If you grew up in the 1980s or ’90s, you probably remember moving home videos, taken with a handheld camera, of family gatherings, vacations, and other events.
Cameras include a camera and a video recorder. They included a rechargeable battery, a videotape slot, and a shoulder strap. Many were equipped with an optical zoom lens and a small clear screen—a display mounted on a hinge that could tilt and rotate. The user can look at the screen to see what was being recorded.
The user’s natural hand and body movements when recording lead to jittery images. The best way to get a steady shot was to put the camcorder on a tripod or gimbal: a motorized stabilizer.
There were a few poor quality recordings after Panasonic introduced its PV-460 VHS camcorder in 1988. It was the first video camera to include an optical image stabilizer, which compensated for movement. Stabilization features have become standard in today’s cameras including those found in smartphones and drones.
The PV-460 camcorder was honored as an IEEE landmark on July 9. The company’s dedication ceremony was held in Kadoma, Japan, at the Panasonic Museum, which showcases the company’s old products.
The IEEE Kansai Section in Japan sponsored the Milestone.
“The release of the PV-460 fundamentally changed human video, improving the way people capture travel, events, and family memories,” panel members wrote in support of the Milestone designation. Their proposal is available here.
“The strengthening of its image includes the creation of democratic videos by significantly reducing technical barriers, allowing ordinary people to express themselves with the freedom to create new ones,” they wrote. “Outside the home, image intensification technology has found important applications in specialized fields, contributing to advances in fields such as education and telemedicine.”
The history of cameras
Before the camcorder was invented in 1982, people recording events in the 1970s and early 1980s used two pieces of equipment: a video camera and a videocassette recorder (VCR), which were connected via a multipin cable. A camera was about the size of a toaster, and a VCR could be as big as a suitcase. To record, one used the camera with one hand and carried the VCR with the other or slung it over the shoulder. The cable transmits the images from the camera to the cassette.
The PV-460 is made possible by several innovations, according to the Milestone proposal, one of which dates back to the 1950s.
In 1956 Italian manufacturer Durst released the Automatica, considered one of the first cameras to use automatic exposure technology. By combining a light meter with internal camera systems, the technology has eliminated the need to manually calculate exposure settings when the light changes or other conditions change. The innovation made it possible for uneducated photographers to take decent pictures.
The next breakthrough technology—autofocus—was invented in 1973 by Norman Stauffer, a Honeywell research manager in Littleton, Colo. The invention led to the development of the first electronic autofocus cameras, eliminating the need for photographers to manually adjust the lens. Stauffer received the 1990 IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Technology Award for his invention.
“The release of the PV-460 fundamentally changed human video, enriching the way people capture travel, events and family memories.” – Milestone Sponsors
US inventor Jerome Lemelson is credited with developing the technology behind the camcorder, according to MIT. In the 1950s and ’60s, Lemelson filed several patent applications related to video and audio recording devices. In 1980 he was granted patents related to a portable video camera system. In 1982 JVC and Sony used technology to develop what they called a camera/recorder, known as the camcorder.
Sony released the first handheld camcorder in 1983: the Betamovie BMC-100P. It used the Betamax videotape format and could record up to 3.5 hours on a 1.27-centimeter cassette tape. The user placed the 2.5-kilogram camcorder over the shoulder to shoot videos. It sold for about US $2,000 at the time (about $33,400 today). The machine could not rewind or play tapes; it could only record.
Other electronics companies including JVC soon introduced their models using the VCR format, which eventually replaced Betamax.
Over time, camcorders became more compact.
But no companies can fix the shaky-footage problem.
To solve a moving problem
The Panasonic team led by researcher Mitsuaki Oshima took on the task of image stabilization: detecting and correcting the movement of small cameras, called. camera shakeaccording to the proposal. Oshima, a senior life member of IEEE, is now an honorary member at Panasonic.
“Motions that needed to be detected and corrected included horizontal, vertical, and rotational motions—especially pitch, yaw, and roll,” Milestone sponsors wrote. “Rotational motion, in particular, becomes the main factor affecting image stability during large-scale imaging. Therefore, the development team focused on detecting rotational motion and began to develop an angular velocity sensor.”
AVS, essentially a gyroscope, detects how fast an object is changing its position in space.
Sensors capable of detecting angular velocity were large and expensive at the time, making them unsuitable for consumer video cameras, the authors wrote. What was needed, they said, was a compact and inexpensive version.
Oshima and his team have developed a high-performance, small, and low-cost vibration-type gyroscope. The stabilization method includes a small sensor paired with an optical-axis adjustment mechanism.
The device adjusts the lens or image sensor to withstand physical changes and vibrations, ensuring that the light path stays focused on the sensor—essential for maximizing sharpness and quality, Milestone sponsors wrote.
“The system detects lens shift caused by camera shake and quickly compensates for it, ensuring stable video recording,” they wrote. “As a result, the effects of camera shake are reduced, allowing users to capture smooth and stable videos with ease.”
Without Oshima’s image stabilization technology, the PV-460 would not have been developed and released in 1988.
The technology was patented and widely licensed by other companies. It has become a standard feature in a variety of graphics applications.
Prizes and awards
The PV-460 gained instant popularity when it debuted in June 1988. It received rave reviews at that year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
Panasonic received the 100th award in 1989 R&D The world which is “the construction of a VHS camera with an anti-shake mechanism.”
Oshima’s research paper, “VHS Camcorder With Electronic Image Stabilizer,” and others are available in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
To learn more about historical figures in engineering, IEEE Milestones, and IEEE History Center programs and events, check out Institute Center IEEE Tech History Collection. IEEE Spectrum and includes aspects of the history of technology.
Milestone plaque display
The Milestone plaque will be displayed on the floor of the Panasonic Museum, which is open to the public. The museum is located near the now closed Panasonic research lab where the technology was developed. The plaque reads:
“In 1988 the first PV-460 camera equipped with image stabilization to allow smooth and stable video capture was introduced by Panasonic. By pairing a gyroscope sensor of a small vibrating structure with an optical-axis correction mechanism, the PV-460 eliminated the jitter caused by this feature of the Broad license for standard hand movements. digital cameras, smartphones, and photography equipment related.”
Selected by the IEEE Historical Committee and approved by the IEEE Board of Directors, IEEE Milestones recognize outstanding technological developments around the world that are at least 25 years old. The Milestone Program is managed by the IEEE history and heritage group.
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