Fun Facts and Tidbits
Here are some fun facts and tidbits that I picked up during my research. This section will grow over time. You can also mail me your fun facts and I will post them here!
1. The Apple Quicktake 100, 150 and 200 were codenamed VENUS, MARS and NEPTUNE.
2. When the Apple Quicktake 150 came out, owners of an Apple Quicktake 100 could send theirs in to have the firmware upgraded and turn it into an Quicktake 100plus which was equivalent to a Quicktake 150.
3. For the KingJim DaVinci DV55 there was a special macro kit available which would bring the focus to 30cm for copying documents.
4. The KingJim DaVinci DV55 was marketed and sold in 1990 but the patent for this camera was already filed in 1975.
5. A special lens converter set was available for the Casio QV-10(a), named Casio QV-1000..
6. The Kodak DC20 and the Kodak DC120 were made by Chinon. Kodak later acquired Chinon!
7. The Fujix DS-100 won a Good Design Award in 1992. The Canon CE-300 in 1996 and the KingJim DaVinci DV55 in 1990.
8. Allegedly the popular term Digital Camera is a registered trademark of Sanyo Electric.
9. The first newspaper ever to mention the Fujix DS-1P was the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper on November, 12th 1987.
10. The first cameras ever to sport USB connectivity were the Kodak DC260 and DC220
11. In 1997 only 10% of US households owned a digital camera compared to 90% owning a film camera. Of these 10% most households used it as a supplement to their film camera instead of shooting entirely digital
12. In 1998 LG electronics showcased four digital cameras. None of them were marketed as LG suddenly discontinued their entire digital camera production.
13. Sony's Picture MD logo (for their Cybershot DSC-MD1 camera) was a registered trademark until it expired in 2005.
14. As of 1997 more than 3 million digital cameras were sold worldwide. An estimated 1 million in 1997 alone.
15. As of 1992 (almost near the end of the SVC era) only 32,000 units were sold worldwide. The low production figures and the very high prices caused the still video cameras to almost dissappear from today's market places. Of all the still video cameras, the Canon ION's and the Sony Mavicas are the most commonly found items.
16. The Imagek/Silicon Films EFS-1 (e)Film cartridge vaporware thingy actually won the 2001 IDEA Silver Award for Industrial Design Excellence. Go figure!
17. No joke! The Seagull DC-33 digital camera from 1998 is actually the first digital camera that was made in China. Digital cameras were manufactured mostly in Taiwan, Malaysia or the Philippines.
18. The Canon Ion RC-251 was the first analogue still video consumer product sold in the UK.
19. The popular Canon ION series lasted from 1986 - 1992. The 'ION' actually stands for Interactive Online Network.
20. Kaidan and Tiffen were the first companies to market digital camera accessoires in 1996. The first cameras to receive accessoires from third-party vendors were the Kodak DC40, Kodak DC50, Casio QV-10, Apple Quick Take 100 and 150.
21. In the year 2000, Taiwan has exported 3.8 million digital cameras with a revenue of 423 million US dollars. A booming market and for a long time Taiwan's export product number one!
22. The Pretec DC-800 OEM model won the Taiwan Excellence Award in 1999.
23. Kodak's DVC300 Digital Video Camera was the world's first USB device ever. It was built and developed in 1996 and marketed in 1997.
24. A Kodak DCS-4xx series DSLR was the first digital camera ever to be featured in a major Hollywood production. The camera can be seen in a modified version (with a sort of live viewfinder) in the movie Clear and Present Danger from 1994. Thanks to R. Volmershausen for this tidbit.
25. Another DSLR used in a Hollywood production is the Nikon E3. Julia Roberts uses it in the 1998 movie Stepmom. Interesting because the camera wasn't available until 1999. Thanks to R. Volmershausen for this tidbit.
26. The Panasonic AG-ES 100 and the Kodak SV-7410 Still Video Floppy players are identical and made by Panasonic, then licensed to Kodak.
27. The remarkable form of the Polaroid PDC 2000 was designed by Matthew Hern of FITCH and Product Genesis.
28. Almost all of the early Agfa digital compact cameras were actually manufactured by Sanyo.
29. The early 1997 Agfa, Olympus and Epson digital cameras all had one thing in common. The SPARClite image processor made by Fujitsu that processed the pictures in the camera.
30. The Ricoh RDC 300 actually became the world's first digital camera that was a certified vegatarian product! Ricoh was the first camera company specifically asking for this certificate from the Vegetarian Society.
31. Fuji did not always re-invent the wheel. For the 1991 Fujix DS-100 and 1993 Fujix DS-200F they simply used the same battery and battery charger as for the 1989 Fujix ES-30TW still video camera.
32. Yashica's SAMURAI cameras have nothing to do with the noble japanese warriors. The model name SAMURAI is an abbrevation and means Super Auto Magic URban Amazing Innovation.
33. Kodak spent a dazzling sum of $500M on the development of the short-lived Advantix Preview camera series.
34. The Canon ION RC-250 received the European Innovation-Award '89/'90.