{"id":3898,"date":"2026-07-31T16:28:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/?p=3898"},"modified":"2026-08-01T05:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T05:19:53","slug":"review-sony-ccd-vx3-hi8-camcorder-part-2-3ccds-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigheadamusements.com\/wordpress\/?p=3898","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sony CCD-VX3 Hi8 Camcorder, Part 2 – 3CCDs, Baby!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sunset by the marina at Queen’s Quay, Toronto, as filmed with the Sony CCD-VX3 Hi camcorder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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In Part 1: Consumer to Prosumer<\/b><\/a>, my intro review to the Sony CCD-VX3 Hi8 camcorder, I highlighted the different video gear markets that began to feather each other during the 1990s: consumer, industrial, and professional broadcast. For Part 2<\/strong>, I thought I’d indulge in a bit more detail the formats and brands that ultimately seeded the emerging prosumer market and offered options, features, and higher quality optics and sensors that were embraced by videomakers who wanted more than lo-fi VHS.<\/p>\n

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Excerpt from a German Sony Consumer catalogue from Archive.org. Virtually all of these black-shelled camcorders suffer from rotting capacitors and have become unfortunate doorstops.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cConsumer\u201d covers devices made for the average person, with upper-tier models aimed at the more ambitious and fastidious user, like Sony\u2019s short-lived CCD-V801 Hi8 camcorder, a model that boasted RC time code, fully manual settings, and audio and video insert editing. I used the V801 to film assorted events, including dance performances in low light settings.<\/p>\n

Now, if you had more dollars to spend, for the “Prosumer” market, Sony had the CCD-V5000 model, and for videographers with $10,000 to blow, there was the Industrial EVW-300 – arguably the apex of Hi8 recording.<\/p>\n

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Excerpt from a 1994 Sony Professional catalogue from Archive.org. This camcorder line is similarly affected by rotting capacitors, but can be restored if the damage isn’t too advanced – just be prepared for a significant restoration bill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cIndustrial\u201d describes mid-tier video gear aimed at educational institutions, local TV and cable TV stations, and corporate videos producers.<\/p>\n

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Top and bottom view of a full-size U-Matic tape – the first video cassette format. [Photo: Wikipedia]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although the early video cassette format U-Matic was originally conceived for the consumer market, the cost and bulk of the \u00be\u201d tape format proved unfeasible for the average consumer in the early 1970s, but it had several advantages over two of the most popular reel-to-reel [R2R] formats of the day: C-type, the 1\u201d broadcast format which required a behemoth player-recorder; and \u00bd\u201d R2R which required smaller and \u2018lighter\u2019 player-recorder units.<\/p>\n

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A Sony BVH-500 portable VTR (see the handy handle?) for the large C-type, 1″ reel-to-reel videotape. [Photo: Wikipedia]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A Sony AV-3600 portable B&W reel-to-reel recorder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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U-Matic\u2019s chief advantage was housing fragile videotape in a cassette shell, and although the first portable player-recorder was hardly lightweight \u2013 the Sony VO-3800 weighed around 30 lbs \u2013 both the portable model and the top-loading editing decks were significantly lighter, space-saving, and cheaper than the C-type system, and offered ostensibly broadcast quality video, hence the format being widely adopted by smaller TV stations and commercial production facilities of various sizes wanting quality and accuracy when it came to editing.<\/p>\n

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Sony’s BMC-110, the first Betamax camcorder, introduced in 1983, and aimed at the consumer market for home videos, weddings, and industrial videos. [Photo: Wikipedia]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Until the emergence of professional and consumer camcorders from Sony via their respective Betacam (1982) and Betamovie (1983) models, through the 1970s and mid-1980s recording video outside of a studio setting consisted of a tube camera that was connected to a portable recorder via a large cable that fed power to the camera, and send audio and video to and from the recorder and recorder-player.<\/p>\n

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Sony’s DXC line of cameras – lightweight, hugely comfortable, with a recorder as light as a standard pastrami sandwich. NOT!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Whereas big networks and studios could afford to upgrade their systems with latest and biggest gear aimed at the professional broadcasting industry, local cable and independent operations often stuck with industrial formats like U-Matic which, for over 20 years, retained higher image quality than VHS (introduced in Japan in 1976, and in the U.S. in 1978) and Betamax (introduced in 1975).<\/p>\n

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Examples of Sony’s first home & industrial video system, the skip-field CVC series. (Photo: https:\/\/www.smecc.org\/sony_cv_series_video.htm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The industry-standard EIAJ-1 (the Electronic Industries Association of Japan) \u00bd inch R2R videotape system was formalized in 1969, and preceded U-Matic by 2 years. The reason for establishing the EIAJ-1 standard was pretty straightforward \u2013 a R2R recording made on one brand of gear would now play on another brand\u2019s gear \u2013 plus the establishment of 30 frames per second with 60 fields rather than the skip-field, 30 fields per second on Sony\u2019s prior CVC series of cameras and decks.<\/p>\n

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Assemblage of Sony’s Portapak system, spanning camera, lenses, power supply, and ‘lightweight’ recorder with carry case. (Photo: https:\/\/www.smecc.org\/sony_av-3400__avc-3400.htm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Prior to U-Matic, Sony EIAJ-1 Portapak R2R system (itself introduced in the skip-field system in 1967, and soon standardized to EIAJ-1 in 1969) was adopted by news crews because as its name infers, it was designed to be portable: a camera (Sony\u2019s B&W Video Rover and the colour Video Ranger cameras) were tethered to a shoulder-strapped recorder (which Sony branded the Videocorder).<\/p>\n

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Sony’s ‘light’ 44 lbs AV-3650 portable reel-to-reel video recorder-editor-player. This monster can record and play colour video. Steel toe boots are high recommended when moving this deck around in case of unwanted oopsy-doopsy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The footage could be edited using a portable player-recorder with a flying erase head that could be set up anywhere with a monitor. A colour camera and similarly sophisticated \u2018lightweight\u2019 editing decks (such as the massive Sony AV-3650) were also available. Brands such as Panasonic, JVC, and Hitachi \/ Shibaden had their own versions of the Portapak system.<\/p>\n

Social activists (Canada’s Challenge for Change<\/a>), collectives (Videofereex<\/a>), educators, and artists embraced the Portapak gear because in the early years of videotape recording, while not cheap, one could use the cameras and recorders to film in a variety of locations, including concerts and sports venues, and also create experimental works and video art prior to the smaller, cheaper, less power-hungry, and more portable CCD camcorders of the 1990s.<\/p>\n

One definite aspect of industrial gear is that the cameras, mixers, and recorders were often designed to be tougher, longer-lasting, generally fixable, and often benefited from the developments and improvements in professional gear used by networks for electronic news gathering (ENG).<\/p>\n

Industrial camera gear was also smaller, more portable, easier to set up, and cheaper than the beasts cameramen lugged over their shoulders: during the pre-camcorder era, an ENG camera kit consisted of lens + camera + microphone + light + battery + thick multipin cable connecting the camera to a separate \u2018portable\u2019 recorder (which had its own massive battery).<\/p>\n

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JVC’s BY-110U compact Saticon 3-tube camera, tethered to offscreen power supply. I used this kit to film a one-person play in 2012 – Marilla Wex’ LOST AND FOUND.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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For example, although not as hefty as JVC\u2019s red-clad KY-series of 3-Saticon tube cameras, the later beige BY-110U model<\/a> came in several configurations for those on a tighter budget, and in 1986, for under $10,000 USD one could buy a 3-tube camera and U-Matic recorder package. In 2026 dollars, that package deal works out to about $28,000 US.<\/p>\n

Professional studio setups included rack-mounted, massive players, recorders, monitors, and cooling fans \u2013 all (ideally) required to handle long hours of use without grievous, time-wasting, technical hiccups and overheating. Many studios also retained on-site technicians to ensure all gear remained in working order (or were maintained via repairs, parts swap, and creative MacGyvering).<\/p>\n

Two brands that dominated the industrial market were Matsushita (aka Panasonic) and Sony, and unlike worthy competitors JVC, Hitachi \/ Shibaden, and to a far lesser degree Sharp (one of several electronics companies that flirted with broadcast gear) \u2013 Panasonic and Sony seemed to think big and broad, perhaps because they had built large manufacturing facilities and held distinctive vertical production philosophies.<\/p>\n

Of the aforementioned Japanese electronic giants, Sony was the most savvy in promoting its consumer and industrial products, as evidenced in this 1970s tour of its facilities:<\/p>\n

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