HD Camera Timeline the main players

 
 
The first HD camcorder introduced in 1997 was the Sony HDW 700, a 60i camcorder recording onto HDCAM format.
This was followed by the HDW700A which has ccds with slightly more pixels and so conforms to the 1920 x1080 standard. George Lucas slipped a few shots from this camera unnoticed into Star Wars in 1997.
Lucas then asked Sony and Panavision for a better camera. The concern was that the camera scanned the ccd twice to form a single frame, producing a image where if there was movement it was more blurred than had it been captured in a single pass.
 
Sony came up with a change in the design of the scan and adapted the HDcam format to record the progressive frame.They improved the processing from the ccd by moving from 10 bit to 12bit.
Existing viewfinders and other ancilleries were used. Panavison designed from the ground up a new set of lenses. As these lenses wee so heavy they also adapted the camera body, strenghting it and making it easier for a film crew to attach film accessories. Panavision also changed a in camera optical filter.
 
Thus the Pannavised HD camera was born and was quickly thrust into the hands of the Lucas crew in late 1998. Sony launched the non Panavised camera as "cinealta f900" at the end of 1999.
It has undergone a few minor upgrades with a major upgrade promising 1 stop extra dynamic range and reduced noise in the blacks.
In late 2002 Sony launched the HDW730 and HDW750. One could say that these cameras followed the usual progress of development from the Sony camp, whereas the f900 was a "cobbled together" camcorder made in a very short time.
The 750 and 730 are the strategic development of the 700. They are smaller lighter and have more features. They are of course TV cameras, designed primarily for news with added features for drama. The f900 is an anomily albeit the highest quality camcorder to date.
There is a lot of room left in the body of the f900, it will be interesting to see if Sony scap this body or continue to use it by making upgrades.
Panavision entered the HD market in 2002 with the Varicam. This is a 720 60p foormat camcorder. Panavison opted to run the recorder and monitors at 60p rather than making everything multi standard. This lowered costs. It is possible for the camera to scan other frame rates, but the recorder can only ever record 60 frames./ So if you have selected to record 24 fps the camera adds extra frames to make up 60. The extra frames are flagged in timecode and are removed in the post process.
Arri introduces the proof of concept Arri D20 a single chip CMOS camera. As did Dalsa.
Also launched in 2002 was the ThomsonViper camera. This is not a camcorder but a camera head. Sony Ikegami and Panasonic also have HD camera heads, call them studio cameras if you will. The Viper can output a signal direct from the ccd.
2003 Saw the launch of HDC f950. Same as HDC950 but with 444 output. Not supported in UK
2004 sees the launch of the Genesis camera a Sony/Panavision development.
 2008 sees launch of f23
2009 sees f35 digital cinema camera
Be warned a HDW750 could be a 60i only model, see below....
 

Sony Pocket timeline, note these 1st delivery dates are hard to check.

 
700 series
1997 HDW 700 60i
1997 HDW 700A 60i
2001 HDW 750 60i (May)
2002 HDW 750CE 50i and 25p, (model number then changed to 750p).
2002 HDW 750P 50i and 25p (Sept)
2002 HDW 730 50i and 60i (1st announced feb 5 2001)
2004 HDW 730S 50i and 60i (long exposure option, otherwise same as 730?)
 
900 series
2000 HDW f900 Lucas Panavised cams. (June)
2001 HDW f900 Mark 1 available
2003 HDW f900 mark 2 (new block)
2003 upgrade kit Mark 1 to Mark 3 (excludes block)
2003 HDW f900 mark 3 (also called f900H by the resellers)
2006 HDW f900R (This is actually a upgraded HDW750)
The original HDW 750 was meant to have both 30p and 60i specification at one time, they dropped the 30p.
 
Sony feared HDW750CE/HDW750P would affect sales of f900 so the 25p version is not available in the states. Instead they launched the IMX format, MSW900 a 25p standard def camcorder in the USA in 2003.
 
So the current model range is
 
HDW 750 60i (FIT chip)
HDW 750p 25p, 50i
HDW 730 50i, 60i (IT chip)
HDW 730S 50i, 60i (IT chip. Slow shutter option)
HDW F900 H 24p, 25p, 50i. 60i. (viewfinder supplied separately)
HDC f950 camera head. Not CE approved. Discontnued 2005
HDC 950 camera head (disontinued 2005)
HDW F900R (launched 2006)
HDC 1500 4:2:2 60P capable replaces the HDC950
HDC 1500R 4:4:4 capable improved noise reduction
F900R improved noise reduction
Genesis available for rent only through Panavision.