Earlier models of camcorders only used analog and recorded to VHS videotapes, and they were so big and bulky that they had to be carted around on a trolley. These camcorders were mostly used by professionals for broadcasting via television. But those days are over. With the advance of technology came digital and with digital came the digital camcorder.



Today digital camcorders are available in small hand held devices that allow everyone to record and make video recordings, and they are quickly making their way to more and more homes, where families use them to capture their lives on film.

To understand how camcorders work is to look at the three components that they are comprised of: Lens, Imager and Recorder.

The lens of a camcorder is the light path of the camera that consists of a number of adjustments where the camcorder works to allow the user to capture pictures and videos exactly as desired.

These adjustments include parts like aperture, which allows one to control and adjust the light. The zoom function, that is used to adjust the field-view area covered by the lens. And the shutter speed that helps capture any form of motion.

The imager, which is the camcorders eye, works by housing the photosensitive devices. This is how camcorders work to develop the electronic video signal from the light captured in quite a complex electronic process.

How camcorders work for recording is the recorder, which, provides complex signaling functions that capture the video signals and transfers them to the recording medium, such as DVD. The recording and storage device is an important feature to the usability of camcorders.

Camcorders display the recorded images via the magnificent flat LCD screen feature that comes with most camcorders today. These screens can be rotated about 290 degrees along the vertical line, and horizontally about 90 degrees. These screens have made digital camcorders very popular by consumers since the recording process becomes so easy and fun when you are able to see what is being recorded on the LCD screen in real time.

One of the most popular camcorders today is the DVD type, which can replay video on a home DVD player via the digital camcorders recording and hence burning directly to DVD.

The convenience of recording directly to the high-resolution DVD format is incomparable. Also, instant access to any scene eliminates the time and hassle of fast-forwarding and rewinding, as with tape formats. These camcorders work by allowing the DVD format to save memories securely in high-resolution. Also it is important to note that the DVD type camcorders LCD displays a list of the recorded scenes for quick, easy searching.

DVD camcorders provide superb recording quality by digitally recording to a DVD disc and not on tape. Another benefit of recording with a DVD camcorder is its flexibility. You can use your camera to record at home, use it as a storage medium, or in the office connected to your PC. Images recorded onto DVD-RAM or DVD-R discs can also be played on a DVD recorder or DVD player, so you don't have to hook the camcorder up to a TV to watch your recordings.

There are two versions of DVD digital camcorders: one that works with rewritable DVD-RAM/R discs requiring a DVD player with RAM playback or a PC with a DVD-RAM drive, and the second works by using the more popular DVD-R/RW discs that work with most ordinary DVD players.

There are several other recording and writing formats available in digital camcorders. MiniMV, MicroMV, HDD, HDV, Digital 8, VHS and Flash Memory Drive.

Camcorders are wireless and they work by getting their electricity source from special batteries. Generally different models of camcorders have different battery capacity which allow for varying amount of recording time on a fully charged battery. The two most common rechargeable batteries are the NiCd and the Lithium Ion. The lithiums are usually preferred because they take a charge quicker, are lighter than others and have a longer life span. Most full charges give a battery 6 hours of life.

Today digital camcorders are commonplace. They can be seen used everywhere, from family picnics and birthday parties to those news headlines you see where a passer by was able to capture some extraordinary event, such as natural disaster, cops beating a suspect or videos seen on the infamous YouTube website.

Regardless of how many features you choose or how complicated the digital camcorder is, most are very user-friendly, and their popularity is mainly centered in how digital camcorders provide a user-friendly video recording experience for anyone.

Digital camcorders come with various price tags from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the features of the device, the clarity of sound and video quality provided, and the company manufacturing it. In todays world with the Internet providing a stage where millions of sellers and merchants compete for your business it is easy to save significant amounts of money by avoiding retail merchants and purchasing discount digital camcorders.