Embrace Filming on Analog Video in 2026

Cameras are more than just tools for taking photos and videos—they shape the way we think of the past. The distinct look of each major camera format defines its era: The murky colors of a vintage Polaroid picture are as era-defining as the stiffly posed portraiture of the late 1800s. And there are few things that will bring you right back to the 1980s and '90s than the fuzzy, low-resolution warmth of something filmed on video tape.

I think that's why some people are so drawn to picking up old 30- or 40-year-old camcorders, even in 2026: You can record a modern scene using one of them today—perhaps someone using a smartphone—and when playing it back, it will look like they're straight out of 1994.

I grew up with such a camcorder, a Canon ES50, which my family used for filming home movies, and I used for making my own short "films." My childhood was immortalized in this format, and in a way, their look defines how I picture the '90s. While that camcorder was sold or given away sometime over the years, my brother recently gifted me another one, and in puttering around with it, I've feel like I've been traveling through time.

Whether you also have a similar experience, or you're curious about older video recording formats and want to dive in to actually putting images down on tape, it's surprisingly easy to pick up one of these old camcorders and get recording, even in 2026.

There are a lot of camcorder formats to explore

While you can certainly pick up a working camcorder off eBay easily enough, you'll need to know what format that camcorder records to before getting started. If you don't buy the proper medium (i.e. tape), you won't get very far. There are a ton of camcorder formats in this world, but here are the major ones you'll likely encounter:

- VHS: If you lived through the VHS era, you're very familiar with this format. These camcorders use the same sized tapes you used to rent from Blockbuster, which makes them pretty convenient (by 1990s' standards, anyway): If you have a VHS camcorder, a blank VHS tape, and a VCR, you can easily shoot and watch back your footage right away. These camcorders, however, are huge. Anyone looking for a more compact camera should consider the other formats on this list.

- VHS-C: This is the same principle as VHS, only in a compact form (hence the C). In fact, because this is still VHS, you can play VHS-C tapes in a VCR, but you need an adapter to do so. (The tech behind this is actually very cool.)

- S-VHS (and S-VHS-C): These are the successors to VHS and VHS-C, offering higher-quality video in the same form factor.

- 8mm: These tapes are suspiciously similar in size to standard VHS-C, but with a key difference. As you might guess from the name, these are not VHS, which means you can't play them back on a VCR. You won't notice too much of a difference in quality though.

- Hi8: This is the "upgraded" 8mm format. They're the same size, but record in higher-quality video.

- Mini DV: Again, these tapes are similar in size to other mini formats, but with a huge discrepancy: they're actually digital, not analog. Where all the previous tape standards record magnetically to tape, Mini DV records the information as bytes, the same as it would to a hard drive. That means you can reproduce Mini DV tapes without losing any detail, but you also lose some of the analog charm.

Where to buy camcorders, tapes, and accessories in 2026

Camcorders are not hard to buy in 2026. In fact, you can buy new 4K models—but that's not why we're here. If you're looking for a camcorder from the '80s or '90s, eBay is your friend. There are tons of listings for different brands and formats, many for reasonable prices. The camcorder I grew up with is easy enough to find: As of this writing, there's on listed for $78.50 without a battery or charger, and one with the battery for $99.99. If you have a specific camcorder in mind, you might need to make some concessions: say, buying the camcorder by itself, then hunting down specific accessories that go with it. On the other hand, you might have better luck searching by format: When I searched eBay for VHS-C camcorders, for example, I found this JVC option with all the essential parts for $49.99.

Finding accessories shouldn't be a problem either, depending on the part and the camera model. I recently needed a proprietary cable to connect a family member's camcorder to a TV, and by searching the camcorder model number and the part, was able to find one for sale online fairly quickly. If you have a VHS or VHS-C camcorder, you're going to need a VCR and an adapter. The adapters are easy and cheap to pick up, while VCRs range in price. Take some time looking for a VCR: You'll want one that seems functional and clean, so as to not damage your tapes. In short, if it was popular, someone is likely selling it somewhere, which is good, because a camera without all the right accessories is just a museum piece.

When it comes to the