1996 D-N
DVD PLAYERS - 1996. Toshiba and Panasonic release the first DVD players for the home audience in Japan, the Toshiba SD-3000 and Panasonic A-100. Only 10 Japanese disc titles were available, mostly music videos.
http://www.dvdfile.com/news/special_report/features/timeline/timeline.htm
DICOMED
BIGSHOT 4000 Digital Camera Back – 1996. Example of a professional studio camera back. Other camera backs
of that time had CCD sensors that were smaller than the film apertures of their
adopted parent cameras, none being a large as a 35mm film frame. The Dicomed
4000 was the first not only to exceed the 35mm frame size, but also to exceed
the 5.6x5.6cm size
of a Hasselblad back. Its 6x6cm area array with a mosaic of 4096x4096 pixels
(total 16,777,216) was exclusive to Dicomed and overfilled the film aperture
of the Hasselblad. The monochrome version was $35,000, sequential color (three
exposures) $39,000, one-shot color $55,000. http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9604cs.html
EPIX
PRO (NEC PC-DC401 in Japan) – 1996. 1/2-inch
640 x 480 pixel CCD. Type "C" lens mount. MSRP $1950
(EPix).
http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9603cs.html
EPSON
PhotoPC (Colorio Photo CP-100 in Japan), (Sanyo VPC-G1, Sierra Imaging
SD640) – 1996. 640 x 480 pixel
CCD.
1MB internal memory. Fixed-focus 43mm lens. Shutter 1/30 to
1/10,000 second. Built-in flash. Original MSRP was $999, but lowered to $499 making the Epson PhotoPC the first to break the $500 price barrier. http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/pc/docs/article/960902/cp100.htm
EPSON
PhotoPC 500 (Colorio Photo CP-200 in Japan) - 1/3-inch
1996. 640 x 480 CCD. ISO 130. 43mm f/2.8 lens.
Shutter 1/30 to 1/10,000 second. Built-in flash, video out and
autofocus.
MSRP $729. http://www.informedusa.com/t/epsoncamera10.10.html
http://www.dpreview.com
FUJI
CLIP-IT DS-7 (Apple QuickTake 200, Samsung Kenox SSC-350N) - 1996. 640
x 480 pixel CCD. SmartMedia memory card. ISO
100.
Shutter 1/4 to 1/5000 second. F/2.2 fixed-focus 38mm
lens.
(Some variation in marketing dates, pricing, programming and
accessories
between brands.)
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalkamera.de%2FKamera.aspx&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Click on camera quick access
FUJI
CLIP-IT DS-8 - 1996. 1/3-inch 640 x
480 pixel CCD. ISO 100. Shutter 1/4 to 1/5000 second.
Fixed-focus 38mm f/2.2 lens. http://www1.harenet.ne.jp/~hiharada/plink/pl42/pl4203.htm
FUJI
DS-220A - 1996. 1/3-inch 640 x 480
CCD.
ISO 120. 36/72mm f/3.5 lens. Shutter 1/4 to 1/1000
second.
MSRP $1049. http://www1.harenet.ne.jp/~hiharada/plink/pl42/pl4204.htm
FUJI
HC-2000 - 1996. A single-exposure
digital
camera that had three 1.3-million-pixel CCDs (1/3-inch, 1280 x 1002
pixels)
that provided improved resolution when compared to cameras that had a
single
imager for red, green, and blue-sensitive pixels. The Fuji
HC-2000
had shutter speeds of 1/4 to 1/2000 second, an internal frame buffer
for
up to 12 images, and PC Card storage. MSRP $19,900. http://www.berthold.com.au/imaging_pages/hc2000.html
HITACHI
MP-EG1, MP-EG1A, MP-EG10 - 1996.
Shown
at Fall 96, marketed in 1997. World's first digital cameras which could
output
moving pictures to a personal computer in the MPEG format.
1/4-inch
352 x 240 (video) and 704 x 408 (still) pixel CCD. ISO
110.
3X zoom f/2.4 autofocus lens. In 1999 Hitachi marketed and improved version, the MP-EG10W, for $999. The 10W could be purchased as a package with a 360MB PC card hard drive for $1299. The CCD was 360K pixels.
http://photojpn.org/HIST/hist1.html
JVC
TK-F7300U and KY-F55 - 1966. Still
Video
Cameras. Example of professional camera designed for
medical
and industrial use. Single 1/3-inch, 4416 x 3456 pixel CCD.
Price, $9500.
KODAK
DC20 (Chinon ES-1000) - 1996. Shown
at Comdex Fall '95, marketed in 1996. 501 x 370 pixel CCD
(Chinon)
or 493 x 373 pixel CCD (Kodak). 1MB internal memory.
Fixed-focus
6.5mm lens. Shutter 1/30 to 1/4000 second. Although
specifications
were the same, the software for the two cameras varied. Price,
$300
(Chinon), $560 (Kodak). http://www.fromorbit.com/drutter/digicams.htm
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalkamera.de%2FKamera.aspx&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Click on camera quick access
KODAK
DC-25 - 1996. 493 x 373 pixel
CCD.
ISO 800. Shutter 1/20 to 1/4000 second. Fixed-focus,
47mm f/4 lens.
The DC-25 was the first digital camera to use removable Compact Flash. MSRP $499.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalkamera.de%2FKamera.aspx&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Click on camera quick access
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/products/ekn006582.jhtml?pq-path=3915/703
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalkamera.de%2FKamera.aspx&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Click on camera quick access
KODAK
DCS-410 - 1996. Based on Nikon
N90s.
1012 x 1524 pixel CCD. ISO 100. Could accommodate most
Nikon
lenses and accessories. It used the same Kodak 1.5-million-pixel
CCD as the $11,000 DCS 420 (1994), which had a resolution of 1524 x1012
pixels. It was the only midrange filmless camera that featured a
color depth of 36 bits. The N90s body had a built-in microphone
that
let the photographer annotate each frame with shooting information,
which
was then saved as a .WAV file. MSRP $7995.
http://www.multimania.com/ncf/N2BE10.html
KONICA
Q-EZ - 1996. 1/3-inch, 640 x 480
pixel
CCD. ISO 100. Shutter 1/30 to 1/2000 second. 43mm
autofocus
f/2.8 lens.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalkamera.de%2FKamera.aspx&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Click on camera quick access
KYOCERA-YASHICA
DA-1 - 1996. Kyocera-Yashica
announced the Yashica DA-1 which used the original Mavica
method of storing (analogue) images on a two-inch floppy but digitized
them in the camera for export to a computer. The camera also had
NTSC video output. 1/3-inch, 640 x 474 pixel CCD. ISO
250.
Shutter 1/60 to 1/1500 second. 60mm f/3.2 lens.
http://www1.harenet.ne.jp/~hiharada/plink/pl42.htm
http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9604dhs.html
MARS
GLOBAL SURVEYOR - 1996. In November
1996, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory began America's return to
Mars after a 20-year absence by launching the Mars Global Surveyor
(MGS)
spacecraft. The Mars Global Surveyor went into orbit around Mars
in September of 1997. Most of the data volume from MGS is
generated
by a dual-mode camera called the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC).
In narrow-angle mode, MOC's black and white, high-resolution telephoto
lens can image Martian rocks and other objects as small as 1.4 meters
(4.6
feet) across. The largest raw image possible is 2048 x 4800
pixels
in size. In contrast to the detailed surface images, MOC's wide-
angle, global monitoring mode uses a fish-eye lens to generate
panoramic
images in color spanning horizon to horizon (NASA). Click on
image
to see full-page view. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/marsurv.html
MINOLTA
Dimage V - 1996. First
shown at Fall '96 Comdex. Marketed in 1997. 1/3-inch 640 x
480 pixel CCD. ISO100. 3X zoom f/5 lens. Shutter 1/30
to 1/10,000 second. Price, $700. Click on image to see
enlarged
view.
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/pc/docs/article/960903/dimage.htm
http://www.streettech.com/archives_Hardware/dimageV.html
MOMITSU
MES-1000 (Chinon ES1000) - 1996. Photo
not available, Chinon ES1000 shown. 501 x 370 pixel CCD
(Kodak).
1MB internal memory. Fixed-focus 6.5mm lens. Shutter 1/30
to
1/4000 second.
http://www.imagin-art.com/fotografia/accesorios/otrasmarcas.htm
NIKON COOLPIX
100 - 1996. First camera with removable PC
card slot camera insert. 1/3-inch 512 x 480 pixel CCD. ISO 100.
52mm fixed-focus f/4.0 lens. Shutter 1/45 to 1/10,000 second.
Announced June '96, released Jan '97. Price, $249. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs.asp
http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9610bcs.html
NIKON
COOLPIX 300 - 1996.
1/3-inch,
640 x 480 pixel CCD. ISO 100. Shutter 1/30 to 1/2500
second.
45mm fixed-focus f/4 lens. Announced June '96, released Jan
'97.
Price, $349. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs.asp
1996
D-N