Brand

Used Sony camcorders

Sony made the first consumer camcorder, the Betamovie, in 1983, and in 1985 it put the Handycam name on its first Video8 camcorder, a tape small enough for a camera you could hold in one hand. Hi8 followed in 1989 with a much sharper picture. In 1995 a group led by Sony and Panasonic launched DV, and Sony's DCR-VX1000 was the first camcorder to pair MiniDV with three CCDs. Digital8 came in 1999, recording DV onto 8mm cassettes so owners could keep playing their old tapes, and by 2004 Sony was the only company still making it. Sony calls FireWire i.LINK, and its PAL models end in E. Check the battery family: Sony used several over the years that don't swap.

8 models we cover.