 1975 Kodak Digital Camera Prototype
The precursor to the modern digital camera is this prototype; Kodak built it and gave it a trial run in 1975. It created monochrome images comprising 10,000 pixels (100 x 100 pixels, or picture elements; these are single units that make up a digital image). In comparison, a modern 1MP (megapixel) digital camera creates color images comprising 1
million pixels.  1988 Sony MVC-C1 Hi-Band Mavica & Fuji DS-1P
In 1981, Sony introduced the first professional-grade electronic still video camera, which produced analog pictures from video freeze frames. A version for consumers, the MVC-C1 Hi-Band Mavica, followed in 1988. The same year, Fuji unveiled (but never sold in the United States) the first fully digital camera, the DS-1P, which recorded images to a 2MB internal memory card.  1991 Kodak DCS100
In 1991, Kodak introduced the DCS100 and aimed it at photo-journalists. The 1.3MP digital image sensor attached directly to the Nikon F3 camera body, so the camera itself retained all of its familiar functions.  1994 Apple QuickTake 100 & Kodak DC40
Kodak joined with Apple to develop the first consumer-oriented digital camera that could connect to a home computer: the Apple QuickTake 100, which was introduced in February 1994 at the MacWorld Expo in Tokyo. Kodak soon introduced an improved version of its own, the DC40.  1995 Casio QV-10
In 1995, Casio launched a new digital camera design, the QV-10, which was the first digital camera model with an LCD on the back. The resolution of the QV-10's images was notably low, however: 320 x 240 pixels, or half the resolution of the Apple QuickTake 100's images.  1997 Kodak DC120
Kodak introduced the DC120 Zoom, the first consumer-oriented 1MP digital camera priced below $1,000, in 1997. It was a binocular-style point-and-shoot model and featured a 3X autofocus zoom lens, as well as an optical viewfinder and a color LCD.  2001 Fuji FinePix 6800 Zoom
Fuji's FinePix 6800 Zoom, a 3.3MP camera introduced in 2001 and designed by F.A. Porsche, was the first to use a USB docking station to transfer digital photos to a computer. The docking station also enabled the camera to act as a Web cam for videoconferencing.  2003 Canon EOS Digital Rebel
The first digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera priced below $1,000 is the Canon EOS Digital Rebel, a 6.3MP camera introduced in 2003. This price level previously applied only to point-and-shoot digital cameras.  2004 Olympus EVOLT E-300
Last year, Olympus announced "the first 100 percent ‘digital-from-the-ground-up' " consumer SLR camera—described this way because all of its interchangeable lenses were specifically designed for a digital camera. The 8MP digital SLR also carries a unique price in its megapixel category: less than $1,000. The Advancements Continue . . .
The evolution of digital camera technology continues at full force, though it remains unlikely that film cameras will be completely replaced by digital anytime soon. As digital technology continues to change and grow in popularity, consumers can look forward to digital cameras that are faster and less expensive and take even higher-quality pictures than today's models can produce. 
by Robert E. Calem
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