Handycam is a

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

brand used to market its

camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video camera, 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 s ...

range. It was launched in 1985 as the name of the first

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

camcorder, replacing Sony's previous line of

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 197 ...

-based models, and the name was intended to emphasize the "handy" palm size nature of the camera, made possible by the new miniaturized tape format. This was in marked contrast to the larger, shoulder mounted cameras available before the creation of Video8, and competing smaller formats such as

VHS-C VHS-C is the compact VHS videocassette format, introduced by Victor Company of Japan ( JVC) in 1982, and used primarily for consumer-grade compact analog recording camcorders. The format is based on the same video tape as is used in VHS, and ...

Formats

Sony has continued to produce Handycams HandyCam – CNet
/ref> in a variety of guises ever since, developing the Video8 format to produce Hi8 (equivalent to

S-VHS , the common initialism for Super VHS, is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level video recording. Victor Company of Japan introduced S-VHS in Japan in April 1987, with their JVC-branded HR-S7000 VCR, and in certain overs ...

quality) and later

Digital8 Digital8 (or Di8) is a consumer digital recording videocassette for camcorders based on the 8 mm video format developed by Sony, and introduced in 1999. The Digital8 format is a combination of the earlier analog Hi8 tape transport with the dig ...

, using the same basic format to record digital video. The Handycam label continues to be applied as recording formats evolve.

Functionality

Night vision

Select flagship Sony HandyCam models feature infrared night-vision, dubbed ''NightShot'' 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> The ''NightShot'' feature is popular with paranormal investigators on the Travel Channel's

Ghost Adventures ''Ghost Adventures'' is an American 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 aired on the Sci-Fi ...

Meta data

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

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

, exposure time) on an additional meta data 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) * Hi8 Handycam (1989-2007) *

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

DVD-Handycam 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-swap ...

* HDD Handycam *

Memory Stick The Memory Stick is a removable 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 capacity an ...

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

SD Card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between San ...

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