A video camera is a device that records moving pictures and sound, capturing moments as they happen so you can watch them again later. Unlike a regular camera that takes still photographs, a video camera records continuous motion, like filming your sister's soccer game, recording a school play, or documenting a family vacation.

Video cameras work by taking many pictures per second (usually 24 to 60) and stitching them together so smoothly that our eyes see natural movement instead of individual snapshots. Modern video cameras range from professional equipment used to make movies and TV shows to the small cameras built into smartphones that nearly everyone carries.

The invention of the video camera in the 1950s transformed how we capture and share experiences. Before video cameras, the only way to record moving images was with expensive film cameras that required special processing. Today, you can record a video and share it with friends around the world in seconds.

People use video cameras for countless purposes: journalists record news events, scientists document experiments, security cameras monitor buildings, and families preserve precious memories. A videographer is someone skilled at using video cameras professionally. When you press record on any device and capture moving images, you're using video camera technology, whether it's a dedicated camcorder or the camera on a tablet.