The Digital Takeover
The first digital camera was invented in
1975 by Steve Sasson of Kodak, using
CCD sensor technology invented by
Willard Boyle and George Smith in
1969. The birth of auto focus came with
Minolta's Maxxum in 1985, paving the
way for the world's first commerciallyavailable digital SLR – Kodak's 1.3
megapixel DCS-100, which sold in 1991
for $30,000 USD. Eight years later,
Nikon would wrestle away Kodak's
dominance of the photo industry with
the release of the D1, a 2.7MP model
which went for a comparatively modest
$6000.
In 2003, Canon released the Digital
Rebel, the first consumer-level DSLR
with a price tag under $1000, followed
two years later by the first full-frame
digital camera, the 5D.
Adobe hopped on the digital wave with
the creation of Photoshop in 1990.
A decade later, the first camera phone
was developed by Sharp in the early
years of the new millennium. Kodak
ceased all production of film cameras
in 2004 and, even though the variety
has been pared down, they continue
to produce film for the die-hard analog
market.
In the past ten years the major camera
companies have focused their research
and development almost entirely on
improving their digital technology,
which has now begun to plateau. The
possibilities for future ingenuity now lay
wide open, with endless photographic
possibilities waiting just over the
horizon.
The Reading Establishment
Attributed to Willi am Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800–1877)
Medium: Salted paper prints from paper negatives
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