FORMAT: Beta     DATE: 1983 PRICE: £? [2005: £?] 32x22x8cm 4.3kg

There were only two Betamax portables produced. The SL-F1 replaced the huge SL-3000, and is a "separates" system typical of 1983.

The F1 is much the same width and height as the VHS portables of the same year - a little smaller, in fact - but almost twice as long for some reason. It's basically a portable version of the C9, with many of the same trick-play features - including slow motion and frame advance in both directions. Not without noise bars on the picture of course; only Video 2000 could manage noise-free trick play!

All the controls are on the front, with the tracking and input-select switches hidden under a flap around the LCD data display. LCD was unusual at this time, but uses less power than the more visible gas discharge and LED technologies.

Naturally there was a matching tuner/timer unit, with a 12-channel tuner and multi-program timer. A single multi-way connector joined the two together, making it very quick and easy to separate the system. The recorder had its own built-in modulator, so that your recordings could be viewed even away from the home-based TTU. It even had an infra-red remote control, which was still unusual for portables in 1983. This was definitely one classy machine, for the discerning film-maker!
No more Beta portables were made after the F1. Sony released the first combined camera / recorder, the BetaMovie BMC-100, a year later, and were also already working on the miniature Video8 format. The age of full-sized portables had passed.
F1's proved to be very reliable, and there are still many around today. Like their cousins the C9's, they are highly prized and fetch very high prices.

The amazing ActionPack The backpack unit contains the F1, while the camera is held in position with the eyepiece next to the operator's eye There's even a control unit on the handle which lets you start/stop and zoom in and out!