The Kodak Digital Camera System is a series of digital single-lens reflex cameras and digital camera backs that were released by Kodak in the 1990s and 2000s, and discontinued in 2005. [1] They are all based on existing 35mm film SLRs from Nikon, Canon and Sigma. The range includes the original Kodak DCS, the first commercially available digital SLR.
In 1975, Steven Sasson developed Kodak's first prototype digital still camera, which used a Fairchild 100 x 100 pixel CCD. [2] [3] By 1986 Kodak had developed a sensor with 1.4 million pixels. [4] It was used in what is believed to be the world's first Digital Single-Lens Reflex (D-SLR) camera, known as the Electro-Optic Camera, which was designed and constructed by Eastman Kodak Company under a U.S. Government contract in 1987 and 1988. [5]
A number of other improvements were made to increase image quality and usability, including improvements in sensor technology, the first raw image format known as DCR (Digital Camera Raw), [6] and host software to process the DCR images. The original Kodak DCS was launched in 1991, and is based on a stock Nikon F3 SLR film camera with a CCD image sensor mounted in the film gate. It uses a 1.3-megapixel Kodak KAF-1300 sensor, and a separate shoulder-mounted processing and storage unit.
The DCS 200 series, introduced in 1992, condenses the storage unit into a module which is mounted onto the base and back of a stock Nikon 8008 SLR film camera. It was the first digital camera to use the Bayer color filter pattern. The module contains a built-in 80 megabyte hard drive and is powered with AA batteries. It was followed by the upgraded DCS 400 series of 1994, which replaces the hard drive with a PCMCIA card slot. The DCS 400 series includes the 1.5-megapixel DCS 420, and the 6-megapixel Kodak DCS 460, which retailed for $28,000 on launch. [7] In common with Kodak's later 6-megapixel models, the DCS 460 used the award-winning APS-H Kodak M6 sensor. [8] A modified version of the DCS 420 was also sold by the Associated Press as the Associated Press NC2000. [9] In parallel with the DCS 400 series Kodak also sold the analogous Kodak EOS DCS range, which was based on the Canon EOS-1N SLR. With the exception of the original DCS 100, these early models do not include LCD preview screens.
Kodak's subsequent models integrate the digital module with the camera body more thoroughly, and include LCD preview screens and removable batteries. The DCS 500 series of 1998 is also based on the Canon EOS-1N, and comprises the 2-megapixel DCS 520 and the 6-megapixel DCS 560, which initially had a suggested retail price of $28,500. [10] These models were also sold by Canon, as the Canon D2000 and D6000 respectively, and were the first digital SLRs sold under the Canon name. Kodak used the same electronics package for the DCS 600 series, which is based on the Nikon F5. The DCS 600 range includes the Kodak DCS 620x, a high-sensitivity model with an upgraded indium tin oxide sensor and a cyan-magenta-yellow Bayer filter, which has a then-unique top ISO setting of ISO 6400.
Kodak concluded the initial DCS range with the DCS 700 series, which comprises the 2-megapixel DCS 720x, the 6-megapixel DCS 760, and the 6-megapixel DCS 760m, which has a monochrome sensor. By the time of launch, Kodak faced competition from the popular Nikon D1 and Nikon D1x, [11] which were physically smaller and cheaper. The DCS 760's initial list price was $8,000.
Kodak final generation of DCS cameras was launched with the Kodak DCS Pro 14n, a 14-megapixel full-frame digital SLR, in 2002, and continued with the upgraded DCS PRO SLR/n in 2004. These two cameras are based on a Nikon F80 body, and are considerably more compact than previous Kodaks. They use sensors designed by Belgian imaging company FillFactory. The DCS PRO SLR/n was also accompanied by the Canon-compatible DCS PRO SLR/c, which is based on a Sigma SA9 SLR. Kodak discontinued the SLR/n and SLR/c in May 2005, [12] to concentrate on compact digital cameras and high-end medium format digital backs for Leaf, among others.
Kodak continued to design and manufacture CCD image sensors, including the full-frame 18-megapixel KAF-18500, which is used in the Leica M9 digital rangefinder, until its image sensor division was sold to Platinum Equity in 2012. This image sensor company operated under the name Truesense [13] and was later acquired by ON Semiconductor in 2014. [14] On Semiconductor began closing the former Kodak CCD manufacturing facility in 2019. [15]
| Gen. | Family | Year | Model(s) [a] | Host camera | Image sensor | Processor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Res. | Size | Pixel size (μm) | Crop factor | ||||||
| 0 | DCS | 1991 | DCS 100 (DC3/DM3) | Nikon F3 | KAF-1300 (M3) [16] | 1280×1024 | 20.5×16.4 mm (0.81×0.65 in) | 16 | 1.65 | Intel 80C188 |
| 1 | DCS 200 | 1992 | DCS 200c / 200m / 200ci / 200mi | Nikon F-801s (N8008s) | KAF-1600 (M5) [17] [18] | 1524×1012 | 13.7×9.1 mm (0.54×0.36 in) | 9 | 2.63 | Intel 80C196 |
| DCS 200+ | 1994 | AP NC2000 / NC2000e / NC2000m / NC2000ir | Nikon F90x (N90s) | KAF-1300 (M3) [16] | 1280×1024 | 20.5×16.4 mm (0.81×0.65 in) | 16 | 1.65 | ||
| 1994 | DCS 410c / 420c / 420ir / 420m / 420c P/S | KAF-1600 (M5) [17] [18] | 1524×1012 | 13.7×9.1 mm (0.54×0.36 in) | 9 | 2.63 | ||||
| 1994 | DCS 460c / 460m / 460c P/S / 460ir | KAF-6300 (M6) | 3060×2036 | 27.5×18.3 mm (1.08×0.72 in) | 9 | 1.31 | ||||
| 1995 | EOS-DCS 1c / 1m / 1ir | Canon EOS-1n | KAF-6300 (M6) | 3060×2036 | 27.5×18.3 mm (1.08×0.72 in) | 9 | 1.31 | |||
| 1995 | EOS-DCS 3c / 3m / 3ir | KAF-1300 (M3) [16] | 1280×1024 | 20.5×16.4 mm (0.81×0.65 in) | 16 | 1.65 | ||||
| 1995 | EOS-DCS 5c / 5m / 5ir | KAF-1600 (M5) [17] [18] | 1524×1012 | 13.7×9.1 mm (0.54×0.36 in) | 9 | 2.63 | ||||
| 1995 | DCS 465c / 465m / 465ir | Hasselblad V (mount) | KAF-6300 (M6) | 3060×2036 | 27.5×18.3 mm (1.08×0.72 in) | 9 | 2.42 [b] | |||
| 2 | Pro SLR | 1998 | DCS 520c / EOS D2000c | Canon EOS-1n | KAF-2001CE (M15) [19] | 1728×1152 | 22.5×15 mm (0.89×0.59 in) | 13 | 1.6 | Motorola MPC821 |
| 1998 | DCS 520x | (M23) | 1728×1152 | 22.5×15 mm (0.89×0.59 in) | 13 | 1.6 | ||||
| 1998 | DCS 560c / 560m / EOS D6000c | KAF-6302CE (M16) [20] | 3040×2008 | 27.4×18.1 mm (1.08×0.71 in) | 9 | 1.32 | ||||
| 1998 | DCS 315c | Nikon Pronea 600i (6i) | KAF-1600 (M5) [17] [18] | 1524×1012 | 13.7×9.1 mm (0.54×0.36 in) | 9 | 2.63 | |||
| 1999 | DCS 330c | KAF-3000CE (M17) [21] | 2008×1504 | 18.1×13.5 mm (0.71×0.53 in) | 9 | 1.92 | ||||
| 1999 | DCS 620c | Nikon F5 | KAF-2001CE (M15) [19] | 1728×1152 | 22.5×15 mm (0.89×0.59 in) | 13 | 1.6 | |||
| 1999 | DCS 620x | (M23) | 1728×1152 | 22.5×15 mm (0.89×0.59 in) | 13 | 1.6 | ||||
| 1999 | DCS 660c / 660m / 660cir | KAF-6302CE (M16) [20] | 3040×2008 | 27.4×18.1 mm (1.08×0.71 in) | 9 | 1.32 | ||||
| 3 | Pro 3 | 2000 | DCS Pro Back / Pro Back m / Pro Back Plus | Hasselblad V (mount) | KAF-16801CE (M11) [22] | 4080×4080 | 36.7×36.7 mm (1.44×1.44 in) | 9 | 1.54 [b] | Motorola MPC823 + TI TMS320C6211 |
| 2001 | DCS 720x | Nikon F5 | (M23) | 1728×1152 | 22.5×15 mm (0.89×0.59 in) | 13 | 1.6 | |||
| 2001 | DCS 760c / 760m / 760ir | KAF-6302CE (M16) [20] | 3040×2008 | 27.4×18.1 mm (1.08×0.71 in) | 9 | 1.6 | ||||
| 2002 | DCS Pro Back 645 C / H / M | Contax 645AF, Mamiya 645AF / AFD, Hasselblad H1 | KAF-16801CE (M11) [22] | 4080×4080 | 36.7×36.7 mm (1.44×1.44 in) | 9 | 1.35 [c] | |||
| 4 | Pro 14 | 2002 | DCS Pro 14n / Pro 14n m | Nikon F80 | (C14) | 4500×3000 | 36×24 mm (1.42×0.94 in) | 8 | 1 | Motorola MPC823 + TI TMS320C6414 |
| 2002 | DCS Pro 14nx | (X14) | 4500×3000 | 36×24 mm (1.42×0.94 in) | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 2004 | DCS Pro SLR/n | (X14) | 4500×3000 | 36×24 mm (1.42×0.94 in) | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 2004 | DCS Pro SLR/c | Sigma SA-9 with EF mount | (X14) | 4500×3000 | 36×24 mm (1.42×0.94 in) | 8 | 1 | |||
All models based on Nikon body and use Nikon's F mount.
All models use Canon's EF lens mount.
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A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor.
The Kodak Professional DCS Pro SLR/n is a 13.5 megapixel full-frame 35mm digital SLR produced as a collaboration between Nikon Corporation and Eastman Kodak. It was an improved version of the Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n series, and was based on a modified Nikon N80 film SLR and thus compatible with almost all Nikon F mount lenses. The camera was announced in early 2004 and became available to purchase mid-year. A monochrome variant named Kodak Professional DCS Pro SLR/n m of the camera existed as well.
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The Kodak Professional DCS Pro SLR/c is a 13.5 megapixel digital SLR camera produced by Eastman Kodak. It is full frame—it uses an image sensor that is the full size of a 35 mm frame. It is compatible with Canon EOS lenses. The camera was launched on March 18, 2004, and incorporates the internal systems of the previous Nikon-compatible SLR/n in a Sigma SA9 SLR body.
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The Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n is a professional Nikon F80 based F-mount digital SLR produced by Eastman Kodak. It was announced at the photographic trade show photokina in Germany during September 2002; production examples became available in May 2003.
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The Kodak Professional Digital Camera System or DCS, later unofficially named DCS 100, was the first commercially available digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera. It was a customized camera back bearing the digital image sensor, mounted on a Nikon F3 body and released by Kodak in May 1991; the company had previously shown the camera at Photokina in 1990. Aimed at the photo journalism market in order to improve the speed with which photographs could be transmitted back to the studio or newsroom, the DCS had a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. The DCS 100 was publicly presented for the first time in Arles (France), at the Journées de l'Image Pro by Mr Ray H. DeMoulin, the worldwide President of the Eastman Kodak Company. 453 international journalists attended this presentation, which took place in the Palais des Congres of Arles.
The Kodak DCS 400 series was a series of Nikon based digital SLR cameras with sensor and added electronics produced by Eastman Kodak. It was part of Kodak's DCS line.
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The Canon EOS D2000 is a 2-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera developed by Kodak on a Canon EOS-1N body. It was released in March 1998. It features a CCD sensor and can shoot at 3.5 frames per second. Many enthusiasts regard the D2000 as Canon's first truly usable Digital SLR. It was released in tandem with the Canon EOS D6000, a 6-megapixel model.
The Canon EOS DCS 3 was Kodak's second Canon based Digital SLR camera released in July 1995, four months after Kodak EOS-DCS 5. It uses a modified Canon EOS-1N film camera with a modified Kodak NC2000e digital camera back attached. As a result, it maintained the Canon EF lens mount, and full compatibility with all of Canon's EF lenses made until that time. The camera was followed by the six megapixel Canon EOS DCS 1, which was released later in December 1995.
The Canon EOS DCS 1 was Kodak's third Canon-based Digital SLR camera. It was released in December 1995, following the cheaper EOS DCS 3, which was released earlier that year. Like that camera, it combined an EOS-1N body with a modified Kodak DCS 460 digital back. Despite offering a then-enormous resolution of 6 megapixels with a relatively large APS-H sensor, a number of technical issues meant that it was never a very popular camera other than for a few people with specialized roles.
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The EOS-1Ds is a series of full-frame digital SLR camera bodies made by Canon, first released on 24 September 2002. The series was replaced in March 2012 with the 1D X.
The Canon EOS DCS 5 was Kodak's first Canon-based Digital SLR camera. It was released in March 1995. It combined an EOS-1N body with a modified Kodak digital back. The sensor had a size of 13.8 mm x 9.2 mm, which gives a factor of 2.6.
