Camcorders

Throughout the 1990s, camcorder sales had the unintended side-effect of hurting the still camera photography market. Among the mass consumer market, camcorders gradually replaced still cameras for vacation and travel use. All Camcorders had a built in microphone. In the late 1990s, the camcorder reached the digital era with the introduction of miniDV. Its cassette media was even smaller than 8 mm media, allowing another size reduction of the tape transport assembly. The evolution of the camcorder has seen the growth of the camcorder market as price reductions and size reductions make the technology more accessible to a wider audience. When camcorders were first introduced, they were bulky shoulder-operated luggables that cost over $1,500 US dollars. As of 2006, an entry-level MiniDV camcorder fits in the palm of a person's hand, at a price under $300 US dollars.