Sony DCR-VX1000

The Sony DCR-VX1000 was a DV tape camcorder released by Sony in 1995, replaced by the DCR-VX2000 in 2000 and the DCR-VX2100 in 2004. The camera's MSRP was USD $3500 when it came out. With three 1/3-inch CCDs, a digital sensor resolution of 410,000 pixels, and an analog horizontal resolution of better than 530 lines, its resolution and video clarity were nearly unsurpassed, even by models far past its price point. It was the first consumer camcorder with the ability to transfer video information via Firewire to an ordinary Windows or Macintosh computer, and also the first to use both the MiniDV tape format and three-CCD color processing technology—boasting twice the horizontal resolution of VHS and triple the color bandwidth of single-CCD cameras.

Together with the rival Canon XL1 and shorter-lived "budget" three-CCD DV models like the Canon GL1 and Sony DCR-TRV900, the VX1000 revolutionized desktop video production in the late '90s, delivering quality comparable to then-dominant analog Betacam hardware at a fraction of the cost. Even years after being discontinued, the VX1000 enjoyed a devoted secondhand following from skateboarding and BMX action sports filmmakers, thanks to its relative portability, sturdy construction, and fisheye lens attachments.