by Faried Manan

Created on: December 24, 2012   Last Updated: December 25, 2012

Much like the design of the ancient spinning wheel of the middle-ages was improved upon by the spinning jenny, so did the digital camera come to improve the still camera. Digital camera technology has changed the face of the photography so drastically, completely and permanently, that it can be likened to the industrial revolution. Change is an ancient tale with a modern twist and the arrival of the digital camera bares testimony to this fact.  We just have to look at the piles of obsolete electronic equipment living in the garage, basement or attic that shared the same fate. The old reel to reel was replaced by a four track cassette, vinyl became CDs, the video recorder grew into a

PVR decoder, the family Hi-Fi turned into the personal MP3 player and the trusty still camera  has gone digital.

It was early in 1994 when Apple first mesmerized the consumer market with their film less QuickTake 100 camera that could store up to 32 medium resolution images. Apple had successfully repacked existing scanner technology into a hand held device that was fast and efficient. Desktop publishers (DTP), advertising agencies and repro house lined-up to embrace this technology which quickly gave them the edge against their competitors since digital cameras decreased the time to market substantially.

Regardless of this, two decades earlier Kodak had pioneered CCD technology and "filmless" digital imaging. They had successfully captured a digital image and stored it onto magnetic tape.  Exactly a year after Apple launched their QuickTake 100, Kodak entered into the market with an aggressive marketing campaign. In collaboration with Microsoft, they launched digital imaging software workstations. In collaboration with IBM they setup an Internet-based image exchange and shortly thereafter Hewlett-Packard produced the first color inkjet printer to complement the new digital camera images.  This combination of technology brought a long awaited end-to-end solution to the consumer market with which Kodak reinforced their position at the digital camera forefront as inventor of the still camera. These advancements totally changed the way companies conduct business. 

Within months other still camera and OEM electronic manufacturer jumped on the digital camera manufacturing bandwagon, among them Casio, Fuji, Canon, Sony, BenQ, Nikon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Richo, Pentax, Panasonic and Agfa to mention but a few. Digital camera manufacturing had become a very lucrative

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