The term camcorder refers to a portable electronic device for that is used for recording video and audio. This is done through the use of a built-in recorder unit. Most all camcorders contain to major units. The first is a video camera and the second is a video recorder. This was a leap in technology because at one time these two units were separate. One unit captured the video and a second separate unit recorded the material.

The first camcorders were created by companies such as JVC, Sony, and Kodak. These early models used an analog videotape to record material. This was based upon a unit that had magnetic tape in which the camcorder recorded video material. This was the standard until the 1990s when camcorders when to digital recording. In the 2000s the use of analog tape became obsolete. Instead of magnetic tapes, the use of tape-free solutions like optical disks, hard disk drives and solid-state memory have become the norm.

The older camcorders had removable video cassettes that could be played in other devices. The newer digital video recorders still use removable media but now it is in form of memory cards, or built-in memory, or in some higher end models they record both ways.

The newest generation of camcorders are high definition or HDD-based camcorders. These models usually have a non-removable hard disk drive. The information can be downloaded to a computer or similar device, or the camcorder can be used a playback device.

Camcorders that do not use magnetic tape are referred to as tapeless camcorders. The newer models of camcorders that use a couple different types of recording media are often referred to as hybrid camcorders. An a example of this type of camcorder is one that records using built-in HDD and also has a memory card that can be removed.

Camcorders were created so people could capture memories. These replaced the old type of cameras that used actual film that could them be viewed using a movie projector. Camcorders allowed people to film their lives, their children and their history in a way never done before. As technology changed so did the size of the camcorder. What used to weigh a few pounds and had to be held on the shoulder is now as small as a cell phone.

The history of the camcorder can be followed by understanding how technology changed. It began in the analog magnetic recording age and now is firmly seating in the digital age.