Handycam is a line of

camcorder A camcorder 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-sw ...

s made by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and introduced in 1985. Handycam was first used as the name of the first

Video8 The 8mm video format refers informally to three related videocassette formats. These are the original Video8 format (analog video and analog audio but with provision for digital audio), its improved variant Hi8, as well as a more recent digita ...

camcorder in 1985, replacing Sony's previous line of Betamax-based models of camcorders. The name was intended to emphasize the "handy" palm size nature of the camera, made possible by the then-new miniaturized tape format. This was in contrast to the larger, shoulder mounted cameras made before the creation of Video8, as well as competing smaller formats such as

VHS-C VHS-C is a compact version of the VHS videocassette format, introduced by Victor Company of Japan ( JVC) in 1982, and used primarily in consumer-grade analog recording camcorders. VHS-C uses the same magnetic tape as full-size VHS cassettes a ...

Formats

Sony has continued to produce HandycamsHandyCam – CNet
/ref> in a variety of guises ever since, developing the Video8 format to produce

Hi8 The 8mm video format refers informally to three related videocassette formats. These are the original Video8 format (analog video and analog audio but with provision for digital audio), its improved variant Hi8, as well as a more recent digit ...

(equivalent to

S-VHS S-VHS, the common initialism for Super VHS, is an analog video cassette format introduced by JVC in 1987 as an improved version of the VHS (Video Home System) format. S-VHS improved image quality by increasing the bandwidth of the luminance ...

quality) and later

Digital8 Digital8 (or D8) is a consumer digital recording videocassette for camcorders developed by Sony, and introduced in 1999. The Digital8 format is a combination of the earlier analog Hi8 tape transport with the digital DV codec. Digital8 equipm ...

, using the same basic format to record

digital video Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...

. The Handycam label continues to be applied as recording formats evolve, such as adopting the

MiniDV DV (from ''Digital Video'') is a family of codecs and Videotape, tape formats used for storing digital video, launched in 1995 by a consortium of camcorder, video camera manufacturers led by Sony and Panasonic. It includes the recording or casse ...

MiniDVD MiniDVD or 8 cm DVD (also "3 inch DVD") is a DVD disc with a reduced diameter of . It has been most commonly used in camcorders due to its compact size. The most common MiniDVDs are single layered and hold 1.4 GB of data, but there are varia ...

, and MicroMV formats, and then later using

hard disk drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...

s and

flash memory Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...

Functionality

Night vision

Select flagship Sony Handycam models feature infrared night-vision dubbed ''NightShot'' (sometimes referred to as ''"NightShot Plus"'' on some models), which utilizes an infrared light-emitting diode and an infrared filter that is mechanically attached and detached to the sensor in order to enable the camcorder to record video footage in complete darkness (''"Nightshot 0 lux"'').Sony DCR-SR90E/SR100E operation manual (2006)
/ref> This feature has been occasionally used with

paranormal investigators Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. The practice has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existenc ...

on Travel Channel's

Ghost Adventures ''Ghost Adventures'' is an American paranormal television, paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally ai ...

Metadata

tape Handycam camcorders record a time code and video recording parameters (such as light sensitivity (in ''dB''),

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

exposure time In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light (that is, when the camera's shutter is open) when taking a photograph. The amount of light that rea ...

, and info) on an additional

meta data Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...

track on the tape.Sony Handycam DCR-HC51E/HC52E/ HC53E/HC54E operation manual (2008)
/ref>

Models

Handycam (1985-1989) (These continued for sale into the 90s) *

Handycam (1989-2007) *

Handycam (1999-2007) * DV Handycam (1995-) *

HDV HDV is a format for recording of high-definition video on DV (video format), DV videocassette Videotape, tape. Conceived as an affordable high definition format for digital camcorders, HDV quickly caught on with many amateur and professional vi ...

Handycam * DVD-Handycam * MicroMV Handycam * HDD Handycam *

Memory Stick The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory, flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage ...

Handycam (using Memory Stick Pro Duo. Up to 16GB) *

SD Card Secure Digital (SD) is a proprietary, non-volatile, flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA). Owing to their compact size, SD cards have been widely adopted in a variety of portable consumer electronics, including dig ...

Handycam (with or without internal flash memory) * 4K Handycam

External links

Handycam website of Sony Middle East and Africa

* http://www.sony-asia.com/microsite/handycam/

References

Sony camcorders {{camera-stub