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Some of their cameras were designed to be
backwards compatible, being able to play
Video8, Hi8 and Digital8, but record in
Digital8 only. Sony started out with 60 minute
8 mm tapes, but eventually 120 minute ver-
sions became available. Again long play cam-
era versions made. The 8 mm system was not
compatible with VHS or Beta, so adapting it to
play in a home player was not possible.
12 cm 8 cm
Long Play
Over the years that I was repairing video cam- was a failed system from the start. DVD play-
eras, I was amazed at the number of people ers were at this time not the most reliable
who recorded material in Long Play; often consumer product - to put a miniature DVD
with holidays and special family events re- recorder-player into a portable device, which
corded on them. With the cost of a tape being would be subject to the usual knocks and vi-
well under $10.00, I often wondered just why brations was not a clever idea. Image freezing,
you would compromise the recorded image skipping and other problems were common.
quality on a non-repeatable event for the sake As well, the disc had to be ‘finalised’ in the
of a few dollars. Then again, as my industry camera before it could be used in a home
friend said … player - something often forgotten by owners.
Digital Cameras Hard Drive Cameras
This is when home video cameras came into Finally a method of recording video which
their own, and actually rivaled film for quality resulted in an image file that could be down-
and versatility. Prior to this time editing with- loaded to a computer for editing or copying.
out compromising the image quality was not Depending on the size of the hard drive, and
possible. Digital made the difference. the selected record definition, upwards of 50
hours of recording into the hard drive was
MiniDV possible. Once full, the video files had to be
This format utilised a small video cassette downloaded to a computer, recorded onto a
using 6 mm wide video tape. The small size DVD or otherwise saved, and the hard drive
made compact cameras more compact. The erased, ready for more recording. These were
obtainable image quality was the best to this generally quite reliable, but like all mechanical
time. All manufacturers turned to this format devices, the hard drive could be damaged by
and compatibility issues were few. Digital rough usage.
video and audio output made it possi- The Panasonic HS700, offers high definition video, selectable record
ble to play on one camera and copy to medium of either hard drive or SD card, as well as 14 megapixel still
another without perceivable image shots. Image: Panasonic advertisement
loss. Home players / recorders were
made for this format (but not very
popular).
Compact DVD
Cameras made for this format incor-
porated an eight centimetre DVD
(regular DVD is 12 cm) recording
mechanism. The only advantage was
that the disc could be played in a
home DVD player. This in the main

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