OEM models from 1989-2002
We wouldn't have this variety of vintage digital cameras if it weren't for OEM manufacturers. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. Mostly uncredited companies that actually built the cameras and sold them to all the major brands for re-labeling. Companies like Premier, Teco, Xirlink, Haking International, Tekom, Minton, Altek, Focus Products Co Ltd., Zoran Corporation, Farsharp are/were the driving force behind the OEM models. The majority of these cameras are/were made in Taiwan btw. This is just an overview without excessive use of specs and tecs.
On this page I try to get as close as I can to all the different OEM digital camera models known to me. You will be surprised how many there were even before Y2K. The list is not alphabetical so you might want to use the search-box to find the model you are looking for. If you know OEM models that are not included here and were marketed before Y2K, please let me know and I will add them. As all of my sites I do extensive research and many cameras can be seen here for the very first time ever. You will see cameras you weren't aware of that they even existed! It's the culmination of one year's work. This is the first time that such a comprehensive list was ever compiled and publicated on the internet. By the time you read any of this elsewhere... well, this is the source. Period!
This is my original work and it took me years to complete. From here it has been copied worldwide to different websites.
Fujix DS-X / Toshiba IMC-100
The coming-to-life of these two cameras is widely covered in the history and prototype section. As mentioned there you can also find the world exclusive photo of the IMC-100 here.
Canon RC-470 / Panasonic AG-ES 10
These two analog models are here to complete the list. They are like the Panasonic PV-DC1000 and the Plus DK-010, similar in appearance but not exactly OEM. The RC-470 and the AG-ES 10 look identical up front but that's just the front. They differ completely when we take a look at the top side of the camera where the controls are. The RC-470 has a big jog dial and five vertically aligned buttons. The AG-ES10 has no jog dial and horizontally aligned buttons. It is possible that the body is the same but the control panel underwent some changes in design. Also, Canon supplied the optical elements for the Panasonic model. Let's not foget that both cameras are one year apart. The RC-470 appeared in early 1988 and the AG-ES10 in spring 1989.
Dycam Model 1, 3(XL), 4(XL), ADC / Logitech Fotoman (PLUS)
Not much to say here that we don't already know. Marketed between 1990 and 1995. Made by Dycam, licensed to Logitech. Dycam marketed six models, Logitech only two. Nonetheless, Logitech sold more cameras due to better marketing strategies. Apparently the Dycam ADC (Agricultural Digital Camera) sold for just under $3,000! Although very costly, the ADC was a worldwide success and heavily used in aerial, biological and agricultural research. Even NASA used it during the Earth Observing System Prototype Validation Exercise over New Mexico in 1997. The last digital camera that Dycam marketed was the ADC in 1995. But don't think that Dycam went out of business. Oh no. Dycam Inc. turned into Tetracam Inc. and is still producing and marketing agricultural digital cameras today! The Dycam Model 4XL still sold for $995. Logitech marketed the Fotoman Plus in 1993. Since Dycam (apart from the ADC) totally failed to label the cameras upfront, I am only going to show you one photo (the Models 3, 4 and 4XL don't even bear the Dycam logo on front). The rest basically looks the same. The Logitechs are clearly distinguishable. The only pictures missing are those of the extremely rare Model 3XL and 4XL. Here is a salut to the world's first OEM model that was commercially available outside of Japan.
Bauer S10 / Canon ION RC-260
I know this is not a digital camera but it is and was the first and only still video camera OEM model. Unveiled at Photokina 1990. The ION series (which stood for Interactive Online Network) was only marketed in Europe under this label. Outside of Europe the camera was simply called Canon RC-260, not Xapshot and not Q-PIC (which were the corresponding labels in the US and Japan). The camera wasn't even marketed in Japan at all. This camera had a 1/2" 0.23MP CCD imager and came with a whole bunch of accessoires. Apart from many TV adaptors, remote control, lens adapters, connector cables, chargers and such, a digitizer board was available and a film adapter (model FA-C26). In Germany, the Robert Bosch GmbH re-labeled this model and marketed it under their photokino brand Bauer as the S10, with moderate success. The RC-260 truly brought still video to the masses and was sold by the thousands. The once expensive camera (around $1,600) can now be found for under $50.
Kodak marketed the Kodak DCS system in 1991. Although it was extremely expensive it became popular among photojournalists. Based on their experiences Kodak and AP discussed a future DSLR model that could meet the requirements of the press members. The result was the Kodak AP NC2000 (News Camera 2000) with a 1.3MP imager and 1012x1268 resolution. Announced by the Associated Press in 1994 at showcased at the Digital '94 trade fair in Miami. This was also the time when the official relationship with Nikon began. At first the camera was offered to AP member newspapers for a price of $17,500. That was twice the price of a compact-size car or five personal computers back then. The camera was highly accepted by the press and became standard equipment for many a journalist. It consisted of a Nikon N90s attached to a digital body. In 1996 a revamped model was introduced with 16MB internal buffer memory, the NC2000e. A total of 550 units were produced for the AP. In fact four different models of the NC2000 were made and from this experience the Kodak DCS 4xx series spruced. Although physically identical, the DCS 4xx series incorporated a new sensor with 1012x1524 resolution. The Kodak DCS 460 was then again equipped with a 6MP sensor and 2036x3060 resolution. The world's highest resolution portable camera. A total of 5,000 units were produced. These were the standard customer market cameras. Apart from that Kodak also made custom built versions of the Kodak DCS420 and 460 with GPS and color infrared in 1996/1997! The letters M, IR and C refer to monochrome, color and infrared.
Agfa ActionCam / Minolta RD-175
This camera surely was something unique. Marketed in 1995, when large sensors were expensive, Minolta went a different way and used three smaller sensors. Inside was a prism that would gerenate three light beams, for each sensor one. But not RGB as one might think but one red/blue one and two greens. For a simple reason, it would make the sensor more sensitive to green light which resulted in a higher ISO. The only cameras at the time that would achieve a similar ISO value were the Kodak DCS420 and DCS460 CIR models. The entire camera was a joint venture between Agfa and Minolta. Minolta designed the hardware while Agfa contributed the soft- and firmware. Both companies marketed the camera under individual labels. Agfa marketed it as the ActionCam and Minolta as the RD-175. The sensors were 768x394 pixels each. These were the only cameras that could actually compete with the then dominating Kodak DCS series or the Nikon E2/Fujix DS-505 model. The camera itself was a modified Minolta Maxxum 500si Super (Dynax 500si in Europe) with a digital back making it the world's lightest and smallest DSLR at the time. Handling the camera was very tricky as it operated on three different battery types and could only handle pre-formatted PC ATA cards (and by that I don't mean formatting inside the camera but on a PC!). Also the image output was an MDC file which is one of the RAW formats. Did you know that the RD-175 has a Wireless Off-Camera Flash Control feature? The wireless signal comes from the built-in flash strobe and triggers the remote flash units Maxxum 5400HS, 5400xi, and 3500x. RD by the way stands for Reflex Digital.
The 1995 IBM PC110 was the first palmtop to be marketed in Japan. Although it didn't sell too well, there was still a strong fanbase making it a popular item in Japan. Canon of Japan decided to develop a card camera for said palmtop. It was marketed in 1995. Images could be taken with a 0.27 monochrome sensor. Image output resolution was 320x240 pixels. More then enough for the tiny screen of the PC110. Images were stored directly onto the hard drive. It sold very well among the PC110 community. So Canon decided to rebadge the CE300 for personal computer users. A year later the Canon PowerShot 30 card camera was marketed. It could be directly inserted into the PCMCIA slot of notebooks and personal computers (if equipped with such a slot). Something the Nikon CoolPix 100 also could. The PowerShot 30 had the same imager but would take pictures of 640x480 pixel resolution. The CE300 only produced TIFF images, the PowerShot 30 TIFF, JPEG, BMP and AVI. Both cameras had a 270° swivel lens. I always believed these two to be the only ones until I dug up an identical card camera by Toshiba. The Toshiba digital card camera was either not sold or a prototype. I think Toshiba stalled production and concentrated on the IK-D30 because Canon released the the tethered PowerShot 30T only a few months earlier.
A quite popular digital camera this one. Did very well on the market. Built by Chinon, not Dycam as many assume. We know Dycam was on the forefront with their Dycam Model x series in the early nineties but this one was really built by Chinon. We all knew about the four OEM models but who knew about the Promaster Digital One? Almost no one. The Promaster and the Dakota actually did very, very poorly and were limited in quantity making them the most sought-after ones out of these five. The camera itself looked more like a Star Wars gadget then a real digital point-and-shoot camera. All together they had a lot in common and were marketed at almost the same time. Except for the Dycam which had a special lens adapter for tele- and wide angle lenses. The Kodak DC-50 stands apart too as it was actually a revised version of the other models. Thus improved and marketed later. It boasted a higher resolution CCD (756x504 pixels) especially designed for digital photography, whereas the other models had a 640x480 pixel CCD originally intended for digital video cameras. The DC-50 also sported PCMCIA ATA Type II card compatibility but didn't have an extra 4MB card in the package, therefore a full version of Photo Enhancer software. Oh yes, the body color changed from white to black.
This particular camera was indeed made by Sanyo and then licensed to Epson and Sierra Imaging Inc. We know Epson and Sanyo continued with their digital camera lines but what about Sierra Imaging Inc.? Before 1997 they were called Sierra Digital Imaging Inc. (founded in 1994), well known for digital imaging camera software and digital imaging components. So what do all three models have in common? Right. The software. Sierra Imaging created a software called Image Expert especially for this camera. They worked with, what they called, a leading electronics manufacturing company of a digital camera, to develop and market the SD640. Their first (and only) digital camera. Sierra Imaging Inc. unveiled their camera at the Fall Comdex '95. The Image Expert software was also launched with the Toshiba PDR-2, Olympus D-300L, Epson PhotoPC, Epson PhotoPC 500 and 600. The software was also licensed to Agfa. They labeled it PhotoWise and launched it with their ePhoto 1280 and ePhoto 307. Sierra later focused more on digital camera processors. They underwent some changes in company structures, created spin-offs like Pictos Technologies Inc. before going out of business in 2007. Another thing, not many know this because it ain't documented in the manual but when you take off the battery compartment cover you can see two clips, with those clips you can take off another cover and reveal a memory card slot where a proprietary Sanyo memory module would fit.
An early digital camera from 1995. As we've learned it was the result of the infamous Kodak-Logitech Joint Venture. Read all about it in the History section. It was Logitech's third digital camera to enter the market. A solid four years after the Fotoman was marketed. With a resolution of 756x504 pixels, both cameras delivered fine and sharp images. 4MB internal storage was enough to store up to 48 pictures in full resolution. According to a 1995 news article from The Independent, a monochrome version was also available of the Fotoman Pixtura for roughly $250 less.
Fujix DS-505(A) / Fujix DS-515(A) / Nikon E2(I, N,S,NS)
Fujifilm launched the DS-505 and DS-515 in 1995, the DS-505A and DS-515A in 1996. As the internet is full of glorious reviews and details about these cameras, I won't repeat them here. Only something not many know. Apparently the Fujix DS-505A/515A could directly transmit images via a cell phone without the use of a personal computer. Fujifilm claimes this in a press release. This was made possible by using the Fujifilm HT-220 transmitter. Does someone have a picture of that transmitter? About the Nikon's, well only the Nikon E2I stands apart as this one was rebadged and used for scientifical purposes, research and stuff. Most likely in combination with microscopes etc.
Apple QuickTake 200 / Fuji DS-7 / Fuji DS-8 / Samsung Kenox SSC-350N
Fujfilm marketed this camera in 1996 and licensed it to Apple and Samsung. The camera was a huge success and sold very well. Apple decided to part from Kodak and muscled up with Fujifilm for this one. The reason was simple. A survey was held and Quick Take 100 users demanded a more compact digital camera with TFT screen and removable flash cards. The Quick Take 200 was also the last of the Quick Take series and introduced by Gil Amelio himself at the MacWorld Expo in February, 1997. Steve Jobs canned the digital camera line after he returned to Apple in 1997. In Japan, Fujifilm marketed these cameras under the label Clip-it. Although everyone claims the Apple Quick Take 200 to be based on the DS-7 model it was actually based on the more unknown DS-8 model. The DS-8 was a slightly revamped version of the DS-7 and sported better image compression and a clip-on optical viewfinder. The Quick Take 200 had better handling with Macintosh computers, supported PICT and TIFF and the pictograms on the jog dial matched those of the Macintosh operating system. The clip-on optical viewfinder that came with the DS-8 and the QT 200 could also be used on the DS-7 of course. Samsung apparently also intended to market this digital camera but failed to do so. There was never a press statement from Samsung nor any other information about this camera.
It's 1996. Chinon builds a digital camera for Kodak. Kodak marketed it as the DC20 in America and Europe, Chinon as the ES-1000 in Japan. It was one of the smallest cameras at the time. The size of a pack of cigarettes. The camera had a 0.35MP CCD sensor, no TFT screen and took only one battery. The camera would actually turn off after 90 seconds of inactivity. It sold for around $499. Sounds crazy by today's standards but not back then. The main problem though was the missing strobe. Indoor pictures became to dark, you had to use the camera outside. The cameras were totally identical except for a few minor details. The Chinon's body color was darker than the Kodak's. The same color difference as the Mitsubishi DJ-1 / Umax Photorun / Microdia QuickShot and the Konica Q-EZ / HP Photosmart. Why is that? Couldn't figure that one out. The other interesting detail is that for both cameras individual accessoires were available. For the Kodak DC20 one could buy an optional Flash Kit ($59) but for both cameras an optional PC Card drive was available, that would act like an external storage unit. Strange but true.
Vivitar demonstrated this camera first at Comdex '96. A year later Mustek showed the same camera at World Expo '97, although it was made by Mustek (or even Haking International)! No other variations have surfaced so far. The camera was a lo-res market entry at $299 per unit. The pictures were ok for websites and such but nothing else. It was not a high quality camera but could easily compete with other digital cameras in the same lo-res price range.
The story here starts with John Moon, a former VP of Apple and responsible for the short-lived Quick Take digital cameras. After leaving Apple he founded Epix Imaging Systems. The goal was to combine hard- and software into a perfect image management workflow from capturing the image through to the ouput. Since their customers already had the hardware (computers, processors, databases) they looked for a possibility to integrate imaging into their systems. Soon they were to discover that there was no suitable digital camera that matched their purpose. So they decided to build a digital camera from the ground up with interfaces to transfer the images right into the hardware. To keep costs down they used off-the-shelf components as far as possible. A standard 1/2" Sony CCD with 640x480 pixels and a through the lens viewfinder. The camera was to take interchangeable lenses which was a novelty among other low-res digital cameras. To keep it simple they used the C mount for their lenses. It became the Epix Pro.
With NEC of Japan they found a company that could build the camera exactly to Epix's design plans. This was also an opportunity for NEC to market the camera in Japan as the NEC PC-DC 401. What makes this camera so special is the fact that it has an onboard 486 processor that allowed the user to upload his own parameters for resizing, compression etc. right into the camera. The Epix Pro had two internal PCMCIA slots and could therefore store 1600 images on a standard 131MB PCMCIA Type III drive. So basically it is a mini computer with a lens attached to it. Obsdian Imaging (first a subsidiary of Epix then in 1996 Epix changed it's name to Obsidian Imaging) took this camera to the next level by developing a way of encrypting the images in the camera to safeguard secret agents. The digital photograph is encrypted when taken and stored on the camera's memory chip. The Obsidian Imaging IC/100 system became the world's first digital camera with built-in anti tampering software but not all was as it seems. Although everything looked very promising and Epix/Obsidian had plans for future cameras, the Epix Pro and NEC PC-DC 401 sold poorly and the companies shelved their digital camera plans.
It's not even clear whether the Obsidian Imaging IC/100 was ever sold. Below you can see the only picture on the world wide web of the IC/100 camera!
Polaroid PDC-800 / Ricoh RDC-2 (E/L/V/S)
Ricoh's second consumer digital camera. Licensed to Polaroid. Marketed in 1996. Polaroid never did much marketing for this camera. It appeared on their website for a brief moment in the section "digital camera for realtors". Not so easy to spot for the average consumer. Pretty modular camera with detachable TFT monitor and transmission capabilites. It is uncertain whether Polaroid also offered the transmission capabilites or not. In my opinion they didn't and just offered the point-and-shoot version of the camera. The camera itself had a remarkable 768x567 resolution, internal and external storage possibility, transmission capability, voice memo recording and what not. A complete digital camera setup in a carry case would easily weight up to ten pounds! Ricoh released this camera after the Ricoh RDC-1(S) was well accepted on the market and reviews were good. Ricoh marketed this camera with various options. So, let me compare the various models for you (information comes directly from Ricoh and is not thought up or something).
| RDC-2 | Just the camera body (Champagne Silver). Monitor optional. 2MB internal storage. | |
| RDC-2E | Revamped RDC-2. Has a darker tone (German Gray). RA button for re-focussing when object has moved. Lost strobe, audio interface and voice memo function. | |
| RDC-2L | Camera bundled with monitor. 2MB internal storage. | |
| RDC-2V | Camera bundled with monitor and internal transmission capabilites as a reaction to the demands of the business community. External modem required. 4MB internal storage. | |
| RDC-2S | Re-issue of the RDC-2V. First camera to allow direct transmission with a mobile phone through PHS. No external modem required but internal modem card. 4MB internal storage. |
Altima Cam 350 / Tekom TekCam 100
Tekom, founded in 1996, has become a renowned OEM manufacturer. So what do we know about this 1997 digital camera that was therefore manufactured by TEKOM technologies inc.? It had an 850K pixel CCD imaging sensor that interpolated pictures to 1,2MP. A rather large 2.5" TFT display. Compact Flash compatibility and the usual specs that regular digital cameras back then had. There are two things however that make this camera rather special. First thing is that the TekCam 100 had an optional optical viewfinder and the second thing is that the physically identical Altima Cam350 had entirely different specs. The Altima Cam350 for instance only had an 350K pixel CCD and 640x480 pixel output. Strange but true.
Haking International, a japanese manufacturer, created and designed the Kocom KDC-10 which was also released under the label Ansco as the DZ-400. Showcased at Comdex Fall '97. I know for sure that the Ansco DZ-400 was marketed but I have never seen a Kocom KDC-10. KOCOM also made the QV-8000SX and the QV-2000ux for Casio.
Based on Intel's PC camera kit 971. No one really know to how many companies Intel licensed or sold this kit. It's completely uncertain whether such a kit was actually sold under any label at all. Maybe the industry recognized that such a camera could not survive on the booming digital camera market. Consumer digital cameras with CMOS sensors were still rare in 1997 with not even a handful of different models out there. It was also not the smartest move from Intel to use their miniature card for storage...
Prototyped by Panasonic in 1996. Marketed by Canon, Konica Minolta and Panasonic in 1997. All three cameras were basically identical. Main differences are the body colors as you can see in the comparison photo and the fact that the Konica Q-Mini does not have a GUI menu. The camera used Compact Flash cards for storage and the display on the back could be tilted a little for angle shots. 0.35MP CCD imager for 640x480 pixel shots. The camera has the size of a regular 3.5" floppy diskette. It allowed impressive close-ups up to 3cm.
Canon CE300 / Noteworthy PC Card camera
The Noteworthy PC Card Camera was a direct clone of the Canon CE300. The correct model name would be NWB0508KAH. It had an ISO of only 100, saved files as JPGs, white balance TTL and a macro mode. The camera came in a plastic case with dedicated software. Apparently only sold in Japan and the software only written for DOS. During operation of the camera, the preview image changed every 10 seconds so a fuzzy movement on the screen was to be expected. The swivel lens could be rotated 180°. In 1996 the original Canon CE300 won a Good Design Award..
Claxan DC600 / Mirage DSC-6010 / Pretec DC-600 (version 2)
Apparently marketed in 1997 but hard to tell as there is no solid information available whatsoever. The camera had a 0.35MP CCD and 640x480 pixel resolution with 2MB internal flash memory and compact flash card slot. Now what do I mean by Pretec DC-600 version 2? Pretec re-issued the DC-600 in the OEM version you see further down. That's the common OEM version we all know. But Pretec also made this model here and labeled it DC-600 as well! This is the only digital camera I know of that was marketed in two different bodies. The re-issued OEM version can be found easily but this model is pretty hard to find. This was one of the few OEM models that was licensed to Claxan. Who is Claxan? I'll let you in on a secret. Claxan is the house brand of ARP GmbH, a german IT company. To my understanding they only marketed three digital cameras under this label (DC-600, DC-800 and DC-8300). They are all featured here on this page (contrary to popular belief there is no Claxan DC-601 or Claxan DC-8). Claxan still exists as a brand but they are focused on beamers and monitors now. I know nothing about Mirage. I only discovered this OEM model by researching other models. I know they marketed a lot of cameras in south america.
Fujix DS-300 / Fujix DS-300T / Fujix DS-300TH / Fujix DS-330 / Fujix DS-330 ID / Fujix Xerox XD-530 / Pentax DM-1100
One of my goals is to deliver information that most people were unaware of. So here is a bit about the Fujix DS-300 you did not know. Fujfilm marketed the DS-300 camera in 1997, a bulky semi-professional camera. It used a 1.3MP CCD imager (the same one that was built into the Fujix DS-505/515/560/565 by the way). The body was made of high impact plastic making it very sturdy and not easy to break. Although it was a pretty big camera it did not have a TFT screen for image preview or playback. Only a small LC display for basic information was put on top. In 1998 Fujix re-released the DS-300 model as the DS-330. It still used the same imager and there is almost no difference to the DS-300. Except that it came with an external LCD viewfinder unit LV-D3 and offered a quick select function to quickly adapt to the shooting environment. The LCD viewfinder could be mounted on the flash hot shoe and gave the viewer information about program settings and image playback. Nifty owners could also mount an external TFT video monitor on top of the camera.
The LV-D3 was very versatile and could also be used on the Fujix DS-560/565 and many other digital cameras. For both cameras a total of four different extension units were available that could be attached to the bottom of the camera. The EU-D3, EU-D3A, EU-D3ID and EU-D3T. It allowed the cameras to operate at 4.5 frames per second. The EU-D3 could capture three frames in succession while the EU-D3A unit captured twelve frames, the EU-D3T with template synthesis function (whatever that means) and the EU-D3ID was for the rare DS-330 ID. Initially Fujifilm also intended to market a numeric keypad for the DS-330 that allowed to record up to 120 characters with the photo. The more unknown Fujix Xerox XD-530 is an OEM model of the DS-300 and released only in Japan. It was intended for DTP applications that Fuji Xerox offered. There was no extra extension unit available for the XD530. Almost unknown to most readers, Fuji also marketed a photo ID set of the DS-330. Called as stated before the DS-330 ID. It came with an optical filter, remote cable and lens adapter. So let's face it. The DS-300 is a pretty common camera, can be found very often. The DS-330 is a tidbit harder to find because fewer units were sold. The Fujix Xerox XD-530 is very, very hard to find. The DS-330 ID however is completely impossible to track down. Recently we were the first website to unearth the Pentax DM-1100 which seems to come from the medical camera line-up of Pentax. Same goes for the DS-300T and DS-300TH.
Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart C-5340A / Konica Q-EZ
In 1997, the Konica Q-EZ was the world's first digital camera to support Intel's Flash Miniature Card (see memory card page). The camera was a very bulky chunk of hard plastic. It had 640x480 pixel resolution and a serial interface. Despite it's bulkiness the camera had no TFT screen to preview images nor a possibility to connect one. Instead it had an info LCD screen. For Hewlett Packard it was not only their market entry model but also the first PC photography system designed for home users. It included a photo printer, a photo scanner, a digital camera, photo paper and image-editing software. Both cameras were identical but again with minor differences. The Konica Q-EZ had a clear silver body and dark grey buttons on the back. The HP Photosmart came in a dark grey body with pink and yellow buttons. Apparently the Konica also came with a PCMCIA miniature card adapter. If you have a picture of that one I would want to post it here.
Kyocera DR-350 / Yashica KC-600
Yashica Kyocera. One company, two digital cameras. It's 1997 when Yashica Kyocera unveils their two identical digital cameras at the Comdex '97. One under the Yashica label, the other under the Kyocera label. Both cameras supported the Compact Flash memory card. A camera more in the traditional analog camera style. It was their entry into the digital camera market. Actually the Yashica was built by Kyocera Corp., Yashica's parent company. Still all under one roof. Why two identical cameras? Simple. The Yashica version was intended for the US market and the Kyocera version for Japan.
Microdia QuickShot / Mitsubishi DJ-1 / Mitsubishi DJ-1000 / Umax PhotoRun
In 1997 this was by far the smallest camera available. The size of a pack of cigarettes but only half the thickness. Extremely simple to operate and sported compact flash compatibility. This was plain and simple the perfect point-and-shoot camera to have with you. Small enough to fit any pocket. Okay, the picture quality was not very good but this was 1997! People were satisfied with the results. Through my research work it was discovered that Microdia built this model. It was also a suprise that Mitsubishi marketed this camera totally out of the blue. I know they have marketed digital imaging products before and after but not a digital camera. Umax and Mitsubishi were apparently the only licensees to market this one. The camera was released in Japan as the DJ-1 and in the rest of the world as the DJ-1000. Noticeable is also that the DJ-1 has a silver body whereas the Umax and the DJ-1000 have rather copper-grey bodies. The Microdia QuickShot initial OEM model was apparantly never sold.
Mustek VDC-200, VDC-200P, VDC-210P / Viewcome TopCamTC-300DSC / Vivitar 2700
Mustek unveiled the VDC-200 at the World PC Expo 97. Vivitar their ViviCam 2700 at the 1998 CES. There was no upheaval when this camera was introduced to the market because it was simply unspectacular. Despite all efforts I could not dig up a photo of the Top Cam TC-300DSC. Let alone any information about this camera. Also I don't know the difference between the VDC-200P and VDC-210P.
Panasonic NV-DC1000 / Panasonic PV-DC1000 / Panasonic LK-RQ35ZZ / Plus DK-010
Also marketed in 1997 was the Panasonic NV-DC1000. The smallest and lightest digital cameras with TFT screen at the time. Showcased at the IFA '97 in Berlin. The camera took only two batteries, was made entirely of aluminium and had 2MB internal memory. Another gadget was the optional miniature docking station. Not a novelty but interesting enough though. This camera too was marketed under different names. Cardshot NV-DC1000 in Europe, Palm Cam PV-DC1000 in the US and Coolshot II LK-RQ35ZZ in Japan. Note that the japanese model does not feature the PANASONIC label on the back. In 1997 there was another model marketed in Japan, the Plus DK-010. At first glance they seem identical but they physically aren't. As you can see in the photos, the Plus is bulkier and the Panasonic slimmer (especially battery compartment and lens section). Both cameras have docking station connectors but due to the differences in body design, the Plus won't fit in the Panasonic's docking station and vice versa. A look inside the Plus camera revealed that the camera was made by Panasonic but the LCD screen was made by Casio! PLUS is well known for office meeting/seminar equipment. Apparently the DK-010 was a one-time experiment.
Phillips ESP-2 / Ricoh DC-3(G/Z) / Ricoh RDC-300(Z)
Marketed in 1997, this was Philips entry model into the digital camera market. Unveiled at Comdex Fall '97. Made by Ricoh. While Philips only marketed this model, Ricoh marketed two versions for the US market and three versions for the asian market. In the US and in Europe they were the Ricoh RDC-300 and RDC-300Z. For the asian market, Ricoh introduced the Ricoh DC-3, DC-3G and DC-3Z. By using a communication cable, the DC-3 could be connected directly to the Ricoh RDC-2S and Ricoh XP-10 printer. I couldn't find any differences between the DC-3Z and DC-3G besides the body color and the size of the SmartMedia card that came with it. Ricoh also intended, as the first camera company ever, to market the DC-3 in a multitude of different body colors. The DC-3 was indeed marketed in red and blue metallic (limited to 1,500 / 2,000 units). Making it probably the first digital camera in the world ever marketed in different body colors. So for a better overview, here are the differences in comparison.
| RDC-300 | US market camera with 4MB internal memory | |
| RDC-300Z | US market camera with SmartMedia slot and 3x optical zoom, added b/w mode and auto-focus | |
| DC-3 | Asian market camera with 4BM internal memory | |
| DC-3G | Asian market camera with 4BM internal memory, dark grey body, 2MB SmartMedia included | |
| DC-3Z | Asian market camera with SmartMedia slot and 3x optical zoom, added b/w mode and auto-focus, 4MB SmartMedia included |
AOL Photocam / AOL Photocam Plus / Mirage Image / Premier DC-600 / Pretec DC-600 (version 1) / Rekam Di-640XL / TCE CD200 / Viewcome Top Cam TC-320DSC / Vivitar ViviCam 2750 / Vivitar ViviCam 2755
The first of these OEM models was the Pretec DC-600 (version 1) that was unveiled at Comdex Fall '97. This camera series was marketed between 1997 and 1999, some even with USB connectivity. The camera had VGA resolution and a Compact Flash slot. Nothing special though but the camera did well on the market. It's one of the most popular OEM cameras worldwide. AOL rebadged the Pretec model and offered it exclusively to their members for a reasonable price. The difference between the two models is only the internal memory (2MB/8MB). AOL and Vivitar bothes launched two versions. The AOL cameras and the TCE CD200 were marketed in 1999. It's simply wrong to label them all with 1997 as they were rebadged and re-issued between 1997 and 2000. Despite popular belief, there is no Pretec DC-620 or Premier DC-620. This error multiplied itself on the internet because some cameras are labeled (model) DC-620 underneath! Please excuse the poor picture quality but it is very hard to get any decent pictures of these rare models.
This model as well as it's "big brother" the DC-600 did very well on the market. Well, the ones sold by Minolta, Vivitar, Pretec and Polaroid that is. For MAG innovision it was their only contribution to the digital camera market (they sold monitors and a handful of scanners mainly). The Premier one was eventually sold in small amounts, the MAG innovision in even less. The TCE was sold in latin america only. So much for worldwide distribution. The camera was manufactured by Premier Image Technology. A rather unspectacular camera with 320x240 resolution, 0.27MP CCD sensor, 2MB built-in flash memory, strobe, TFT screen and video output. The introduction to the market went pretty smooth and went almost unnoticed. There is not very much information available on these cameras. Recently a new and rare example has surfaced: the Praktica PD-100. A german OEM equivalent.
Relisys is not a digital camera manufacturer. It is the brand name of a large Taiwanese company known as the TECO group. Several digital cameras have been released under the Dimera brand name. This is actually the first one, marketed in 1997. A small, hardly noticeable digital camera in the lo-res sector. Sold for around $150 - $199. This one was not licensed to Mustek but it's successor, the 3500, was. The specs are almost identical to the version below. This camera also used the serial flash module. It was actually such a cheap camera that in 1998, Serif (an outlet store) offered this camera bundled with the GO DIGITAL PHOTO PAK software for a measily $149! Oh, besides, there are two versions of the Relisys Dimera 2000. Take a look at the pictures.
Fisher FVD-V1 / Sanyo VPC-Z380 (VPC-G200)
The oddity about these two cameras is already covered in the prototypes & rarities section so there is little to be added here. I am adding them anyway to this page although they are different from the specs and the backs.
Sound Vision Incorporated made this camera in 1997 as a follow-up to the previously marketed SVmini-2. The camera was praised on their website as being the "finest quality CMOS Active Pixel Sensor camera in the world" that offered an "unequaled combination of low cost and high performance". Sound Vision also licensed their CMOS breadboards to other companies like Vivitar. The camera took 6 AA batteries and was equipped with a processor that was made by Texas Instruments. It also allowed for voice recording. The camera allowed interpolation of photos so they would basically quadruple in resolution. Back in those days it was unheard of! Critics were not too pleased.
In 1997 this was not only the world's first digital camera with a CMOS sensor instead of CCD imaging sensor but also the cheapest "high-quality digital camera" back then. Sound Vision Inc. made this one and licensed it to other companies such as Vivitar and Umax. The CMOS sensor came from Scotland by the way. The camera was marketed in 1997 and was well accepted. Under the Vivitar label the camera did so well that by customer feedback only, Vivitar revamped their ViviCam 3000 model and released and improved version in 1998. The 1998 ViviCam 3000 upgraded model had an improved, fixed-focus, all-glass lens specified at f/4.0, four feet to infinity designed to produce images much sharper than previously possible. Additional refinements includes the addition of BMP, TIFF and JPEG as supported file formats and the packaged PhotoVista panorama software. So for the collector's out there it might surely be interesting to find the 1997 original model and the 1998 upgraded version. Kind of impossible if you ask me. Oh and don't confuse "high-quality digital camera" with high quality. This camera was actually a bulky, plastic lightweight with a cheap finish and no TFT screen.
This camera and it's OEM brothers and sisters was marketed between 1998 and 2000. The camera was made by the chinese/vietnamese joint venture companies Shanghai Seagull and Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Co., Ltd. Especially Agfa and Polaroid invested some time and thoughts into this camera. Agfa marketed the ePhoto 780 in 1998 and in 1999 a blue version of the same camera as the ePhoto 780c. Apart from the color, Agfa claimed that the CCD had slightly improved in image quality. Polaroid marketed this camera in 1998 too, but revamped it completely and re-issued it in 2001 as the PDC-640CF and PDC-640M models. It also seems that Polaroid, like Agfa, marketed this camera in two different body colors, silver and gold to be precise. Personally, I have never seen a Seagull DC-33 anywhere so I assume it didn't sell too well. Anyway, it was a regular VGA camera with 640x480 resolution, TFT screen and built-in flash. Nothing fancy. Oh, according to the biggest german camera website a Kinon DC-33 also existed but I have found absolutely nothing about this camera. Nowhere. If anyone knows anything please let me know. If not I conclude this camera never existed as even the website operater has no information. The Vivitar ViviCam 2775 was marketed in 2000 as one of the later models.
Marketed in 1998. A little bulkier than it's predecessors. Equipped with a 1.4MP CCD. Although Nikon announced the E3 in 1998, it was not available until 1999, only months after the infamous Nikon D1 was announced. These were the last of the bulky DSLR's from the Fujix/Nikon joint venture. Nikon went on to market the D1 and Fujifilm marketed the Finepix S1 Pro. For pro cameras like these there is plenty of information on the internet so I won't repeat them here.
.JPG)
Leica, being a traditional analog film camera company, decided to thread carefully and let Fujifilm produce this camera. Fujfilm then licensed it to Leica and Victor Company of Japan (JVC). For the Leica "finish" an articifial leather handgrip was added. The camera itself is pretty heavy and looks very sturdy in it's 'full aluminium jacket'. Marketed in 1998 it was the first of the Fujifilm cameras to bear the Finepix label. The camera had a megapixel sensor and was a bestseller among digital cameras. An interesting fact is also the difference in body colors as you can see in the last photo. The JVC was really bright silver, the Fuji had a darker silver tone and the Leica was a dark grey tone. As you can seen in my prototype section, the Fuji was also marketed as a limited edition in black.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! like George Carlin used to say in one of his routines. Here we have the internet's first and almost complete list of the ultimate OEM digital camera. Built by MINTON and licensed to more than a dozen manufacturers. Manufactured between 1998 and 2000 in VGA and SXGA resolution, with serial or USB interfaces. The last one that appeared on the market was the previously completely unknown Lenovo DC-800. Marketed in 2002 and only in China, also the Digipix Axis, marketed only in Australia. These babies were among the first affordable digital cameras one could buy. Sold for less than $249. These cameras were still on sale in 2002 with slogans like "Captures vivid images using the latest digital technology" but it was already out-dated hardware back then. Simplest point-and-shoot digital cameras around. Very picky with SmartMedia cards though. Some only took 2MB 5V cards, others took 3.3V cards. Only one is a special model, the IOMagic Magic Image 420 as it came in a transparent body. I hated doing this one but here it is and I am so not going to explain the differences between all of them nor the individual years in which the cameras were marketed. Oh no. You can find that one out for yourself.
Released in 1998, the Nikon Coolpix 600 and Panasonic PV-DC1580 are physically more identical then the above mentioned pair. Only the lens front differs a little but doesn't influence the OEM compatibility. The Nikon easily fits the Panasonic's docking station and vice versa. Also the detachable flash works on both models. Again marketed under different labels. Card Shot NV-DCF5 in Europe, Palm Cam PV-DC1580 in the US and Coolshot 2 Mega LK-RQ2Z in Japan. Although the name NV-DC1580 might have been better for the european model to avoid confusion, Panasonic went with NV-DCF5 instead. An NV-DC1580 therefore does not exist. Same goes for the US model PV-DC1080 which was dubbed NV-DCF2 in Europe. Hence the PV-DC1000 is the only model to receive an equal sounding name in Europe (NV-DC1000). Simple, huh?
A Ricoh made digital camera with 270° swivel lens. OEM licensed to Philips. The difference between the RDC-4300 and the RDC-4200 was very small. The RDC-4200 had an 0.2" smaller TFT screen and no voice recording feature. This digital camera was among one of the first affordable megapixel digital cameras. So the ESP-80 is a re-labeled RDC-4300. Another interesting side note is that in the US versions a credit-card sized remote control was included. It was a short-lived moment as Philips was about to abandon their entire digital camera line. The remote control as well as information about it was quickly withdrawn from their website. If anyone has this RC, deem yourself lucky, it is a rarity! Ricoh marketed this camera as the RDC-4200 and RDC-4300 in the US and Europe and as the DC-4T, DC-4U and DC-4 in Japan. The DC-4T and DC-4U were equivalent to the RDC-4200, whereas the DC-4 was equivalent to the RDC-4300.
Viewcome is an OEM manufacturer of CCD cameras but this model was made by Haking International. The camera itself was a large and bulky block of plastic and didn't get good reviews. Images were often overexposed when taken in sunlight and the 850K sensor was outdated as the first two megapixel cameras had already arrived on the market. Mustek on the other hand is a company that manufactured scanners in the nineties and later on digital cameras and other opto-electronic products. Mustek stands for Most Unique Scanner Technology.
A regular OEM model that already featured both serial and USB interfaces. The Mustek VDC-300 actually came out in 1998 which would make it the first or one of the first digital cameras to sport USB connectivity. Resolution was poor with only 640x480 pixels but the camera had to satisfy the demands of the low-res market.
Discovered at the CeBIT 1998. Since neither NMC nor Umax made any announcements on their websites regarding these cameras, I am pretty dead certain they were never produced nor sold. Apparently NMC had three digital cameras in their portfolio that all looked the same, only the 1000 model had no LCD screen. Quite peculiar as NMC was a german computer mainboard manufacturer. In 2001 NMC changed into ENMIC GmbH and went out of business by end of 2007. So there is little to no chance that any information about this digital camera might ever surface. UMAX too planned to release an XGA version of this model.
The weird Fisher model and it's twin sister, the Sanyo VPC-G100. Both models are commonly unknown on the internet. No picture material, no other information available. They absolutely make no sense and I can't explain why they exist at all. You can read more about them in the main digital camera section.
Leica again went the traditional way and let Fujifilm develop this camera. To make it more look a Leica they added the red trademark button and artificial leather handgrip. Inside it was completely the same as the Finepix camera. JVC apparently showed no interest to this one and focused entirely on their videocamera production.
Believe it or not but the Toshiba PDR-M3 is an OEM model of the Fujifilm MX-600 although changes in design were made. The Fujifilm MX-600 Zoom was named FinePix600Z in Japan and was already unveiled in 1998 at World PC Expo '98. The Toshiba PDR-M3 followed a quarter year later.
Yeah I know, I dig deep to find the truth. One of my principles is accuracy. So where does this camera come from? It was made by the chinese/vietnamese joint venture companies Shanghai Seagull and Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Co., Ltd. Although the 1997 Kodak DC210 looks similar, it has nothing to do with this camera. The Seagull DSC-1100 was manufactured two years later in 1999 and unveiled at the Chinese photography trade fair in 2000. Farsharp Imaging Technology Corporation marketed this camera under it's own brand Kinon. The camera was then licensed to Vivitar. All three cameras did very poorly on the market and are therefore sought-after items, almost impossible to find nowadays. These are the only three models known to exist. If anyone has another one, please write me a message and I'll include it. This goes for all cameras on this site.
One of the early, cheap CMOS sensor digital cameras that would flood the digital camera market between 2000 and 2002. This one was most likely made by Pretec and therefore by C-ONE Technology Corp. There are also models made by Abrook Technology Ltd. of China. The camera consisted of a single chip solution for dual-mode digital camera. It included an image sensor, interface, image processor, storage controller, image compression engine, USB interface and a built-in micro controller. Therefore a lot of cheap, tiny digital cameras could be made and were sold for $149 or less in the lo-res sector. This was one of the first, shown at Comdex Fall '99 and Comdex Fall '00. This camera was licensed to multiple vendors, most of them only lasted for a few years. Due to the rise of the multi-coloured Macintosh computers, these cameras were available in different body colors (even transparent). Kodak did the same with their DC240i line. The camera had an integrated 2MB flash memory. MEDIAX also offered a DC640+ version that had a webcam feature. The one you see in the picture is such a camera. The camera label reads "dual mode digital/video camera". This camera sported USB connectivity but the cable was a very peculiar one, one end had a USB plug, the other end 8-PIN plug. Not something you could easily buy in a computer store. The Pretec DC-520 was announced and/or available in the following colors: Kiwi Green, Champagne, Gray, Magenta Red, Marmalade Orange and Blue. Premier and Pretec actually managed to market another model, the DC-526 with 8MB internal memory. I do not have a picture of the Tekom DC1005 so I use a stock OEM image for that one. One more thing, there were big differences in the menu structure, button functions and CMOS sensors of these cameras. Earlier models only had 0.35MP resolution, later models 1.0MP. Some also had more features, some less. A rather rare version without flash also existed. Actually this entry started out with some four or five cameras but more and more surfaced and now it's blown out of proportions. It's the second most popular OEM model and as a distributor you can still bulk order this camera today!
Digital camera manufactured by Haking International. It is unknown to me whether TECO also marketed the camera under their own brand name TECO. As I mentioned here before, Relisys, is a brand name of TECO. There are some hints here and there that there was a TECO Dimera 3500 but no picture material is available. So I have not included it here. Personally I believe this camera was not introduced to the market until 1999. Certainly not in 1998 because Mustek launched it's VDC-3500 in 1999. The camera was cheap with an average sales price of $199 - $249. Resolution was only 640x480 pixels and the next bummer was that this camera type utilized the very rare serial flash modules (as you can read on my memory cards page). There were only a handful of those cards available and no reader. So the longevity of this camera was limited. Plus it used one of these expensive CR123A batteries. Okay, but here is the tricky part. The initial Mustek VDC-3500 was completely identical to the Relisys and Trust model. The marketed VDC-3500 differs from the others in design. It has a clearly smoother finish. You can easily spot that in the pictures I provided. If anyone has a better photo of the first VDC-3500 I'd be happy to post it here.
The Relisys camera was shown at the Comdex Fall '99. The Claxan actually has a label on the bottom that reads "Relisys Dimera 150P". Odd enough. Mustek also joined in and licensed the camera from Haking International.You can also see the basic model TECO shown at Computex Taipei '99.
Unveiled at PMA '99. This camera was quite heavy although it was made entirely of plastic. It had a good grip and looked pretty cool. It had a 1.5MP CCD sensor and a Compact Flash slot.It was not a modern camera, nor consumer friendly as it still used 4 AA batteries and did not store date and time when the batteries were depleted. Unsure whether some models still had serial connectivity. Most of them sported USB ports. One thing that boggles me is the Premier DC-1501 model. Either it is a prototype or just a tech fair gag, but the labels differ. Couldn't find useful information about that one. For Rollei it was their foray into the consumer digital camera market after having launched several DSLR models. They intended to enter the market with two models, the d7 com featured here and the d18 com that never made it to the market. Information about that cannot be obtained anymore as the company filed for bankruptcy in 2007. Apparently it had a 2.3MP CCD imager. The RCA CDS4100 had a slight change in body design but is the same OEM model. A picture of the Digital Dream Digital 4500 is still missing but I am on it. The Konica Q-M150 was again only marketed in France.
This camera too was shown at the PMA '99. The PMA '99 was held in early February, so it is most likely that the OEM model was already built in 1998. Here you can see the Skanhex in it's early and marketed design. The Skanhex was actually built by Sinpo Optical, a company owned by Skanhex Technologies. It featured a 1.5MP CCD, 1360x1024 pixel resolution, both serial and USB connectivity and Compact Flash slot. A TCM digital camera also exists in this design. TCM is the house brand of Tchibo, a german coffee discounter.
Again Computex Taipei '99. Again Vivitar. But this time the camera came from Sampo. Just another regular cheap camera? Not quite. This model actually won the Taiwan goods seminal Award in 1999. It was Sampo's second digital camera on the market. I wonder why no other digital camera company adopted this camera? At least it was a winner! Okay, 0.85MP CCD was a little lo-res for 1999 standards, serial and USB connectors also. It had both an LCD and optical viewfinder, Compact Flash slot and a voice recording feature. It wasn't even the slimmest camera but instead rather bulky. Maybe it was the low price of $190? I don't know but hey, it won a prize! On the other hand this model was marketed as the ClickIt! DCE-400. I have never heard of this company nor this model. They sold it for $499. What a bargain! It must have made an impression as it too won an award, namely the Zero1 Award.
A rather unusual looking camera and most interesting indeed! As you can read in the prototype section, this camera is based on the Motorola Coyote and the SoundVision Clarity 2 project. The first finished design that rose from this joint venture was the SoundVision SV1301 digital camera which was announced 1999-04-28. Due to cost reduction (street price $150) it had a built-in color LCD viewfinder with playback capability from Kopin, just like the Sega Digio and the Sony DKC-ID1. Lenco and Argus adopted this RDK (Rapid Development Kit) and marketed their cameras in 2000 and 2001. It was Lenco's first digital camera. These two are the only ones I could find (even Vivitar didn't market this one). The camera had a Motorola VGA CMOS sensor and an ARM7 48MHz Processor onboard. It could take pictures rapidly with only 0.5 seconds delay by using 2MB flash DRAM. According to Argus it also featured a customizable GUI. USB, video and audio recording. Apart from the resolution, everything else sounded pretty nice to have in a lo-res digital camera. Although SoundVision Inc. had several prototypes they never marketed one themselves. Interesting enough a prototype from Fuji also existend in mid 1999 with a Kopin Cyberdisplay but I have not found any details or pictures yet. The Mustek GSmart 350 also derived from this RDK.
Another bestseller. Contrary to popular belief and widespread internet gossip, none of these OEM cameras were marketed before 1999. The basic OEM model, the Premier DC-800 was first shown in February of 1999, together with Polaroid's PDC-700. Apparently Pretec had two different versions as you can tell by the photos (look at the Pretec logo). Apart from that, you can see a rare and exclusive picture of the Maginon DC-800. This photo was provided to me courtesy of the company that issued this camera back then. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a photo of the Formel1 DC-800, a german camera. Phoenix of America marketed the Phoenix D-1, a very rare and hard to find camera. Same goes for the Rekam Di-800XL, this previously unknown camera was marketed only in the Russian Federation. Rekam is a company founded 1995 in Canada by the way! Trust marketed most cameras in Belgium and the Netherlands. Also featured is a rare picture of the Claxan DC-800. There is no Claxan DC-8. It's a 16 year old typo...
Okay, yout got me! I admit, at first I did not want to include this toy in my OEM list. Because it is one of the crappiest digital cameras ever made and an insult to most of the cameras featured here. But then again, it was the smallest digital camera ever released back then (measured only 80x50x25mm). Made possible by using a single-chip CMOS. The camera was unveiled at PMA 2000 and marketed the same year. Most of these OEM models don't have a label so it's hard to tell them apart. The Achiever ADC-65 actually came in six different, mostly transparent, colors. Same goes for the Ansco DigiPix. The camera consisted of well..... nothing! Just 1MB of DRAM, a 256x256 pixel CMOS sensor, a battery compartment and an optical viewfinder. That's it. Oh yes, a very antiquated PC parallel port cable. With the ArcSoft programm you could bloat the picture up to 512x512 pixels. The best part were the ads, they described the camera with phrases like "pictures it takes are clean, crisp & as life like as it gets" or "internal DRAM memory allows super fast capture time & very quick retrieving time while downloading pictures". Another big minus was that when the batteries were depleted you would lose all pictures stored in your camera. Sounds familiar? The price they dared to ask was up to $110 a piece. The import price from Hong Kong was a measily $15 per camera! The camera was OEM made by Focus Products Co Ltd. Achiever was their house brand. So no wonder they were the only ones to market another such camera, the Achiever ADC-100. Only difference was that the ADC-100 has 320x240 pixel resolution. Because their appearance was totally identical I only feature one picture here and that tiny picture of the green model was the only one I could find that actually was labeled with Achiever. The Vesta Achiever ADC-65 was apparently marketed in south america only. Last words now, there also appears to be an Achiever ADC-65(s). Anyone knows something about that one... well.... don't bother me!
Showcased at PMA 2000. This is the follow-up camera to the above mentioned most popular OEM model ever. It too was made by MINTON optic. This camera claimed to sport a 1 Megapixel sensor but instead resolution effectively was only 0.9MP. The camera itself was not very good, it tended to overexposure images. It had no TFT screen, just a small LCD panel. Apart from all this the camera itself sold very well on the market. Please note that Seagull named this model SDC-80 as well. They now had two SDC-80 models in their portfolio.
One of the later OEM models in my list is this camera, made by MINTON OPTIC and licensed to Pentacon of Germany, Seagull of China and Trust of the Netherlands. I am not sure if Seagull actually sold this camera but the others certainly did. dynaTRON was a german company by the way, specialized in computer products. The camera did fairly well in Europe.
Shown at Coputex Taipei 2000. A simple 2.3MP camera by Pretec. Licensed to Polaroid, Vivitar and many others. A lot of cameras followed shortly after with similar design. Don't be fooled by the design, this camera took $399 out of your pockets! A little pricey....
One fo the later models is this camera shown at Comdex Fall 2001. Announced by Mustek in May, 2001, the MDC-3000 was a high end digital camera with a 1.92MP Sony SuperHAD CCD sensor. The Goodmans digital camera was sold only in the UK.
This camera can be regarded as the successor of the above mentioned Pretec DC-2000. Announced and marketed in 2001. It is strange that Pentax also showed interested in this camera and marketed it as the EI-100 after having launched the EI-200 and EI-2000. The slogan back then was digital camera for web design. Apart from that this camera featured nothing new to the consumer and was just another low level entry. For Minox it was their digital camera debut. I am not so sure about the Konica Q-M130 but I think it fits in here. The Konica was only sold in France btw. (as was the Konica Q-M80 before).
I discovered these models by coincedence. Not many know about them. Neither did I. This camera was manufactured by a korean company called Webertech Co. Ltd. A so called dual camera. I've seen test reports of this camera dated 2001-10-15. It probably went on sale in late 2001 or early 2002. This digital camera was quite unusual compared to other low-budget digital cameras of that period. The camera had a sliding lens cover and a screw-on flash strobe. It came with a miniature camera stand. It had a tiny 0.3MP CMOS sensor and 8MB internal memory. Dual camera refers to the fact that it could be used as regular digital camera and when connected to a computer as a PC camera. Voice recording was also possible. A camera with basic features, VGA resolution in a neat design. DNT is a german consumer technology company. DNT stands for drahtlose Nachrichtentechnik. The company sells communication equipment and is well known for marketing micro devices like tiny telephone systems, radios and digital cameras. They labeled it PiCo Mini-camera. They sold it for about $125.
Another cheap CMOS digital camera that ultimately led to the appearance of "new" companies and brands. Everyone wanted a piece of the "single chip" pie. I can't figure out who manufactured this camera. It wasn't Hitachi, that's for sure. Praktica neither. All I know about Waitec is that they were established in 1994 and marketed a lot of opto-electronic devices, they started marketing digital cameras by the end of 2002. The Media-Tech version was apparently only sold in Poland. The cameras all had 1280x1024 pixel resolution, USB interface and a webcam feature. Costs were again minimized by eliminating the TFT screen and keeping the design and functions as simple as possible. Okay, okay, don't go throwing rocks on me because this one arrived pretty late on the market, in late 2002 but I thought it would be neat to have it included. Oh and again, please note the two different Praktica versions!
