The camcorder dimensions are 126 mm × 191 mm × 350 mm, and it weighs 2.3 kg with battery and cassette. This camcorder sported a 6× power zoom lens (f=12 mm to f=72 mm) which was changeable with others in the accessories list. The lens assembly was a complex piece of engineering consisting of a focus motor, zoom motor, and aperture motor.
All of these motors required their respective individual servo control circuits in order to work. The operator could also enjoy a 1-inch viewfinder display that rendered a monochrome 208 line display.
A miniature cathode ray tube (CRT) to provide a monitor display during recording and playback modes achieved this. In order to reduce the size and weight of the camcorder they made the UHF modulator part (RFU-85) detachable, as this functionality is not usually required when recording.
This is a necessary and useful part for feeding the camcorder output to a conventional television for display. It also has RCA sockets for audio and video output signals, which could feed a VHS videocassette recorder.
Since it is a composite video signal, modern DVD recorders could also record the signal through their composite video input sockets. As well as dedicated ICs to provide analogue processing of video signals, this camcorder required a mode control central processing unit (CPU) µPD7503G-324 for the overall control of the camera, and MB88505 microcontroller to manage the tape transport mechanism and servos.
A feature that did not get much recognition, but was revolutionary, was the flying erase head, which was within the same drum as the recording / playback heads. It enabled the operator to stop and start recording without leaving gaps. This feature saves a huge amount of time editing the film in the studio. This video camera, which had the auto focus function, replaced CCD-V8 in the same year.
The 13-metre range autofocus was crude using infrared beams to measure the distance between the lens and the object, and if anyone were to walk between the two, breaking the beam, then the autofocus servo continued adjusting. This constant hunting by the servomotors resulted in unnecessary power usage reducing the use time of the battery pack. As a result, they also included a switch to disable autofocus so the operator could focus manually. The item "Vintage 1985 SONY CCD-V8AF-E Video 8 AF Camcorder With Battery Charger & Case" is in sale since Friday, July 31, 2020.
This item is in the category "Cameras & Photography\Camcorders". The seller is "bits_bobs2020" and is located in Andover. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Antigua and barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Dominica, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Montserrat, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Kuwait, Philippines, Qatar, Uruguay.