVD, Hard drive or Flash memory that are referred to as digital. The analog and digital in this case refer to the storage not the way the video is taken, this is still in analog from with these camcorders.

Some more recent development includes DVD camcorders, flash memory camcorders, and even Microdrive camcorders. Most of these newer digital camcorders such as a DVD camcorder store the data in a MPEG format and they are limited in their recording time due to the size of the storage unit.

With newer software programs and development of newer digital formats it gets easier and easier to edit digital movies. So far this was a drawback since it was very easy to edit a tape by cutting scenes or rerecording from a certain point which was not that easy with digital data in the beginning. Software even allows for easy placement of test, music or blends in the movie.

On the Internet and with consumer groups you can find camcorder reviews that come as analog camcorder reviews and digital camcorder reviews. A camcorder review will compare brand name camcorders such as Panasonic camcorders, Sony camcorders and JVC camcorders. It will show their features, advantages and disadvantages as well as the price category they can be found in.

Any camcorder such as the Sony camcorder comes with a nice amount of accessories. Camcorder batteries are probably one of the most important accessories besides the recording tape or unit itself. Camcorder batteries are usually rechargeable and come with a power cable and or charging unit.