QuickTake 100, Apple's first digital camera turns 20!
The lucky find of an original QuickTake 100 in working conditions, prompted Flickr user James Rose, to post this picture, featuring Apple’s first digital camera, produced in 1994.
The QuickTake 100’s 8mm lens, was capable of taking a maximum of 8 pictures at a resolution of 0.28 Megapixels, or 640x480 pixels, which might not be particularly outstanding for those who didn’t have to wait until 1996, to get their hands on anything that would do better than 0.5 megapixels, without breaking the bank.
Its design was bulky, yet ergonomical, almost resemblant of a sci-fi binocular, with a built-in flash, and it was as simple to use as it gets. It was also compatible with both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh, through serial cable.
At the time when the QuickTake 100 was released, DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) cameras, was a long way from becoming the standard that it is today, and any professional photographer of that period would swear film cameras would never be replaced by digital sensors and flash memory cards.
20 years later, Apple is blowing 20 candles to celebrate its first consumer digital camera, yet, history tells us that Apple did not actually design this camera. Kodak was actually commissioned with the creation the device, with full rights to sport the Kodak logo on it.
The reason why Kodak refused the brand the device with their logo, was that the introduction of a Kodak digital camera, at a time when film was still the rage, would have hurt their business.
With a price tag of $749, the QuickTake was the first affordable consumer digital camera. The Kodak DCS 100, produced in 1991, ranged between $10,000 and $20,000, and like it, many other early attempts by Sony and Nikon, were far from being as simple, intuitive and accessible as the QuickTake.
In 1996, the QuickTake 100 had a two successors: The QuickTake 150 and 200. The two newer devices evolved into a shape that was more and more resemblant with traditional point-and-shoot cameras. The 150 was the last model made compatible with Windows, while the 200 was Mac compatible only.
The QuickTake 200 was also one of the first to use SmartMedia flash storage up to 4 Megabytes.
Today, the Apple QuickTake line of digital cameras is a collector’s item, as the line has been discontinued since 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, and took the decision to streamline many non-computer products, including printers and the Newton personal digital assistant (PDA).