Looking back over the history of vintage camcorders showcases the incredible advancements in technology we have experienced over the years.
technology
We’ve collected some popular vintage home movie cameras that paved the way for video and camcorder technology — and, eventually, the digital video revolution as we experience it today.
The 50s and 60s were the glory days for old drive-in movie theaters, when there were about 4000 such venues spread across the country. Take a look back!
Felix the Cat cartoon: How the world’s first famous feline charmed the world in the 1920s and beyond
Felix the Cat was a black and white cartoon character who first appeared on movie screens way back in 1919. Created by Pat Sullivan and
Let’s take a dive into the nostalgic maze of the original Pac-Man game – plus see point values and scoring, plus home and arcade version of the OG and his family, including Ms and Baby Pac Man!
First flying in the 1960s, the famous Boeing 747 airplane was not only bigger and more powerful than any other plane, but was a major technological marvel. See the jets inside and out, and how they looked during construction!
Check out some old how-to info and classic ads from the early days of 1970s microwave ovens, with tips on how to use what is now the most basic of kitchen appliances!
50s phones were more than just a means of communication — they were pretty household decorations!
This classic advice from the 1970s helped consumers choose and take care of audio cassette tapes.
In the world of modern technology, it’s easy to take the humble typewriter completely for granted. But have you ever wondered who invented the typewriter – and how it introduced a new role for women in the workforce?
Intellivision gaming systems from the 80s were supposed to be more realistic than anything else available at the time. You may be surprised to see (or remember) how simplistic and pixelated the games really were!
Living rooms changed entirely when these vintage console stereos came on the market – they were technology and furniture all in one!
These vintage touch-tone phones – featuring push buttons, speed and musical tones – represented a totally new signaling system, and opened the way to increased versatility in communications.
Back in the 1920s, footwear manufacturers and merchants decided that X-ray shoe fittings could bring in lots of customers – people who would be thrilled to let a recent scientific advance help them find the perfect shoe. There was just a little problem…
Anyone who lived through the great videotape format war of the late 1970s to early 1980s will never forget the big question: VHS or Beta? Here’s the Betamax side – the player that ultimately lost.
People were used to big records, but then the music industry wanted everyone to adopt a new format and a new size, and came out with 45 RPM record players and 7″ vinyl records with a big hole in the middle.
Imagine getting paid to think up the wildest retro-futuristic space-age inventions. Back in the 50s and 60s, that’s what commercial artist Arthur Radebaugh got to do.
Here’s some eye-opening insight into the invention of contact lenses! The contacts were made of glass, and although they worked much like they do today, they were thick, uncomfortable, and even a little dangerous.
The old VTech PreComputer 1000 from the 80s was a small 3-in-1 computer ‘teacher’ that helped kids learn touch typing and basic computer programming – plus had a 3500-word dictionary, and knew more than 1000 facts
Disneyland’s old Carousel of Progress from the ’60s was a huge model of a city of soaring spires. Automated highways. Open green spaces. Nuclear power. Take a look back!
The Picturephone, an electronic moving picture device that debuted in the late 60s, let you video chat long before the internet, and way before Zoom, Google Meet, Facetime et al.
Want to know how to make an old rotary phone work? Here’s your handy guide, straight from the 50s!
Starting when vintage portable radios were finally small enough to be carried in the 1950s, through when they got almost too big to carry in the ’80s, here’s a little sound history of AM & FM radios from the days of transistors onward.
These vintage Princess phones were enormously popular in the sixties, with their compact style and backlit dial. Here’s a look back!
The old Apple QuickTake digital camera was in stores from 1994 to 1997. There were three models – the 100, 150 and 200 – and offered a 640×480 image resolution.
When vintage Instamatic cameras were introduced in the 60s, they came along with the invention of the quick-load film cartridge – and both were so affordable and easy to use that they were instantly successful. Flash back here!
Cash register history goes back to the Victorian era, and were used to both streamline accounting, and to keep cashiers from stealing money. Find out more here!
It was on that memorable day in telephone history – June 2, 1875 – when Bell and Watson were testing a number of transmitters, connected by a single wire to a corresponding set of vibrating reed receivers, that the first sounds were transmitted electrically.
Remember that AT&T jingle, ‘Reach out and touch someone’? Hear it again & find out how it came to be
If you remember the old ‘Reach out – reach out and touch someone’ long distance ad jingle, you probably just sang those words in your head! Look back at some of these vintage TV commercials, and find out how the ditty came together here!
With better quality than fixed-lens Instamatic-style cameras, but far less complicated than standard SLR cameras, these vintage point-and-shoot 35mm cameras were just what people were looking for in the ’80s.
If you lived through the seventies and eighties, you can probably immediately remember the sound that these vintage dot matrix printers used to make. See and hear them again here!
Old-fashioned dentistry in the early 1900s had come a long way since the Wild West days, but, compared to what we have available in the 21st century, it might as well have been the Dark Ages. Take a look!
ternational long-distance phone calls for ‘only’ $12 for the first three minutes? And this old ad said that price was low. See more about what it took to dial abroad back in the sixties here!
Here, take a look back at some of the earliest automobiles that were on the market at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
To help you remember the heyday of the Xerox, check out some vintage copy machines here – and be grateful that email and scanners have made running a business nowadays so much simpler.
Reel-to-reel tape recorders hit the commercial market in the 1940s — and their evolution was boosted by the financial support of none other than Bing Crosby, who saw great potential in the technology.
Years ago, old-fashioned clock radios like these were on pretty much every bedside table around America, both lulling us to sleep with music and radio shows, and getting us up for work in the morning.
In the 1960s, Douglas was one of the biggest airplane manufacturers in America. Their DC-9, which first flew in 1965, was built to service both large and small airports, setting it apart from other planes of the era.
Who invented television? Unfortunately for anyone looking for a quick answer, the first TV sets weren’t made by one single person — there were several inventors who were incredibly important to its creation and evolution. Here’s a look!
When you look back at how people talked about and used computers in the 1960s, it’s easy to get a feel for how exciting the technological advances were at the time. It was a whole new wild frontier.
The AMSTRAD Word Processor was compact… for the time! One box held the whole shebang – the monitor, keyboard and printer, plus word processing software.
The Matthew Broderick movie ‘War Games’ was more than just a hit at the box office – it also showed such a realistic WW3 scenario that it led to the creation of a 1986 anti-hacking law.
The demand for ’60s computer programmers was huge as business, industry, science, education and government all raced to reap the benefits of new technology. Here’s a look!
Here’s the original press release that a small company called Apple released back in 1984, announcing the launch of their new Macintosh personal computer – the first mass-market PC with both a graphical user interface and a mouse.
In the ’70s, there were millions of people using Vintage CB radios – having a world of conversations and learning about the important reasons to keep citizens’ band radio active.
If you could go back in time, these are the vintage ’80s home stereo systems – turntables, cassette decks, stereos, TVs and VCRs – you probably would have seen. But if you go back, don’t spoil the surprise! We thought we were cool.
First entering service with Eastern Air Lines in 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra was a leap forward in airline technology when it appeared. But the planes had a fatal flaw.
When the old Victrola record players were first introduced, those turntables were some cutting-edge tech. Here’s a look at the history of the famous Victor Talking Machines!
These vintage 980s personal computers weren’t just expensive, but some had hard drives so small that just one of these old PC ad images would have maxed them out.
The 1970s personal computer revolution began as those ingenious devices that put men on the moon, revolutionized science, and perplexed millions were finding their way into the home.
The dance music of the Edison Phonograph is irresistible. It offers the most fascinating waltzes and spirited two-steps of the world’s, great composers as well as the popular dance music of the hour.
Here’s how to choose a turntable that will make your vintage vinyl records come alive, based on all the retro tips on what really made a difference back in the day.
