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Sounex YN-9000 Re-usable Camera

 

From camera film to film camera, this post will be looking at the Sounex YN-9000 camera. It is an unusual and one of the most interesting cameras I have come across. So strap in for a wild ride.

The origin of this camera was hard to figure out, but I think I might have found it. I believe this camera and all (if not, most) other cameras like this one was manufactured by the New Taiwan Photographic Corp.

This company was founded in Taiwan 1981 and manufactured low cost security cameras and photographic cameras from their own brand, Ouyama, as well as other well-known camera brands (CollectiBlend 2023) and tri-pods (Camerapedia Wiki).

There isn’t much else on this company that I can find, other than that they seem to still be operating, but aren’t actively advertising their company (Global Sources). This could be because as Eckman (2019) writes: “When a company is in the business of ripping off someone else’s design, it is in their best interest to not keep good records of their history…” and that “It’s not likely that anyone will ever come up with a more conclusive history about the company simply because the market was so saturated with these types of mass produced cheap consumer goods products made in China and its provinces.  New Taiwan was likely one of a million such companies that just so happens to have a history making a line-up of cheap cameras that still show up for sale.”

Now the number of cameras they have manufactured are unknown, but seeing that a lot of these type of cameras, like the Sounex YN-9000, have similar characteristics and materials, it could be surmised that some of them were manufactured by New Taiwan Photographic Corp. (CollectiBlend 2023).

These cameras’ main purpose was to make people think that they were buying real SLR cameras or viewfinder cameras, often times going so far as to add metal plates at the bottom to give it more weight. (CollectiBlend 2023).

These cameras where dubbed “trashcams” or “scameras” “that mimic the design of professional quality SLR cameras…” but without the quality of other well-known brands. (Eckman 2019).

These cameras where advertised in magazines and on TV, claiming to be as good as the real thing it is imitating. They even teamed up with Time Magazine to send and distribute to subscribers (CollectiBlend 2023).

To even bring people under the impression that it may be a well-known brand camera, the New Taiwan Photographic Corp, used such cameras companies’ brand names such as Cannon instead of the respected brand Canon. Eckman (2023) writes: “Canon wasn’t even the only major photographic company to have its name used on a rip-off like this.  There exist models claimed to be made by Sony, Mitsubishi, and Argus.  Sometimes, there are names used that aren’t exactly like a real camera company, but come close, like Canomatic, Olympia, Nikai, Nokina, Panasound, Tashika, and Mitsuba.  Sometimes the names are just completely made up and mean nothing like Olempia, Gold Star, Cortland, Sonaki, Elco, Sana, Ultima, Akira, Cyber 2002, Nikkei, Globus, Minotar, Yoshita, Yunan, Impac, Fukai, Meikai, Orion, Polo Sharpshots, Millennium 2000, Magnamate, and many others.”

What makes it even more sketchy is that as Eckman (2019) points out:   

“Although the packaging of New Taiwan cameras often had stickers claiming to have Suggested Retail Prices as high as $399.95, there is little evidence to support that these cameras were ever sold through traditional retail channels.  They were likely given away as gifts or were promotional items offered to people for signing up for a credit card or listening to some telemarketer’s speech. In my research for this article, I was not able to find a single advertisement for these cameras or any type of literature that explains how someone would come across such a camera during their peak of popularity.  I couldn’t even find conclusive dates to when they were made.”

As CollectiBlend (2023), points out that the number of brands that was made by the New Taiwan Photographic Corp is debatable. So I will now make the argument why this camera, the Sounex YN-9000, did come from this company.

First piece of evidence is that it has a sticker that says it passed quality inspection and was made in Taiwan. Second is the lens.

 

On the lens it says “Optical Color Lens,” which according to CollectiBlend (2023), these lenses were part of the Kinetic brand (associated with manufacturing cheap cameras (Camerapedia Wiki)) and as Alan (2020) writes: “This company (New Taiwan Photographic Corp) produced a bewildering array of so called Optical Lens Cameras.” Alan (2020) does also point out that there is a chance that other companies used these lenses as well.

Kinon LX-9 New Taiwan Photographic Corp Camera. Source:https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/New-Taiwan-Kinusa-LX-9-(Color-Optical-Lens).jpg

Kinusa Deluxe I New Taiwan Photographic Corp Camera. Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/New-Taiwan-Kinusa-Deluxe-I-(Optical-Color-Lens).jpg

GM TEX GT-304 New Taiwan Photographic Corp Camera. Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/New-Taiwan-Gm-Tex-GT-304-(New-Optical-Lens).jpg

The third piece I will put forward that suggests that this camera was made by New Taiwan, is the name Sounex. This brand name cannot be found anywhere and as mentioned above, New Taiwan had the habit of making up names that weren’t a part of any established companies. 

Fourth is the placement of the Viewfinder and how it is hidden to give it the appearance of a real SLR camera. At first glance the viewfinder is in the right place at the back and can’t be seen in the front, giving it the appearance that like it might be a mirror camera that has the viewfinder looking into the image sensor, but this is not the case because it is actually hidden behind a flap that has the Sounex name on it and like a disposable camera, it does not show exactly what the lens is seeing, only the general area.

Fifth is by looking at other Sounex reusable cameras, like the Sounex 2000DNT (BobShop 2017), that has the “Image Master” brand on the box, which was “one of Ouyama/NTPC's most prolific products during the 1990's” (Rochevalier 2018) and as mentioned I believe the Sounex name to be a made up brand by New Taiwan, it could be that if the Sounex 2000DNT was a part of their extensive catalogue then the Sounex YN-9000 was as well.

Sounex 2000DNT New Taiwan Photographic Corp/Ouyama, Image Master Camera. Source:https://www.bobshop.co.za/sounex-image-master-35mm-lens-50mm-see-description-and-pictures/p/308520891

And lastly, I will make present one more piece of evidence that could prove that the Sounex YN-9000 was made by the New Taiwan Photographic Corp. Which is a camera that has the same exact body as the YN-9000, but goes by a different name, the Yunon Deluxe-II (CollectiBlend 2023).

 

Yunon Deluxe-II. Image Source:
https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/New-Taiwan-Yunon-Deluxe-II-(Optical-Color-Lens).jpg

This camera appears on CollectiBlend's (2023) list of New Taiwan cameras. It seems that the New Taiwan Photographic Corp had a habit of using the same camera mold, but just slapping a different brand name on it. Another example I found was the reuse of the same camera body for the Yunon Royal-I and the Skina Royal-I. Here they didn't even try or put in any effort when it came to the naming of the cameras! 

Yunon Royal-I. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/New-Taiwan-Yunon-Royal-I-(Optical-Lens).jpg

Skina Royal-I. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/New-Taiwan-Skina-Royal-I-(Optical-Lens).jpg

Now time to talk about the Sounex YN-9000s specs. The lens is an Optical Color Lens Auto Fix Focus 50mm Lens 1:6. Most likely from the Japanese Kinetic brand. The focus is not manually adjustable and the only settings that can be made by the photographer is the ISO (between 100 and 200) and just like the Tamashi FMD QP8000 camera (and other models made by the New Taiwan Photographic Corp) “The outer most ring on the lens moves allowing you to move between the 4 aperture (f/6.3-16) setting with are shown along with weather icons. The aperture is controlled by moving 2 V shaped blades apart...” (Alan 2020) And also like everything else the whole lens is manufactured out of plastic.

It has a fixed shutter speed, most likely 1/100 give or take. It doesn’t have a flash and thus needs an external flash, which is placed and hopefully will be triggered by the hotshoe mount on the top. But this is more of a pro then a con because it means that this camera doesn’t need batteries or any other power source.

Instead it works by using 35mm photographic film and winding it up to take the shot with a thumb wheel, just like a disposable camera and can take up to 37 pictures. It also has a numbering wheel that indicates how many pictures are taken so that the user knows when the film is finished. This is represented by an S (for start?) then counts from one then in increments of two and odd numbers being represented by dots. When 37 dot is reached it shows an E (for empty?).

 When the film is has been used, the user uses the rewind crank (while pressing the rewind button at the bottom) to get the film back into the canister. Once that has been done, the user pulls the rewind crank up to open the film compartment in the back.

Then there is the viewfinder. As mentioned it is hidden behind the name in the front and is mirrorless. It is pretty good. It is clear and manages to frame a lot of detail from the object/subject that the user wants to capture. More of a bonus is that this viewfinder is at least in the middle of the camera and above the lens. Meaning that unlike, for example the Tamashi FMD QP8000 model (Alan 2020), where the viewfinder is on the side, you can get a more accurate picture of what you are looking at through the Sounex YN-9000’s viewfinder.

Tamashi FMD QP8000. Source: https://austerityphoto.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_20200618_123013-3.jpg

The drawback for this type of viewfinder is not knowing if you truly took a picture of your subject or if it is even in focus. This is because the viewfinder has no real distance gauge or that you are unable see what the lens is aimed at or if it is in full view or focused properly and clear (even though it is a fixed focused lens). This can cause issues such as with the Canon DL-9000, reviewed by Eckman (2019), who points out that since you can’t have a direct point of view of the lens this leads to some shots “were either completely black or just blurry blobs of nothingness.”

It is hard to find a date for this camera, but it could be any time between the mid-1980s and 1990s.

It works by letting light photons in when the shutter is pressed. This causes a chemical reaction on the photographic film known as photochemistry (Woodworth 2024). For more information, I go over it in my Kodak 200 Color Plus Film post.

 Although this type of camera isn’t favoured by photographers, I still like it. I like the way it looks, especially the symbols and colours used on the lens for ISO and weather conditions/aperture.

 The fact that it doesn’t use batteries makes it ideal for long trips where there is limited places to recharge electronics. I like the thumb wheel, it gives me the nostalgic feeling of using disposable cameras, except now I get to re-use this camera. The fun part of this camera is that it can take film. This means that if you want to try using film for the first time or test out different types of film, you can do it in a more inexpensive way and take your time. Although it might be made of plastic, that means it is light weight, (except for the metal plates in the bottom). It is also compact and easy to use.

Going in to this I did not expect the Sounex YN-9000 to be so obscure and be a part of the history of the New Taiwan Photographic Corp. I might be wrong about this being a part of the New Taiwan company (which I doubt I am), the history of this camera will probably be the same. All of these re-usable/trashcams/scamras, no matter who made them, where made for the same purpose: to make you think you are buying a cheap SLR camera. But this is none the less a fun camera to have and experiment with, in my opinion.

Thank you for reading all the way through and I hope you found this as interesting as I did researching it.

List of sources:

Alan, D. 2020. THE SCAM THAT CAME IN FROM THE COLD – TAMASHI FMD QP8000 REVIEW. https://austerityphoto.co.uk/the-scam-that-came-in-from-the-cold-tamashi-fmd-qp8000-review/

BobShop. 2017. Sounex Image Master 35mm Lens 50mm See description and pictures. https://www.bobshop.co.za/sounex-image-master-35mm-lens-50mm-see-description-and-pictures/p/308520891

Camerapedia Wiki. Kinetic. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Kinetic

Camerapedia Wiki. New Taiwan. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/New_Taiwan

CollectiBlend. 2023. The New Taiwan Photographic Corp. https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/New-Taiwan/#:~:text=The%20New%20Taiwan%20Photographic%20Corp,are%20listed%20under%20this%20manufacturer.

Dowling, S. 2023. TIME Magazine Camera: The king of trashcams? https://kosmofoto.com/2023/04/time-magazine-camera-king-of-the-trashcams/

Eckman, M. 2019. Cannon DL-9000 “The Scamera.” https://mikeeckman.com/2019/04/canon-dl-9000-the-scamera/

Global Source. New Taiwan Photographic Corps. https://www.globalsources.com/new-taiwan/homepage_6008800010590.htm

Rochevalier, M. 2018. Ouyama - New Taiwan Photographic Corporation Neikai. https://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-7650.html

Woodworth, C. 2024. How Photographic Film Works. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/film.htm

Kodak 200 Color Plus Film

This post will be examining camera film. Not as riveting, that I know, but this is still an interesting object in terms of its history, name sake and how it works. This is the unboxed Kodak 200 Color Plus Film that was also a sponsor of the Olympics!

The Kodak company’s history goes back to 1880, when George Eastman found a way to successfully commercialise dry plates in the US. A year later he teamed up with Henry Strong to form the Eastman Dry Plate Company. (Kodak)

George Eastman then went on to work on a way to cover paper in the photographic emulsion to expose photographic positives. With William Walker, Eastman, developed the Eastman’s photo plates. (Clay 2020)

These plates where known as dry photo plates, which were an improvement on the wet photo plates (a lot of imagination went into naming these plates). The easiest explanation between the difference comes from the ACS:

“Back in 1878, the 24-year-old Eastman was planning to use the “wet collodion” process to take photos on his Caribbean trip.”

(Where according to Kodakery (2012): “chemicals spilled and ruined his packed clothes during a trip to Mackinac Island in Lake Huron…”)

“Eastman would later recall that this technique entailed “taking a very clean glass plate and coating it with a thin solution of egg white. This was to make the subsequent emulsion stick. Then we coated the plate with a solution of guncotton and alcohol mixed with bromide salts. When the emulsion was set, but still moist, the plate was dipped into a solution of nitrate of silver, the sensitizing agent. That had to be done in the dark. The plate, wet and shielded from the light, was put in the camera. Now you took your picture.” It was a messy, time-consuming process.

"As a better alternative, Eastman soon switched to the dry plate emulsion process. In this technique, glass plates were coated with a gelatin emulsion of silver bromide and then dried. This formed stable plates that could be produced in advance and stored, instead of having to be prepared right before exposure. They also had another advantage over wet collodion plates: They didn’t have to be developed right after a picture was taken. Eastman adopted the improvements of British photographer Charles Bennett, increasing the sensitivity of the photographic plates, which shortened exposure times.”

This gelatine emulsion was perfected, which lead to Eastman adding film to the product lines. These films were a gelatine-chemical mixture on paper rolls. These rolls had special holders (also invented by Eastman) to still be used on existing plate cameras. These rolls also won Eastman an international prise because of its lightweight in cameras and speed in taking pictures. (Acronis 2024)

The name Kodak was trademarked in 1888, when Eastman released a camera, that had paper film in it and could take up to a hundred photos. (Clay 2020)

Photo film. Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Undeveloped_35_mm_film.jpg

Then in 1935, Kodak released Kodachrome. This was the first commercially successful colour film and came in the 35mm slides. Then in 1942 came Kodacolor, “the world's first true color negative film for still photography…” (Kodak)

This was then proceeded by Kodacolor II in 1972, then came Kodacolor VR100 in 1983, which was based off of Kodak Disc films, that had higher speeds of agitation and meant that the emulsion doubled in speed. This lead to the ISO going from 100 to 200. (Visual Korner 2024)

This is a simplified version of the history of the Kodak colour film. So, here is a table giving a timeline in more detail:

"Kodacolor films from 1972 to 1989 in the UK." Source:https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Colour_Darkroom/Early_Kodak_CameraFilm.html#anchorKChronology

All this leads to the Kodak Color Plus film that came out in the early 2000s and used the trade mark colours of red and yellow, which: “immediately brings to mind punchy contrast and vivid tones.” (Saade 2021).

Kodak 200 Color Plus Film has a lot of good reviews. One of these being from McAdam (2021), who praises the film’s vintage look that comes from its warm tones and the noticeable grain. He points out that it performs its best in sunny warm conditions, where both saturations and contrast increases. In clouded, overcast or in spaces with cool colours, the film, can lose this vintage look and gives it a more “real” look. Which isn’t a bad thing, because there is still depth to the pictures and gives the pictures a calmer and life like feel.

Others, like Panorama Circle (2018), points out that this film, although not really advertised by Kodak as much, has become the inside knowledge for photographers. This is because it is an all-purpose budget friendly film, that can be used outside or in a studio, for portraits or landscapes. It has basically become the tool that every photographer should have when taking pictures with a film camera.

Shu (2021), shares these same sentiments, by pointing out that it is as good as the Kodak Porta 400, but cheaper. Can handle both overexposure and under exposure and has a great colour rendition, which makes it ideal for any situation.

But Shu (2021) also explores the cons of this film. These are:

“It’s a 200-speed film so it’s not as flexible to use as a 400-speed film like Kodak Ultramax 400. The slower speed of the film isn’t as easy to use in low light or on cloudy days. The warm color tones of the film stock might not fit with everyone’s style.”

Now for the specs of this film. This particular Kodak 200 Color Plus film has an ISO of 200 (hey this number is also in the name, I wonder if it is connected?), an exposure of 24 and this means (according to McKay 2024 and Lomography 2024) that it can take up to 24 pictures. Is ideal for outside shots, both sunny and cloudy conditions. Is a 35mm film, a dB of 135 and uses the developing process known as C-41.

  

To learn more about the C-41 development process follow the link Film Shooters Collective:

https://www.filmshooterscollective.com/analog-film-photography-blog/c-41-negative-processing-the-simple-guide-3-22

The exact date of this film is between two options. Option one is a broad estimation, this option is that it is somewhere between 2003 and 2008. The evidence for this is that the copyright date is 2003 and that there is an Olympics sponsorship on the box, which according to Museums Victoria Collections (2024), Kodak has been involved with the Olympics since 1896 and became “the first of 'The Olympic Program' sponsors in 1986.” But this all ended in 2008, when Kodak ended its partnership after the Beijing Games. (SBJ 2007).

The second option is more precise, but could be wrong and that is that this film came out in 2007(/02). This comes from the fact that the expiring date for the film is 2009/02 and according to Bryan-Smith (2024), film’s expiry date is usually two years after it was manufactured.

But this doesn’t mean the film can’t be used. Because even though as Bryan-Smith (2024) writes: “Over time the chemicals on the film lose their potency and start to deteriorate. The silver halides in the films’ emulsion degrade and lose their sensitivity. As a result, colors will lose their vibrancy, and contrasts will fade and grain increases. Eventually, expired film becomes foggy and unusable...”

It all comes down to how it was stored and that if you plan on using the expired film the general rule is that you overexpose the film by 1 stop for every ten years after the expiry date. (Lomography 2024)

Now for an explanation on how film captures those memorable moments. The first thing is that when you press the shutter, light, from the camera’s field of view enters the camera and activates a chemical change on the film. (Woodworth 2024)

This film has a transparent base that is made of cellulose triacetate, acetate, or polyester. This is also where the emulsion is and protected. This emulsion is made out of many layers that has dyed silver halides. This is what reacts with the light to form the image that the camera captures and each layer captures the wavelength of each colour spectrum in front of the camera. (Lomography 2024)

Photographic Film Colour layers. Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photographic_Film_135.svg 

It should also be noted that these silver halides are in crystal from and suspended in a gelatine solution. (OPS 2020)

This chemical reaction between the light and emulsion is due to light’s energy being distributed through photons. It is these photons that reacts to the film. As Woodworth (2024) writes:

“It is the energy in each photon of light that causes a chemical change to the photographic detectors that are coated on the film. The process whereby electromagnetic energy causes chemical changes to matter is known as photochemistry.”

This takes place at the back of the film where the layers are held as well as spectral sensitisers, that help with colour. There are also other chemicals that “are added internally to the grain during its growth process, or on the surface of the grain. These chemicals affect the light sensitivity of the grain, also known as its photographic speed (ISO)” (Woodworth 2024).

Please read Woodworth’s whole article if you want to know the process in full detail:

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/film.htm

This was a long one, but still interesting. I did not expect so much for a small box of expired film. I hope this was fun and thank you for making it to the end.

List of sources:

ACS. 2022. George Eastman, Kodak, and the Birth of Consumer Photography. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/eastman-kodak.html#:~:text=The%20plate%2C%20wet%20and%20shielded,silver%20bromide%20and%20then%20dried.

Acronis. 2024. Eastman Kodak Company. https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/A-F/Eastman-Kodak-Company.html

Bryan-Smith, C. 2024. How to Shoot with Expired Film (For Creative Results). https://expertphotography.com/expired-film-photography/#:~:text=A%20roll%20of%20film%20usually,coated%20with%20a%20chemical%20emulsion.

Clay, E. 2020. A Brief History of Kodak. https://independent-photo.com/news/historic-brands-kodak/

Kodak. History. https://www.kodak.com/en/company/page/history/

Kodakery. 2012. “As Convenient as a Pencil.” https://kodakery.com/category/dry-plate-photography/

Lomography. 2024. How many photos can you take on a 35mm film? https://www.lomography.com/school/how-many-photos-can-you-take-on-a-35-mm-film-fa-jnen5ml3#:~:text=A%20standard%20roll%20of%2035,of%20the%20box%20of%20film.

Lomography. 2024. For how long is expired film still ok to use? https://www.lomography.com/school/for-how-long-is-expired-film-still-ok-to-use-fa-5rljnklb#:~:text=Can%20expired%20film%20still%20be,use%20beyond%20its%20expiration%20date.

McAdam, H. 2021. Kodak ColorPlus 200. https://www.exaframe.com/blog/colorplus200

McKay, P. 2024. Is 35mm film Still Made? And other common questions. https://analoguewonderland.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-blog/is-35mm-still-made-and-other-common-questions#:~:text=35mm%20is%20available%20in%2024,the%20most%20photographs%20from%20it.

Museum Victoria Collections. 2024. Kodak and the Olympic Games 1896-2008. https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/16566#:~:text=Their%20continued%20association%20with%20the,%2C%20'The%20Olympic%20Partners').

Panorama Circle. 2018. Kodak ColorPlus 200 review – the budget performance film. https://panoramacircle.com/2018/09/26/kodak-colorplus-200-review-the-budget-performance-film/

Saade, T. 2021. All you need to know about Kodak ColorPlus 200. https://casualphotophile.com/2021/06/23/kodak-colorplus-200/

SBJ. 2007. Kodak To End Role As TOP Olympic Sponsor After '08 Games. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2007/10/12/Olympics/Kodak-To-End-Role-As-TOP-Olympic-Sponsor-After-08-Games

Shu, T. 2021. Kodak ColorPlus 200 Review: Why It’s a Must Try! https://witandfolly.co/kodak-colorplus-200-review/

Visual Korner. 2024. Kodak ColorPlus 135-35. https://vklaboratori.com/en/product/colorplus-200-135-36/

Woodworth, C. 2024. How Photographic Film Works. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/film.htm

Philips VKR6847 Explorer Camcorder

 

Moving on from projectors to the things that give the projectors the film they need to be useful, well… not exactly a projector, but a VCR because this post will be looking at the Philips VKR6847 Explorer VHS-C tape Camcorder.

Camcorders are considered to be one of the most important parts of human documentation. Like painted portraits it gives the viewer a glimpse into the past. Everything from how we lived, celebrated events, current events and fashion. Home videos have become part of our evolution, our need and want to capture significant events, so we can possibly relive (even if it is vicariously) the past.

As Videomaker (1995) writes: “Every time you point your camcorder and push the record button, you’re recording history. Seriously. Even though you may think it’s just another birthday video full of screaming children, there’s more to it than that. You are (perhaps unwittingly) helping to document the age in which we live. In just a few decades, if those tiny magnetic particles on the tape manage to hold their charge, the stuff that’s on that birthday video could make a social historian search through a dozen archives just for the chance to take a look.”

Over time the camcorder has become more compact and accessible.

As Warren (2021) points out: “Camcorders were once considered a rare luxury, and there were only a few models from which to choose. Now there are dozens of models for everyone, ranging from no-frills to semi-professional. (The Canon E70 reviewed in the accompanying story falls right in the middle.) Three camcorder systems continue to battle it out. You can choose among full-sized VHS, miniature VHS-C and 8 mm. If you choose VHS, you must select between standard VHS and Super-VHS. A video store now provokes the same indecision as a multiflavor ice cream parlor.”

And this is exactly what Philips has done with the VKR 6847 camcorder. The Philips company was founded in the Netherlands 1891 by Frederick Philips and Gerald Philips, his son. The started by supplying cheap and reliable light bulbs. From there they became the largest private employers in the Netherlands and expanded their electrical catalogue. Everything from technology to help hospitals, electric razors, radios, televisions and the VCR. (Philips 2024)

Philips made the N1500 in 1972. Which used a tape cassette that changed the industry because it meant that it was easier to record and play said recordings, while also having the tape protected from dust and dirt. (Europeana)

But with the launch of Sony’s VHS and Betamax, Philips created the N1700, which the Japanese copied and made cheaper. Philips then created the Video 2000 in PAL format, that was only sold in Europe, whereas the Japanese where global. This forced Philips to join the VHS gang. (Companies History 2024)

Then, like the film, people wanted to film their own stuff in VHS. Companies obliged them and then just like the 16mm becoming smaller and leading to the 8mm, the VHS tapes took a similar route.

In 1982 a more compact version of the VHS was created by JVC, called the VHS-C tapes (Wallace), and because Philips was part of the VHS train, they jumped on board, with this object as proof.

This object is part of the Philips VKR Explorer series. The date is a bit tricky, but I suspect that this camera came out between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Evidence of this is that the manual (Page 11), uses the year 1990 and 1991 as examples to explain how to set the time and date. Another piece of evidence is that later models, like the VKR 6853 (which looks similar to the VKR 6847), released in 1993 (Catawiki 2020).

This camera, the Philips VKR6847 Explorer, is powered by either a VQL6235 6-volt nickel cadmium battery or an Ac adaptor SBC5420, with a power source of 100-240V. 

Unfortunately, this camera has neither. In fact, this camera is missing a whole list of things:   

Camcorder accessories. Image Source: Philips Explorer VKR6847 Operating Instructions Manual

The camera has auto focus and an 8x zoom capabilities as well as macro close-ups. It has a built in microphone, but also external jacks for headphones and an external microphone. A time and date display, tracking, manual focus, shutter speed and white balance adjustment.

   

                                         

                                            

It also gives the user the option to review the footage shot with its built in VCR. This also allows the user to find any part that they want to reshoot and just record over it. The camcorder can also be connected to a regular VCR to copy (also known as dubbing) the footage to another tape.

 

Then there is my favourite feature which is the fade-in and fade-out effects that can be added in real time as you are recording, with the Fade button, for a real home cinematic experience.

To learn more about these options, you can read the manual here: 

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/176687/Philips-Explorer-Vkr6847.html?page=1#manual

This camera is part of the era of compact camcorders and films on a VHS-C tape. This tape is like the VHS tape except more compact, which is where the C comes in (stands for compact, how do they come up with these abbreviations?). It was also a direct competitor to the Video8 and Hi8 tapes (these are briefly mentioned in my It’s Cragstan 8mm Portable Projector post) and the VHS-C tapes with a third of the size smaller of a normal VHS tape. (Wallace).

This format war between the VHS-C and Video8 tapes lead to companies to make higher quality tapes. Video8 lead to High8 and to keep up JVC released the S-VHS-C tapes (can you guess what the S in S-VHS-C stood for?). But these where completely obliterated by the arrival of the MiniDV in 1995 and then that format was destroyed by the rise of digital camcorders. (Sommerfeld 2023)

The VHS-C tapes came out in 1982 and where built by the JVC in Japan (more specifically Panasonic, according to Everpresent 2016). It can be played on both the camcorder and VCRs, but because it is smaller than a regular VSH tape it needs and adapter to be used in a VCR. (Sommerfeld 2023)

This adapter is basically as Roemer writes:

“It was like the Russian Nesting Dolls of filming. These little boogers were small tapes that went into the camera, then to play the tape back, you would put the little tape into a regular sized tape and pop it in the VCR.”

VHS-C tape & VHS adapter. Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Super-VHS-Compact001-Mini-Version.JPG

Although the size of the VHS-C made it easier to carry around, it had the drawback of also having less recording space. Where the normal VHS could record up to 120min, the VHS-C could only go up to 30min (Everpresent 2016) and if compared to its completion the Video8, it still fails. For the Video8 could record up to 60min (Sommerfeld 2023). But the VHS-C could be pushed to 60-90min if recorded in “extended play mode” (Harris 2024).

The VHS-C tape uses a magnetic tape, just like a regular VHS tape to record video and sound and encountered a problem known as tape slackening when converted to digital (Everpresent 2016). Also as mention conversion could be done by making a copy of what is on the VHS-C tape onto a VHS, through a VCR. But the manual does warn that the quality on the VHS tape will be inferior to the original copy on the VHS-C tape. This magnetic tape is approximately 12.7mm film (PSAP) and is called an oxide-coated Mylar tape, that was held in place by a spring to prevent it from coming undone in the polypropylene plastic case (Burr).

Here is a brief explanation from Bensinger (1981) on how footage it produced onto the tape in the camcorder:

“a recording head produces a magnetic field which stimulates the magnetically-sensitive material on the videotape in such a way as to record…”

This one was a bit tricky to do research for, but I hope that it was interesting, informative and most importantly: that it makes sense. The Philips VKR6847 Explorer camcorder, is an interesting piece of film history. Not only in documenting the past of private families, but also what impact this could have on filmmaking for the next generations looking for new and innovative ways to tell stories.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did researching it.

List of sources:

Bensinger, C. All about Videotape. https://cool.culturalheritage.org/videopreservation/vid_guide/6/6.html

Burr, S. Inner Working of the VHS Tape. https://kodakdigitizing.com/blogs/news/inner-working-of-the-vhs-tape

Catawiki. 2020. Philips Explorer VKR-6853. https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/33589279-philips-explorer-vkr-6853

Companies History. 2024. Philips. https://www.companieshistory.com/philips/

Europeana. Home Video. https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/life-in-motion/home-video

Everpresent. 2016. Understanding Your Video Formats: VHS-C Tapes. https://everpresent.com/understanding-video-formats-vhs-c-tapes/

Harris, T. 2024. How Camcorders work. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camcorder4.htm

Philips. 2024. More than a century of innovation and entrepreneurship. https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/our-history.html

PSAP. Videotape. https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/videotape#:~:text=VHS%20is%20a%20magnetic%20tape,both%20VHS%20and%20S%2DVHS

Roemer, C. Camcorders and their Tapes. https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/camcorders-and-their-tapes

Sommerfeld, K. 2023. History of the VHS-C. https://southtree.com/blogs/artifact/history-of-the-vhs-c

Videomaker. 1995. Indy Media: The Camcorder’s Impact. https://www.videomaker.com/article/f10/2026-indy-media-the-camcorders-impact/

Wallace, D. VSH vs. VHS-C.  https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/vhs-vs-vhs-c#:~:text=If%20it's%20not%20clear%20by,of%20a%20normal%20VHS%20tape