Visual Recording Device
A visual recording device or video camera is any device that can capture light in a way so that a scene that was captured can be recreated at a later time. First becoming popular on Earth during the 20th century, the technology was used well into the 24th century.
Devices seemingly identical in design and purpose were also known to exist on planets other than Earth. In 2268, similar devices were seen on 892-IV, (TOS: "Bread and Circuses") and film motion picture cameras existed on Ekos. (TOS: "Patterns of Force")
When the USS Voyager was thrown back in time and space to 1996 Earth, a man caught Voyager in low orbit with his video camera during a barbecue. (VOY: "Future's End")
In 2151, Trip Tucker used a video camera device to take still images on an unknown planet, later named Archer IV. (ENT: "Strange New World")
In 2266, Montgomery Scott installed what appeared to be a video camera aboard the USS Enterprise to record the wedding of Angela Martine and Robert Tomlinson. (TOS: "Balance of Terror")
In 2293, a journalist covering the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B wore a head-mounted video camera fit with an electric light. (Star Trek Generations)
Lieutenant Junior Grade Anthony Brevelle wore a head-mounted visual recording device during an investigation of missing Starfleet personnel on Tarchannen III. The image data collected was later used to discover an invisible species of alien. This device could be programmed to include data in the recording, like the stardate or the time of recording. It also included a light source that could be switched on if the surroundings were too dark. (TNG: "Identity Crisis")
