Still video camera

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Canon RC-250 QPIC still video camera

Prototype Sony Mavica still video camera from 1981

A still video camera (SVC) is a type of electronic camera that takes still images and stores them as single frames of video. They peaked in popularity in the late 1980s^{[citation needed]} and can be seen as the predecessor to the digital camera. However, unlike the latter, the image storage in such cameras is based on analog- rather than digital- technology.

Design[]

The most common design has an image sensor and basic processing hardware similar to that of a domestic analog camcorder. However, instead of storing consecutive frames on tape to form a moving image, a single frame is extracted from the output video signal and saved on a rotating magnetic disk (such as a Video Floppy). In playback, the disk is spun at the frame rate of the video system with the frame being read repeatedly. This produces a conventional video signal that can be viewed on a normal television.

The limitation is that the playback system is roughly equivalent to the operation of a paused video recorder. Since the video is stored as a conventional video frame in a format such as NTSC or PAL, the resolution is limited to that of any other video. And since the images are not stored digitally, transferring the photos to a computer requires a video capture card.

The best known models include the Sony Mavica and Canon's and cameras.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Still video cameras.

• The Digital Camera Museum, featuring all still video cameras ever announced