A camcorder records video. 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 used mainly for television broadcasting, not very convenient for general public use.

In 1982, it was Sony that first released the professional camcorder video camera. The Sony Betacam utilized a reduced-sized cassette and video. 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.

It was 1983 before the first consumer camcorder was created by Sony. 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 video fanatics loved these cameras.

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. The old school big video cameras cost 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. In 1009 they upgraded to 8 megapixels and now have a manual Audio Level control.

Sony HDR-CX100

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.

Any of these models will provide a quality camcorder. Learn more about the camcorders with a complete digital camcorders types guide.

Tags: , camcorders, digital camcorders, Video Cameras

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 5:03 pm and is filed under photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.