Show and Tell: Pro Cameras

I've been collecting professional video cameras for years, meaning to make a video about them sooner or later. I realized they aren't that big a topic individually, so I figured I'd do a quick and dirty run-through of the whole collection, minus the red JVC camera, which I did a more in-depth review of in this video: • Love Letter To JVC KY-...
Someone pointed out that the Panasonic here isn't a DVCPRO machine, just full size DV. Whoooops. I swear, I thought I had read in the manual that it was DVCPRO! My other remarks on the format are largely still accurate as far as I know.
The shirt is my design: www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/w...
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[@informativt]

Proprietary stuff in broadcast is an insane subject, and one could never get to the bottom of that cursed hole. The devil is in the details.

[@JanStarzak]

I got very worked up over the "all of these look like a '93 Handycam" comment, but then I realized these all are actually pretty low-end professional SVHS and DV machines. A good Betacam from 2001 can look almost as good as early HD footage, the color reproduction is WAY better than any Handycam. Consumer gear has only recently caught up to the professional market level in terms of color reproduction. The mid- and high-end professional cameras had bigger sensors, with more photosites, arranged in a 3CCD setup, resulting in a higher color and luminance resolution. Also, the amplifiers for the signal out of the CCD where much quieter then the ones put into consumer gear, resulting in just a beautiful, clean picture. You could crank them up to +21dB and still get a good picture. When you watch the picture from one of those on a high-grade reference monitor, you can easily fall in love.

[@Alexlfm]

I don’t know that I’d fully agree with you on this. True Betacam SP had 4:2:2 vs the 4:1:1 color space of DVCAM but apart from 50hz PAL formats neither of them really come anywhere close to even early 1990s HD footage. Now, widescreen PAL does get fairly close compared to NTSCs terrible resolution but that’s not really the same as just DV vs Betacam SP. As to the cameras themselves and what you consider “consumer” gear, I would say your misremembering or a bit biased. Even “consumer” recording cameras like the XL-1 did a darn nice job on color reproduction even with the limitations of DV. Let’s not forget that films like 28 Days later and Jackass both shot scenes on the XL-1 that once color graded look perfectly fine. Having shot professionally on both DVCAM and Betacam SP for news work, while Beta is a bit better with a good “consumer” camera from 2001 and a bit of color grading it’s not that massive of a difference.

[@JanStarzak]

@@Alexlfm For starters, yes, I'm mainly talking 50Hz here, because that's what I have first hand experience of, but I think the general "professional gear was vastly superior to consumer stuff for decades" sentiment is valid both in PAL and NTSC land. I disagree on a number of points: first, 4:2:2 vs 4:1:1 (or 4:2:0 in 50Hz) is double the colour information, and that makes a visible difference. Secondly, You're comparing Betacam SP - a format announced in 1986, an improvement on a 1982 format, with DV/DVCAM released in 1995/1996, which already kind of proves my point. That's a 10 years head start on professional gear. Next, in the 90s, the only reasonable format for HD was HDCAM, which was essentially a 3:1:1 format. At the same time, starting from '93, Digital Betacam was available with 4:2:2 subsampling. So even though theoretically, HDCAMs resolution on the output was higher, internally, the signal could only be marginally superior to one recorded using Digital Betacam. Finally, all of that ignores the imager elements. Professional gear had vastly superior tech in terms of sensors: the sensors being bigger, with larger photosites, almost always in a three-sensor arrangement, with lower noise floor and higher quality amplifiers. And for that reason, Digital Betacam could easily look as good as HDCAM footage: even though technically HDCAM was 1080 lines, the best generally available sensors at the time only resolved about 700 lines, which even further reduced the resolution advantage of early HD. If you add the lens technology available at the time, you get further reduction in vertical resolution. And that's why, I believe that professional gear was years ahead of consumer gear up to at least 2010s and late (Digital) Betacam can look almost as good as early HD. Now yes, there have been prosumer cameras, like the XL-1 that, through use of high quality components on the imaging end could come very near professional gear. Still, XL-1 was a $4200, 3CCD camera with removable lens from '98. Not exactly a Handycam.

[@maxmustardman298]

Let alone all the limitations you had with consumer / prosumer gear. You surely couldnt take those in the field and be ready for anything.

[@maxmustardman298]

Thats pretty much what sets them apart to zhis day.

[@Batebevenbeven]

Thank you for this comment

[@Jasa12265]

Crazy to imagine but I use the Sony M7 almost daily at my job. I work in live television and more specifically in sports broadcasting We use the M7 as what's called a "clock camera" so that the people in the telivision truck and more specifically the graphics operators can see the score and stats. It has a nice zoom lense so you can shoot a scoreboard on the other side of the stadium, and it outputs analog so you can send it over thousands of feet of BNC with no issue.

[@ruhnet]

Hehe that's great---I thought all those had been scrapped years ago lol. Amazing the capacitors in it haven't given out yet --that's what killed my last M7 and M3 cams.

[@Ichigomoyomya1234567]

Thanks to you I started looking differently at old video equipement. I dusted out my dads old casette video cam and discovered a tape from my parents wedding. They divorced when I was 1y old so I actually never saw them together so happy like on that tape. Thanks bro

[@CathodeRayDude]

oh gosh, i'm glad you thought to do that!

[@Batebevenbeven]

Divorced parents leads to anime profile pictures

[@CallenMagnuson]

Fun facts about modern professional cameras that may interest you: - Multicore cable is no longer used. It was replaced by Triax cable until recently when a hybrid fiber/copper cable was introduced that commonly is referred to as SMPTE Fiber. - The same tripod mount is still used to this day. You will see tripods from the 80's being used with brand new cameras quite frequently. - While the CCU does technically control the camera, you actually have another piece of equipment attached to it called an OCP or RCP (Operator Control Panel or Remote Control Panel). This will usually have a menu system for the camera's features as well as easy access to controls for white balance, color correcting, iris, etc. The person doing this usually is known as the shader and will have one of these for each camera. - The price for a lot of these cameras could actually range up into $50,000 to $100,000 for just the body and those prices can still be found today. I've seen quotes for Sony HDC-4800 cameras up to $150,000 depending on options. - We still use the vmount batteries to this day, though most often other equipment ends up on those mounts. Usually something like a cell-modem video encoder. Many V-Mount battery packs usually just are NP-F to V-Mount plates because these days NP-F batteries are used with literally everything. - Pro video hardware has basically just gotten higher resolution and more standardized. Connectors have only changed when they can no longer support the bandwidth for higher resolution video or need to carry a digital signal instead of audio. Lenses are largely the same, and most of the time the only reason to change is because they were designed for 4:3 and we shoot 16:9 now. Almost all the physical interfaces are the same, so tripods, viewfinders, and other accessories still work unless the electrical interface has been updated. - Outside of external control, the biggest reason we spend tens of thousands on professional cameras is for things like dynamic range and multiple sensors and things that help us get much better performance in a variety of lighting conditions.

[@aydenkron2254]

I’m so glad technology connections recommend you! Great vids keep it up :)

[@knightcrusader]

Where did he recommend him? I haven't seen it, but these videos started showing up on my recommendations and that's where I found it.

[@aydenkron2254]

@@knightcrusader it was in a community post about a week ago

[@knightcrusader]

@@aydenkron2254 Ah I see it now. Thanks! All the people watching from that suggestion is probably why the channel is being recommended to his other watchers.

[@pey-yote]

My local news station would’ve killed for some of those cameras back in 1998.

[@CathodeRayDude]

That's a lot of the joy of this sort of thing. I'm buying stuff that was *TOP* of the line at some point. Top of the line always feels a certain way no matter how old it is.

[@amppi1236]

Something about this video is really comfortable to watch. I think it's how you manage to present such a niche topic in a genuinely interesting way. Also the way you talk has a "chill but interesting" teacher vibe. Subbed and I look forward to more!

[@agentj642]

As someone who works at a TV station, this stuff still fascinates me, which is why I love watching videos like this. It's also amazing to see how far the technology has come, but how much is still the same because it just that good and works.

[@thatdirtymichiganmusician1038]

Why tf doesn’t this channel have at least half a mil subs? This is some damn good quality content.

[@SuperCookieGaming_]

i just watched your last video and this gets posted. what great timing

[@2pkf3]

I love crt'ness in all things old mostly cameras...

[@Spavid04]

Thank you for taking the time to put subtitles!

[@CathodeRayDude]

It's important work! You're welcome!

[@knifemind]

Ok, two things. First, your SF-P3 looks so awesome. So flat and boxy, I love it. Second, taking classic video of a car show would be very cool.

[@hxdmain]

My mother was a wedding videographer (still is, covid not withstanding) and for most of my life i watched her juggle DV tapes, they got expensive fast.

[@JaredConnell]

Well if she didn't juggle them maybe she wouldn't have to buy so many

[@dsvideoWashington]

I got a bunch a few years ago really cheap. If I archived all that footage to DVD I could just reuse them, but it would take forever.

[@OscarZulu1]

Nice collection! The first pro camera I ever used was a Sony M3A back in 1988. Had JVC KY-25s on the first production truck I worked on, and you're right about the dockable decks being a cost saving option. My truck usually ran 4 cameras, but on occasion I would need a 5th, so I would get one of the ENG cam's and swap the recorder for a camera back to use the cam with my 5th CCU. By doing that, the company didn't have to buy another camera that would just sit around unused much of the time. Your take on modularity and standards is spot-on too. The CCU that ran the KY-25 would also work with the KY-19 (1/2" CCD's) or the KY-27. Probably worked with other models too, but those are the ones I can verify. If, whenever this pandemic ends, you find yourself in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, drop me a note. I'd be happy to set you up a tour of one of our production trucks. (I work for a packager that does a lot of ESPN stuff) Might make for a good companion vid on how the CCU works and how multi-cam production happens.

[@CathodeRayDude]

I'd love that! After this mess is over I'm going to need a solid road trip anyway, so I'll keep you in mind!

[@serpentza]

This was good fun, love old tech and I have some PVMs for my retro junk too! Love learning about this stuff, subscribed

[@Drozerix]

Funny to see you here -- seems we share a passion for old tech.

[@brian8152]

I just subbed a day ago! I love your vids on China related stuff and whatnot.

[@letthetunesflow]

Wow didn’t expect you to be commenting here! I keep forgetting just how much of a 90’s tech junky you are.

[@WTurbiasz]

Man i love this worked for wrgb and this brings back so many memories. All these things were so expensive in the day. A SONY Betacam would easily set you back $60.000. Now they are worthless.

[@christopherwhite2473]

I own a Sony DXC-M3A and still shoot professional videos with it all the time. I love the look and feel of saticon tubes

[@richarddessables6191]

I have always thought of the tubes color output to be much warmer than the CCD's. the only difference was that with the CCD's we didn't have to be cautius of shooting directly at a bright light source anymore.. lol

[@dhdoctor6108]

This guy needs to blow up! TechConnect vibes but still your own I love it!

[@CathodeRayDude]

Working on it!

[@Vahmrick60]

I probably worked with all of them at some point in my 40 plus career as a TV cameraman. First one coming directly from when they changed over to video from 16mm film, the RCA TK 76, Ikegami 77, HL79 and 95 Unicam, and every Sony Betacam and Panasonic variety in between. Last tape based formats I worked with were DVC Pro and Betacam SX.

[@plunder1956]

This is a trip down memory lane, using U-matic, BVU, DVcam & Betacam SP in Britain.

[@ScottSimpson]

Love this. When I was a young up-and-comer in the news world, let's say 1998-ish, we had a friend who'd come up as a freelance TV news cameraman at a suspiciously young age. He had one of those new industrial loft conversion condos. And in his suite were TWO full ENG cameras. Seemed like the height of awesome at the time. Now they can be found.

[@gbraadnl]

8:50 I used Firewire on Sony cameras a lot to get the feed out of the camera, but also to feed back in and preview on an external screen using Sonic Foundry's Vegas (later acquired by Sony Software). So, yes... it was used quite a lot of bidirectional data transfer/video feed.

[@kennylauderdale_en]

I've always wondered, but did HD-VHS ever make it's way into camcorders towards the end of VHS's life? I know there's 1080i vHS tapes like the D-VHS decks out there, but was that ever used in professional spaces?

[@CathodeRayDude]

HD-VHS itself did not to the best of my knowledge, I believe it was purely a consumer format and no consumer cameras were made with it. In the pro space, I believe other tape formats were always used for HD video. In the very early days of HD (mid to late 80s!) modified Type C recorders were used, and in later years I know there have been a ton of digital tape formats, as well as a disc format called XDCAM. My favorite are HDCAM and HDCAM-SR. The latter, in its maximum density mode, writes at the incredible bitrate of 880mbps. It stores 4:4:4 10-bit MPEG-4 video at 1080p in the exact same cassette as the Betacam tape I showed in this video, and the camcorders that take it look exactly like the ones I have, but the cheapest one is $2500 used. I really want one, but solely for the novelty. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4iVZ4yDmp2ci7M Here's a demo disc shot on one of those modified type C recorders from the early 90s. It's absolutely *incredible* trying to get my brain to accept that this is 30 years old. Thanks for watching!

[@johngrave5554]

@@CathodeRayDude just watched that video and I don't know how to explain it, it looks new and old at the same time maybe it's the colors or something and also in a way it kind of matches up with what I think now VHS used to look like crisp and clean when infact it's just my memory cleaning it up.

[@colombianguy8194]

@@CathodeRayDude HOLY CRAP!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! thank you for share that amazing piece of history, I mean, full HD trough analog tube image sensors, I am speechless, my mind is blown! Greetings from Colombia.

[@swilwerth]

Nice stuff!!

[@NJRoadfan]

DVHS was just a playback format, never used in camcorders. The closest you get to that is HDV (HD video on MiniDV tapes) which you can actually dub to D-VHS tapes if you wanted as both are MPEG-2 transport streams.

[@GouthamRavee]

The idea of separate imaging heads and recording backs is still very much alive today, though due to the massive influx of amateur videographers and indie film makers those kind of setups don't get as much press. One modern example I can think of is RED's DSMC camera system which offers a "BRAIN" and "Sensor" modules. Though in that instance its more about being able to swap sensors rather than swap recording mediums. The same idea goes for lens mounts, in the pro cinema world the same couple of lens mounts have existed for decades while in the prosumer/consumer world (other than Nikon) you'll see all sorts of different lens mounts and little to no process for interchanging lens mounts. Though that is changing too with the advent of mirrorless cameras and shallower distances between the lens mount and sensor. That's really what sets the pro market apart from the consumer market (other than quality) imo, the availability of standards across multiple generations, and products that are far more modular.

[@dflajpan]

Just found the channel. OMG. I'm in the tv industry for 27 years and been working with most of the stuff you have. JVC 210 was my first cam, then JVC 320, Sony M3, JVC KY27 - all with VO8800 U-matic. Then Betacam (SP, SX, IMX) family, DVCAM and DVCPRO...now on XDCAM and 4K stuff. Anyway, I've used Firewire port on cameras for some time, while travelling and making stories around Europe. Typical setup was Sony PD150 (170) or DSR 250 and 1 GHz Pentium Dell laptop with Avid on it for field editing. It worked like a charm! Why to bother with field editing? Well if you wanted to send tv package from 1000 miles away you literally had one option - satellite uplink. And price of 10 minute slot for uplink was from 2000-5000 today US$, depending on various things. So you really wanted to transfer only essential footage or edited tv package which was ready to air. That Firewire was a huge money and time saver then. Thanks for bringing back some good memories! BTW, your JVC 210 was probably color shifting because of bad WB memory battery, had that problem on 320 long time ago. Greetings from Europe! (Those PAL folks)

[@CathodeRayDude]

huh! with regards the 210 thing - that's wild, maybe I'll see about replacing it. thanks for watching!

[@kalimaa999]

@3:58 Sony VO8800 be like " why am I still alive?"👀

[@chancewolf3739]

Funniest thing I've read in weeks. Cheers.

[@binba9]

😆

[@Tarukai788]

The XLR power and battery standards part near the end is a nice touch, because as someone who does production sound work as a side gig, the Three (3) prevailing battery standards being V-mount, Gold Mount, and NP (which you referred to as the Sony infoLithium here) makes things way, WAY easier for that kind of work. From broadcast to filmmaking and beyond, it's just tremendously nice to have far less stress about battery choices.

[@Patrick_AUBRY]

7:30, Actually you don't get a better quality video format with DVCAM but more reliability as the track are 15 micron wide instead of 10. Same 720*480 411 5mb Iframe compression of the DV stream.

[@RobbieStrike]

Do you have one in your collection @Patrick ?

[@marcusdamberger]

The tape speed was also faster with DVCAM, also adding to its robustness on playback, fewer hits, and the tape could be re-used way more often than a DVCam or DVCPro tape. In terms of the number of passes. Plus it seemed like you never needed to clean the heads or run a cleaning tape very often with DVCAM.

[@tombuck]

This is an absolutely awesome collection.

[@hershmysson]

HOLY SHIT, camera operators have always been absolute heroes to me, but looking at cameras like this and their intricacies makes it all a lot more interesting.

[@joannaatkins822]

Yet another fantastic video! Your enthusiasm for this tech is honestly quite contagious, I'm learning a lot :D

[@ZakHolman]

When I started shooting news back in 2008 / 2009, we were still using the DV500 on mini DV. We would use the sony clamshell to capture the footage real time then edit on our old laptops. It's absolutely amazing how far we've come since then.

[@gregorianwindexdiangelina2596]

each video gets better and better!! thankful for you!!

[@16mmDJ]

lmao at "the most cursed object I own" hahaha

[@PAkMan1999]

Dude, your content is awesome. Rarely I can find someone with such passion for old (and practically useless nowadays) tech. Keep up with your content, will watch every video

[@photoinmotion999]

I've been ENG/EFP cam op for 30+ years (from U-matic to iPhone, lol). I find your comments about professional gear very entertaining and informative. Back in the day my fav cameras were the Ikegami, take a look into one of those if you can, you'll like them. Keep up the good work!

[@Funktrainer]

I am playing around with some Editcam 2 rigs (two system cameras HL-65W and HK-399PW with the DNR-20 decks and one DNS-201W camcorder plus two SAT2000 stand alone recorder units). Just love this stuff. Very nice output that can easily be upscaled to 1080p and still looks great.

[@alexannal]

Great video. There is something fantastic about outdated professional equipment.

[@ShawnTewes]

Even though the cameras themselves aren't that useful these days, I'm still fascinated by them and their history. Where I live, some of our local TV news stations still use DVCAM and Betacam to this day, since they still use over-the-air analog standard definition. Having worked at one of them, I also find the idea of plugging a firewire cable into the back of an ENG camera to capture breaking news quite funny. Instead we would either use an external VTR deck to capture the tape over firewire, or when it was something urgent we'd just edit linearly (tape-to-tape with two decks connected via an edit bay). Back then if we wanted to get really fancy, we would use the camera's firewire port to hook up to an external FireStore hard drive which piggy backs on the back of the camera and records the video that way, saving the time and hassle of capturing from tape.

[@99sports64]

The legend himself. I'm Almost through all of your videos and your content never disappoints. Awesome video 👍

[@moconnell663]

I've only handled a professional video camera once (I think I was 12 ar the time), it was a Sony Betacam like yours. I couldn't get over how comfortable it was to hold on my shoulder in spite of how heavy it was! Thanks for making a great video, I look forward to seeing more. EDIT: For reference, that would have been in '98 or '99.

[@CathodeRayDude]

It's remarkable! They're an amazing achievement of ergonomics - though given their cost-no-object origin, I can see why. Thanks for watching!

[@user-uf4qr7os4s]

one of the most interesting and special videos i have seen in a long time! your content has so much quality and potential!

[@wisico640]

So glad TC put you on our path 🎉 Great Content! ❤

[@the_leathermushroom]

Because of you I just recently picked up a Panasonic NV-MS90B VHS-c camcorder that will live on a tripod for just filming intro's and dioramas. And you have my thanks because I am loving every second of it!

[@Iceman12388888888]

I love your videos, please continue to make them, this channel will be huge!

[@jarekjagielski366]

Great collection, watched with great envy :D I think you mentioned in one of your updates that some of the upcoming videos might be simple show & tells rather then documentaries like the one on home video history - personally I see no problem, as great as these longer ones are, regular hardware showoffs are also interesting. You also have a real knack for explaining things really clearly, I think lots of folks might appreciate that - professional video seems to be one topic that few people outside the profession know a lot about. Can't wait for more videos :)

[@knightcrusader]

Oh man another good quality channel to add to my subscriptions. I need to feed my retro-tech hunger!

[@Dyvon.dynamo]

Also as a skater, coming across this video looking to find his VX1000. I'm so grateful to find this video when I needed it most. I now know what to start looking for in terms of features.

[@AlexandreMacabies]

I laughed out loud at that Sony/JVC adaptor. So very cursed. Thanks for sharing!

[@CathodeRayDude]

I meant to call it a "coke mixed with pepsi abomination" but forgot to say it on my good take! Missed opportunity imo. Thanks for watching!!

[@ZbigniewKusnierz]

Awesome channel, just discovered it via youtube recommendations! Also love this look into profession SD cameras.

[@jimkerr7064]

About 10-years-ago, I got into collecting Sony Betacam SP camcorders along with decks. I've sold off most of my Betacam SPs, but still have two BVW D600's, one of which is widescreen. Both of the D600's are in excellent operating and physical condition. Of course, if they develop an electronics problem they become big paperweights. Macie will still work on these, but hold on to your hat, it will cost a small fortune. It's been several years, but I have actually recorded live to KZbin with the D600's. I would have to look at my notes for how I did this using a Blackmagic device and other support equipment, but it can be done. I'm glad you collect these old cameras. Preserving camera history one camera at a time.

[@bgcreations6995]

Young Man Your are Holding History. I have used many of them. Thanks for the Memory.

[@lukastemberger]

I was a news cameraman and editor some 20 years ago. I was the person running back to the office to copy the footage over on a PC. I only once filmed a tower demolition, usually it was courthouses, accidents, murders in the middle of the night, filming wolves, dolphins. This video brings me back, thanks :)

[@k2rcb]

We have a few of these cameras - some donated by customers, others we bought new like the AG-DVC200. Used that professionally to record events from like 2003 to 2010. Kids would always ask which news station we were from. Was really nice having the big 3 hour DV tapes for long presentations, concerts, or training sessions - didn't have to worry about changing out tapes every hour. And yes the batteries from our older S-VHS professional cameras still fit. Anton Bauer batteries were not cheap, so I'm sure that's why they stuck with the same format so many years. Unlike the consumer market where every camera uses a different style and voltage battery. So nice when everything is a standard 12V.

[@TheVideoguy67]

Great video! I do enjoy collecting these out-of-date professional cameras!

[@joker1859]

Tell me i'm not the only one who wants the six-hour video on all the buttons and switches

[@xray111xxx]

So much fun seeing this. I just love video. Here I get my fix. Thanks!

[@tobiasprins]

This is so fascinating. Thanks for this

[@krazyhippy]

Thanks for the video!! I have the same love for pro equipment and this was awesome to watch.

[@12voltvids]

I use my JVCGYDV500 as a decoration. That's about all it is good for these days.

[@damonabets3779]

Man I love this KZbinr I have been trying to find a guy on KZbin to for a really long time with decent video quality and that loves old broadcast cameras!

[@patrik_x86]

Your channel seems to be growing! Nice work these videos are great!

[@Aquatarkus96]

My friend's grandpa used to run the engineering department of the TV station I work at. He has a large collection of the older decommissioned professional camcorders from the period immediately after these, Good to know I'm probably not missing out on all that much by not asking him to mess around with them

[@zabolitekurac]

Great video. I work as a camera operator at my national television and these history insights are very cool and special to me. thanks!

[@thephoenixking1086]

2:11 - NICE SPIN BRO... That was so well done...

[@MrDsmen]

I have just discovered your channel and im so much in love with your content, keep up the good work :3

[@DelCampoProductions.]

Thats very impressive,That jvc camcorder with the big viewfinder on top was really cool to me.Awesome videos!

[@BRC_311]

Awesome videos dude. You definitely deserve more subs and views.

[@kalimaa999]

Keep it up - love it. Hope you continue to grow 🔱

[@radioactivekitty9174]

ps your channel is criminally underappreciated

[@baddestmofoalive]

Dat low key smirk @ 2:51... yeah I saw it

[@joog_is_not_okay]

I'm here before you (and to help you) hit 10k. Love the hell out of this kind of stuff!

[@NikkeK]

Wonderful video! Thanks for sharing😊

[@RobbieStrike]

Enjoying your channel Gravis, I use to volunteer at our local Community TV channel and get to play with the broadcast gear. Did town council meetings. It was fun to have the multi camera setups with the ccu cables going out to the van! There was a lot of S VHS equipment in the low budget community tv channels. Also the S VHS stuff was in schools we had VM Studio that ran on Windows 3.1 It was a early computer video editing computer. It controlled 3 SVHS decks and also recorded video to the 8 gig hard drive that was on it! in 1995

[@hifiandrew]

In early 90s I was a total video geek, owned Beta, SVHS, Laserdisc ... knew someone at TV station did a tour and saw BetacamSP and man that was the bomb! Such a beautiful picture, the slow mo or FF was flawless. Those giant editing decks with the awesome jog shuttle, press for jog, press it again for shuttle. I wanted one of those BetacamSP camcorders so badly. For awhile I bought a Panasonic F250 dock-able with the SVHS deck. 3ccd.. like a turbo V-8 to a video geek. Looked cool like media. Quickly found how unpractical it was. I had a giant 12v battery in a bag, the 4 pin connector, and the F250 weighed a ton, it hurt to carry it after awhile. But did I love that pro lens with the nice zoom rocker switches. I eventually sold it and bought the complete opposite, a tiny panasonic mini DV, still an AG model from their pro line. 3ccd.. I still have it. Been meaning to transfer home movies off it it someday. Not nearly as cool as one of those big 'tv news station' shoulder camcorders. I'm like you though, pro gear is awesome. 10 years ago I bought some used Panasonic SVHS editing decks. AG-7500. What a tank. Those awseome analog VU meters. The tape transport on the thing just a beast! Speed up, slow down, jog, shuttle, that thing could move VHS tape like nothing else. I even had an external TBC for them. Nerd city. Compare that to your $100 consumer VHS. Anyway nice video. Ain't technology something. Gear that's worthless now I'd have done anything for back then.

[@freddyburger5574]

I'm really glad I subscribed, this stuff is fascinating!

[@vsevkrawczeniuk8019]

I got an old DV Sony broadcast camera, with the Camera Control Unit (a little 19" rack uni that controls zoom, color, etc) and the big multi-pin cable to connect them for FREE because it was easier for the company to just give it away than try to sell it. I got lucky, but still these aren't too hard to get your hands on, and they're really fun! I think it's cool having gear that I wished I could use as a kid, even if it's obsolete now. The one hiccup with getting that camera working was I could only power it through the 4 pin XLR connector, it takes 12v and 5v if I recall. I found out the power brick from the original XBOX 360 has these voltages, so I cut the end off that and soldered on a 4pin XLR. Works great!

[@null_carrier]

Great show and tell video man, keep it up. Thank you. Regards from Belgrade, Serbia

[@Dyvon.dynamo]

Bruh, this video is just dripping with tokusatsu Easter eggs, is that Jetman on the screen circa 12:51? Really enjoy this channel

[@mcmagiccracker]

You have great energy on-camera and you're really skilled at ad-libbing. Have you thought about shadowing a news photographer or an MMJ for a few days?

[@lustfulvengance]

I think a lot of people take for granted what it took to get to where we are now with video recording! If you showed someone from 20 years ago the video what a modern smartphone can record they probably wouldn't be able to believe their eyes!

[@vileCR999]

I love these camera videos

[@KnapfordMaster98]

The V-mount system is very much still in use. The shoulder pad accessory for the blackmagic ursa mini uses it, for instance. Most cinema cameras these days are just cubes you build off, but some still offer shoulder pads with v-mounts.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Very much in agreement with the opening paragraphs (that's all I've watched writing this), pro gear is built the way stuff should be!

[@kaitlyn__L]

Quirks and features shout-out

[@CathodeRayDude]

APPARENTLY THIS IS A THING ANOTHER GUY SAYS AND I HAD NO IDEA

[@unf0ld]

Great video! Really interesting stuff

[@salvatoreshiggerino6810]

I had almost completely forgot until this video reminded me. As a kid I got a chance to intern for a week at a small local news station. They had a completely analog editing workflow, but the machine was surprisingly easy and intuitive to use. When they were done editing the news segments, I got to try to make my own edits and get feedback. I wonder why I never got into video production after that.

[@gabesz]

Nice collection, when I started learning video production I started on the DV Sony ones. Good old memories :)

[@Kellanium]

"They've got quirks and wierd little features" Doug Demuro pressing his nose against the window: [heavy breathing]

[@moviebod]

Truly excelent thank you. I spent a whole, probably an hour, looking on eBay to see what I could afford and I already have too many old video cameras which I only use a bit. I have been a subscriber for a while, but I got sent your way tonight, as I was looking at a Canon MV850i which I have just put in a ridiculously low offer on.

[@zingaman]

I would kill for that U-matic portapack! one of the first I used back in the day!

[@siemreap1945]

I’ll still collecting old models camcorders late ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000 also. 👍 I liked to watch your video on the KZbin. A god blessing you and stay safe 2022 years ahead. Thank you!

[@epicchris1985]

Suddenly my camera collection doesn’t seem so big 😂 It’s about 30 as I scaled back. Great video and amazing collection. Sadly due to my health I can’t lug these old units about anymore but I’d love to own some of these units. Subscribed!

[@lurkersmith810]

Oh, thanks a lot for your dang videos. Thanks to you, I have a Sony DXC-M3 on its way to me. The only use I'll get out of it besides finding a place to mount the camera on a wall somewhere, is on the next shoot I go on, cram all my new gear into the M3 case just to see the reaction of my friends with whom I used to shoot with an M3 back in the 80s! ;-) People in my antique radio club think our interests are dying because people don't collect things older than they are, or that they didn't personally use, but you are proof that is not true. (I'm also proof, because I collect tube radios from the 1920s, but I was a child of the transistor radio era.) I enjoy your passion and your collection.

[@Lucasfgrangeiro]

Great video. Best of luck from Brazil.

[@jochenstacker7448]

I'm loving that SONVC camcorder.

[@BlakeNaftel]

Funny memory perked up as you remarked about the full-size MiniDV camcorder. In the small window between tape based and fully digital ENG news gathering in 2007-2008, there was a point where (then) new full-sized JVC ProHD camcorders were purchased for a local tv station I was working for at the time. Everything was recorded onto small DVCAM (MiniDV size) videotapes and edited to Betacam SP for air. It worked as a patch before the era of full non-linear editing, but felt silly to be bumping those specific formats together. There was a momentary delay on the Sony A/B roll edit controller between the JVC ProHD DV and Sony BetaSP VTR decks that made editing in a pinch annoying, but all part of the evolution of formats. Same could be said for the 3/4", BetaSP and SVHS era.

[@RetroGadgetMan]

Very interesting video, I love the build quality of boardcast gear too. Don't own one yet, but hope to someday.

[@lowlevelm]

I’m loving the 60fps

[@NJRoadfan]

The purpose of dockable cameras is as you said, so they can be used for ENG or CCU/studio settings. The TV studio in my high school had Panasonic WV-D5100 dockable cameras with the CCU setup plus tally monitors (the whole shop was Panasonic, guess the rep from Secaucus got there before the rep from Park Ridge!). The whole setup likely fell out of use when costs dropped and they just integrated the CCU remote units into the camera head. With regards to standards, they were essential. Nobody is going to gain a foothold in a market like that by introducing a new connector. Even when they switched to digital video transport, SDI retained the BNC coax interconnect so studios could use existing wires. Imagine that, upgrading from composite to digital without running new wires. Panasonic did try to compete with Betacam SP with their MII format (used VHS tape shells but with metal tape component format video). Don't know what JVC was doing as I really haven't seen their pro gear in use during that time period.

[@CathodeRayDude]

Ah! A user of the d5100!! I am so curious about them! You might have noticed that I held one up at the end of this video? I bought it at a junk store a couple years ago and could not decode exactly what it was for. I thought it was an industrial camera at first, because it was so compact and came with a pan/tilt rig; then I found out it had a shoulder rig available among other things, but all the accessories look so strange. It's remarkably plasticky, yet Panasonic's pro division sold it. It lacks a ton of features from proper EFP cameras, like built in ND filters, bar generation, WB presets, zebra stripes, but Panasonic still marketed it as a field production camera. I can only find a single ad for this camera (in fact, it's predecessor, the 5000) and its in a NASA internal magazine. The verbiage is very indistinct. The only thing I think I know is that they were trying to sell a single camera "block" that could be used for any purpose, but it very much feels like they cut the cost on everything in order to make it possible - yet they continued selling these for many years it seems, so I guess it was successful? Did you like using it back in the day?

[@NJRoadfan]

@@CathodeRayDude They were.... ok, and kinda over the hill when I used them in 1996-2000. High school kids were not easy on pro gear and maintenance was non-existent. We had an older D5000 as a spare camera #4 but rarely used it due to video output problems (the image was always blown out no matter how much white balancing and dial tweaking we did). The tally monitors did have zebra stripping and the WV-D37 RCU adapter provided color bars so you could adjust phase from the WV-RC35 RCU (which took our WJ-5600 SEG's color bar output for gen-locking and comparison). The tripods had zoom and focus controls on the handles. Given the price point and single CCD, I'd assume they were marketed for lower cost segments like our public access TV station or corporate in-house studios. Our final format was VHS to a pair of AG-6500 editors with AG-A650 controller, so quality wasn't a priority. That studio later got a SVHS upgrade with dual AG-DS545s in an A-B roll setup with a AG-DS555 recorder and AG-A850 editing controller. Special effects were provided by a WJ-MX50 and the whole works communicated by RS-422 serial.

[@CathodeRayDude]

@@NJRoadfan that sounds about right, heh. gosh, I have most of this. got a wi-mx50, the jvc equivalent of the ag-6500, etc.

[@thicclink]

Very interesting. Lots of cool information here!