Ge 9-9806 Camcorder

[Barbro Faries]

Acamcorder 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 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.[1]

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 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 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.[3] 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 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.[4] 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 a different, incompatible recording format. It became standard equipment for broadcast news.[4]

Sony released the first consumer camcorder in 1983, the Betamovie BMC-100P.[4] 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.[3] Kodak announced a new camcorder format in 1984, the 8 mm video format.[5] Sony introduced its compact 8 mm Video8 format in 1985. That year, Panasonic, RCA and Hitachi began producing camcorders using 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 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 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, 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.[6]

Panasonic launched DVCPRO HD in 2000, expanding 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 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 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 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.[7]

In CES (January) 2014, Sony announced 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 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.[8]

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 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.[9]

As of January 2017, the only major manufacturer to announce new consumer camcorders at CES (Consumer Electronic Show) in Las Vegas 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 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 the electrical signal to video, encoding it in a storable form. The lens and imager comprise the "camera" section.

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 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 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 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.

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